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After Your Delivery
(Postpartum Period)
Your Care Instructions
The newborn period, or postpartum period, can be
a time of excitement but also a time of being very
tired. You may look at your wondrous little baby and
feel happy and, at the same time, be overwhelmed by
your new sleep hours and new responsibilities.
At first, babies often sleep during the day and are
awake at night. They do not have a pattern or routine. They may make sudden gasps, jerk themselves
awake, or look like they have crossed eyes. These are
all normal, and they may make you smile.
In these first weeks after delivery, try to take good
care of yourself. It may take 4 to 6 weeks to feel
like yourself again, and possibly longer if you had a
cesarean birth. You likely will feel very tired for several weeks. Your days will be full of ups and downs
but lots of joy as well.
Be sure to make and go to all appointments, and call
your doctor if you are having problems. Know the
results of any tests you have, and keep a list of the
medicines you take.
What should you do at home?
◆◆ Take
Take care of your body after
delivery
◆◆ Wear
◆◆ Use
pads instead of tampons for bloody
fluid that may leak from your vagina. This
may last for as long as 2 weeks.
◆◆ Ease
cramps with acetaminophen (Tylenol).
◆◆ Ease
soreness of hemorrhoids and the area
between your vagina and rectum with ice
compresses or witch hazel pads.
◆◆ Ease
constipation by drinking lots of fluid
and eating high-fiber foods. Ask your doctor about over-the-counter stool softeners.
◆◆ Cleanse
yourself with a gentle squeeze of
warm water from a bottle instead of wiping
with toilet paper.
a sitz bath in warm water several
times a day.
a good nursing bra. Ease sore and
swollen breasts with warm, wet washcloths.
◆◆ If
you are not breast-feeding, use ice rather
than heat for breast soreness.
◆◆ Your
period may not start for several
months if you are breast-feeding. You may
bleed more, and longer at first, than you did
before you got pregnant.
◆◆ Wait
until you are healed (about 4 to 6
weeks) before you have sexual intercourse.
Your doctor will tell you when it is okay to
have sex.
◆◆ Try
not to travel with your baby for 5 or
6 weeks. If you take a long car trip, make
frequent stops to walk around and stretch.
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disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information.
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Avoid exhaustion
Know about postpartum depression
◆◆ Rest
◆◆ Feelings
every day. Try to nap when your baby naps.
◆◆ Ask
another adult to be with you for a few days
after delivery.
◆◆ Plan
for child care if you have other children.
◆◆ Stay
flexible so you can eat at odd hours and sleep
when you need to. Both you and your baby are
making new schedules.
◆◆ Plan
small trips to get out of the house. Change can
make you feel less tired.
◆◆ Ask
for help with housework, cooking, and shopping. Remind yourself that your job is to care for
your baby.
of sadness, or the “baby blues,” are common for the first 1 to 2 weeks after birth. You may
cry or feel sad or irritable for no reason.
◆◆ Rest whenever you can. Being tired makes it harder
to handle your emotions.
◆◆ Go
for walks with your baby.
◆◆ Talk
to your partner, friends, and family about
your feelings.
◆◆ If
your symptoms last for more than a few weeks,
or if you feel very depressed, ask your doctor for
help. You may have postpartum depression. This
needs to be treated. Support groups and counseling
can help. Sometimes medicine also can help.
When should you call for help?
Call 911 anytime you think you may need
emergency care. For example, call if:
◆◆ You passed out (lost consciousness).
Your baby
◆◆ Your baby is unusually cranky or is sleeping
too much.
Call your doctor now or seek medical care
right away if you or your baby has any of the
problems listed below.
◆◆ Your baby’s eyes are red or leaky.
You
◆◆ Your baby’s umbilical cord is bad-smelling,
◆◆ You have a fever.
◆◆ Your breast or breasts have hard, red, or
tender areas.
◆◆ You have an urgent or frequent need to uri-
nate, along with a burning feeling.
◆◆ You have severe pain, tenderness, or swell-
ing in your vagina or the area between your
rectum and vagina.
◆◆ You have bad-smelling vaginal leakage or
heavy bleeding that soaks through one sanitary pad in less than 1 hour.
◆◆ You pass blood clots larger than a
golf ball.
sides of the mouth or tongue.
swollen, red, or leaking pus.
◆◆ There is blood or mucus in your baby’s bowel
movements.
◆◆ Your baby has fewer than 6 wet diapers
a day.
◆◆ Your baby does not want to eat, or your baby
is throwing up with every feeding.
◆◆ Your baby has trouble breathing.
◆◆ Your baby has a rectal temperature over
100.4°F, or an underarm temperature
over 99.4°F.
◆◆ Your baby has a temperature less than
97.5°F rectal, or less than 97.0°F underarm.
◆◆ You have severe pains in your chest, belly,
back, or legs.
◆◆ You have feelings of severe despair or great
anxiety.
◆◆ Your baby has white patches on the roof and
◆◆ Your baby’s skin looks yellow.
Watch closely for changes in your and your
baby’s health, and be sure to contact your
doctor if you have any problems.
© 2007–2010 Healthwise, Incorporated. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise
disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health
decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. ad1113-7/30/2009