Health

Common Problems New Moms Face

While you were pregnant, you may have been experiencing some middle of the night thoughts questioning will you be a good mother? Or will you be the same person after becoming a mom? Yes, motherhood changes you; no one would lie to you telling something else. Your priorities will change, if in the past all your wanted was to climb the corporate ladder, now you’ll want to be the best parent ever, even if this implies stepping off the ladder.

After birth, not only your priorities will change but also your body. When welcoming the baby it’s something natural to focus on their health and ignoring yours. You prepared for your pregnancy, you took care to have a healthy baby, and to deliver in safety conditions, but you’ve probably ignored to take care of yourself after pregnancy.

This article will offer you information on the common health problems, and not only new- moms can experience.

Changing lives and priorities

Research has found that during pregnancy and after birth, women have lactation hormones that can change their brain. In some regions, the size of their neurons increases while in others they experience structural changes. Other studies revealed that pregnancy hormones and the entire pregnancy period could enhance your learning and memory abilities.

While being pregnant you may had time to worry that you’ll lose your identity, but once the baby was here you understood that there is no time to worry about life, because it’s happening without asking for your approval. Life with your child is richer than fearing that you’ll lose your identity. You have learnt that you have to use your available time the best way possible.

The researchers from the Netherlands found proof that women change after becoming moms. So here is your answer, it looks like while you were pregnant, the foetal cells entered and spread throughout your body. The phenomenon is called microchimerism, and it implies the presence of cells with a different genetic background within your body. Pregnancy, birth and parenthood changed you profoundly.

Exhaustion

Since welcoming your baby, you’ve been tired 24/7, and it’s understandable why. The first two or three months are a total blur because of your baby’s feeding schedule.

It’s normal to cry and feel moody because of exhaustion, so if you haven’t delivered your baby yet be prepared for these moments. The best way to fight exhaustion is to build your own support system, make sure your partner and family will offer you the help you need, especially during the first weeks after childbirth. It’s important to rely on your support system, to allow them feed the baby for you, so you can get one or two full nights of sleep weekly.

Extra weight

The first thing you’ve noticed while being pregnant was that your shoes no longer fit you. This change has two main reasons, hormones and weight gain. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists state that you can gain about half of size while being pregnant. If this happened and your feet grew during your pregnancy, you will need a new shoe collection because the change is permanent even after you’ll lose the extra pounds.

Speaking of, your extra pounds don’t have to be permanent, but they can also be. Studies show that one in 4 women hang onto more than 5 kg a year after childbirth. After delivering the baby, and losing weight you’ll probably be 2,5 to 5 kg heavier than before getting pregnant, and that’s ok because your body grew a baby for nine months.

Vaginal pain

While being pregnant you’ve probably prepared for the childbirth pain. If you opt for a vaginal delivery, it all depends on how smoothly it will go and if you need episiotomy to repair the damage. The doctor will probably recommend you to use pain relieving spray and to put icing on the area to relieve pain. If you opt for a caesarean section, you’ll experience pain at the incision site. The doctor will definitely prescribe you pain medication for the first weeks after delivery, and afterwards you’ll take ibuprofen if the pain persists. The OB will probably recommend sex abstinence for a determined period of time, to enhance the healing process.

No sex drive

After giving birth, it may take a year for your sex drive to return to its normal levels. One of the reasons is the fatigue caring for the baby generates. Another factor is breastfeeding, when you breastfeed you have low estrogen levels ,and it can cut down your sex drive. Sometimes the tearing experienced during childbirth prevents you from feeling comfortable during sex. Until your body heals, you can try some alternatives to get intimate with your partner. For example, you can use large anal beads to prevent experiencing vaginal pain.

You can also expect the orgasms to be weaker because of your stretched-out pelvic muscles. However, the condition of the muscles is not the only one that lowers the intensity of the orgasm, the fatigue, pain, and other changes your body experiences can have a great impact on it.

Diabetes

You can suffer from gestation diabetes during your pregnancy. If this is the case, you should not ignore to have regular checks because studies show that half of the women who had gestation diabetes also develop type 2 diabetes later in life. Your risk is higher if you have family members who suffer from this health condition. If you have gestational diabetes, your doctor

will recommend you to maintain a healthy diet and weight, and they will carefully check your blood sugar and screen you for the disease in the years following childbirth.

Infection

Delivery is tough on your body, and you are prone not only to infection at the surgical site of the C-section or at the tear in the perineum, but also to postpartum infections in your kidneys, bladder and uterus.

It’s important to inform yourself about these infections and their symptoms of these infections but do not panic because the chances to develop them are small, unless you do not experience an issue during childbirth. If you experience increased pain and fever, you should immediately visit the doctor.

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