Post Natal 2

Some women decide not to breast-feed because the very thought of it seems distasteful to them. However, breast-feeding is the most natural way of nourishing your baby and it has tremendous benefits for your own recovery. It has also been shown to protect you from breast cancer in the future. Although it is natural, breast-feeding may not always be instinctive and it may take a few days to settle into it.

Whatever you decide it is always worth a try, especially as the milk you produce in the first few days (colostrum) is rich in protein and antibodies, and will give your baby the best possible start to life.

At first, your baby may want to feed frequently, which can be quite exhausting for you but the more your baby feeds, the sooner your main milk will flow which is slightly thinner than colostrum.

These frequent feeds may make your nipples quite sore and your midwife will advise you on the best positions for your baby to latch on. They need to get as much of the nipple and surrounding areola in their mouth as is comfortable. Once they start sucking on the breast you will find your breast tingle and the milk will flow easily. You may find that your other breast starts to leak at the same time so make sure you wear a breast pad. You can also buy shells which sit over your other nipple and collect any milk that leaks. This can be frozen in ice-cube trays and used either in a bottle or to mix with baby rice when you start weaning in a few months' time. If your nipples become red and sore, feeding may become quite difficult for you. Changing the position of your baby each time she/he feeds may help. A nipple shield is also available which you apply over your breast and your baby is able to suck through it without making direct contact with your skin. You can also buy creams/ointments which may help relieve soreness. This soreness usually only lasts a few days and it's worth persevering because feeding will become much easier and totally pain-free, in time. If your breasts become red, hot and swollen you should see your GP as you may have mastitis - an infection of your breast.

During this time you should always wear a supportive bra made especially for women who breast-feed. This will help to prevent sagging later on and will take some of the strain off your shoulders, especially if your breasts are large.

Your midwife and health visitor should be able to advise you on breast-feeding. There are also other agencies who can help such as La Leche League and the National Childbirth Trust who have specially-trained counsellors to help you. See Useful Links.

Some women seem to have the idea that within six weeks after childbirth, they should be fully recovered and feeling back to normal. That is totally unrealistic and you should be expecting your recovery to take six to eight months. After all, you are trying to incorporate a brand new human being into your life and, in those first few months they will be constantly changing in their demands and their development while you are still trying to recover physically.

Vaginal discharge (lochia) - your main inconvenience at the beginning will be shedding the afterbirth from your uterus. This can go on for up to six weeks and gradually lightens in colour then tapers off. During this time you'll need to use sanitary towels and you'll find special maternity pads in the supermarket. It is important to change them regularly or you'll become sore and if you have had an episiotomy (cut) or a tear, this will slow down the rate of healing and may lead to an infection. Never wear tampons during this time as there is a higher risk of infection while the cervical opening is still wider than usual.

Soreness passing urine - if urination is painful, take a bottle of water into the toilet with you and squeeze the water over your urethra as you empty your bladder to dilute the acidic urine.

Haemorrhoids - some women develop haemorrhoids (small swellings around the anus) during pregnancy. These are harmless but may become quite painful. One method to ease and shrink haemorrhoids is to soak 10cm x 10cm gauze pads in witch hazel, an astringent. Layer them in greaseproof paper and freeze them, then place directly on haemorrhoids for 10-20 minutes, two to three times a day.

Uterine cramps - you may experience cramp-like pain in your uterus for a few days after childbirth as your uterus contracts down to its original size. This is usually more noticeable with second and subsequent babies and breast-feeding can stimulate the uterus to contract. This is why women who breast-feed find their uterus shrinks back into shape much more quickly. Pain relief of paracetamol should be fine but it's better to avoid it altogether as the pains are usually only temporary.

It's not uncommon to feel weepy and depressed around the third or fourth day after giving birth. This is called "the baby blues". It usually only lasts a few days and you may just feel a bit low. This may be due to a combination of reasons such as the fluctuation in your hormones, your milk starting to flow and the realisation that you have a little human being to look after for the foreseeable future. These feelings should only last for a few days and having someone to talk to about how you're feeling may help.

If you find that you continue to be depressed for more than two weeks then you should tell your doctor. If you have never suffered with depression in the past, this may simply be due to a hormonal imbalance. After delivery, your levels of progesterone which were produced by the placenta suddenly dip and you rely again on your adrenal glands to produce progesterone. If your adrenal glands are exhausted, they may not be able to produce sufficient progesterone which is a natural anti-depressant.

Research in Wales found that among 120 women, those with the highest pre-natal and lowest post natal progesterone levels also scored highest on measures of post-natal depression scores. Generally, this can be quite difficult to treat and often anti-depressants become the first line of defence. Natural progesterone cream, or a cream which promotes the body with the building blocks to produce progesterone, would be a safer approach. NEWAYS produce Subvene cream which may help. They also have Endau, a natural progesterone cream, which has to be prescribed by one of the NEWAYS doctors and may help in more severe cases.

Therefore, it is essential that you get informed about issues that may affect the health of yourself and your baby. Don't be fooled by the media and all the clever advertising campaigns. Don't even rely on your government to protect you from companies who put their profit before your health. Thankfully, there are a number of organisations which we rate very highly for the quality of their information on health issues. None of them have vested interests in products, or have any hidden agendas. You will find a list of these organisations in
Useful Links in the Health and Well-Being section.

Whether you have just given birth to your first child or your sixth (!), or whether your child was planned or unplanned, you now have the most important job in the world - to care and nurture your child to adulthood. We wish you well in your journey together. And even when parenting seems hard, remember these words from the world’s number one best-selling book, The Bible: