Pelvic floor complaints
Your pelvic floor muscles are stretched during childbirth. After childbirth, these muscles slowly regain their old shape and strength. You may suffer from pelvic floor complaints. How do you recognize these and what can you do about them?
Complaints
You may suffer from the following complaints
• loss of urine, especially when coughing, sneezing and lifting (stress urinary incontinence)
• inability to hold wind
• loss of stool
• a heavy feeling of pressure in the lower abdomen and pelvic floor
• pain in the pelvic floor area, for example when cycling or pain during sex

Reducing complaints
About 6 weeks after childbirth, the complaints should decrease – with exercises. If this does not happen, contact your GP or a pelvic therapist. Pelvic floor muscle exercises
When you are rested after giving birth, you can immediately start with a number of exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles

Blood loss
The first 24 hours after giving birth, you will usually experience a lot of blood loss. You may also lose clots. Sometimes these are the size of a fist. As long as you feel well, this is not harmful. You are losing too much blood if you have a full sanitary towel every fifteen minutes. In that case, contact your midwife. It is normal to have to change sanitary towels approximately every 3 hours. The days after giving birth, the blood loss is usually (much) more than during a normal period. After a few days, the blood loss decreases. It can last for about 4 to 6 weeks. The blood loss is then no longer bright red, but somewhat browner. At the end of the maternity period, the discharge will be more white or yellow.

Stitches
Your midwife will tell you whether you have stitches and, if so, how many. Stitches should not hurt in principle. Do you have a painful pelvic floor?
Tips:
• Take a warm shower in the morning and afternoon
• Sit on the stitches. Preferably on a hard surface
• Cool the stitches with cold compresses
• Take paracetamol
The first few days after giving birth, urinating is often sensitive. This is because urine is acidic and may corrode the wound. To remedy this, you can rinse with water while urinating, for example using a jug. Urinating while showering can also help. Do not postpone urinating. The maternity nurse checks the wound every day and calls the midwife if something is not healing properly. Most stitches dissolve on their own. Around the 7th day after giving birth, the remaining or painful stitches are removed.

Cold sores
A newborn baby is very susceptible to infections. The herpes virus, which causes cold sores, can make your baby sick. If you have a cold sore yourself, it is important to pay close attention to your hygiene. If necessary, wear a face mask and wash your hands thoroughly to prevent contamination. If visitors come with a cold sore, do not let them kiss or cuddle your baby. Certainly until he or she is 1 year old.

Postpartum blues
More than half of women who have just given birth suffer from postpartum blues, or: baby blues. You recognize postpartum blues by sudden mood swings and/or unexpected crying fits. This is because fatigue sets in, your hormones are ‘out of whack’, you may suffer from engorgement and you suddenly have a baby to take care of. On the 3rd to 5th day after giving birth, you can suddenly become very emotional. It all becomes too much for you and you suddenly have to cry. The baby blues usually disappear after a few days. It is better to take it easy on these days and not have too many maternity visitors.

Afterpains
You often have little to no afterpains after a first delivery. You may suffer from them after a second or third delivery. Paracetamol can help (maximum 6x 500mg per 24 hours). Breastfeeding increases the feeling of afterpains. Afterpains are there for a reason. They ensure that the uterus shrinks quickly and that you bleed less. The afterpains will diminish and disappear after a few days. A hot water bottle against your lower abdomen can sometimes provide relief.

Psychological problems
In the first period after giving birth, 1 in 10 women suffer from mild to very serious psychological complaints. How do you recognise these and what can be done about them?

Postnatal depression
You can recognise postnatal depression by feeling sad, not feeling like doing anything, not wanting to eat and not being able to sleep. If you have gloomy moods that do not go away, you lie awake all night, you cannot enjoy things (not even your newborn baby; perhaps you do not want to hold him or wish he had never been born), you have no appetite and are dreading the day, talk about it with your midwife or maternity nurse. In 1 in 10 women, these depressive feelings do not go away by themselves after giving birth. They end up in a postpartum depression, or a postnatal depression. This depression can last for weeks, months or sometimes longer.

Symptoms
Postnatal depression can vary in severity — from mild to very serious. Crying, anxiety, irritability, overthinking, and poor sleep are its most common symptoms. Sometimes, extra support is needed to help build a strong bond between you and your baby. In most cases, postnatal depression can be treated with therapy, medication, or a combination of both. So if you recognize these symptoms, please talk to your midwife or maternity nurse.

Muscle soreness
Childbirth is often compared to running a marathon — and with good reason. After a (normal) delivery, it’s completely normal to experience muscle soreness and stiffness throughout your body.
Tip: Take it easy and allow yourself to be taken care of, so your body can recover gently.

Bowel movements
During the first few days, you often won’t have a bowel movement yet. It may feel difficult when it does return, but in most cases, it’s not as bad as you expect.
Tips:
• Stay well hydrated
• Eat fiber-rich foods
• Take your time with meals and drinks

Adjusting to a new life
Some women feel like they’re on cloud nine after the birth of their baby and enjoy every moment. Still, most women find that recovering from childbirth and adjusting to life with a newborn can be quite challenging.

Rest
Giving birth is physically demanding. Your body needs time and rest to heal. Of course, it’s great if you start feeling well again soon after delivery — but take it easy. Once the maternity nurse leaves, you and your partner will be on your own, and you’ll still be getting up at night to feed the baby. Try to rest when your baby sleeps. When you’re overtired, it’s much harder to cope, and you may feel like you’re losing control.

Getting to know your baby
The early days are a time to get to know each other. The arrival of your baby brings a big change to your life, and it takes time to adjust. Your baby needs love, security, and a sense of safety. When your baby cries, it’s okay — and even beneficial — to pick them up and comfort them. This builds trust. The more you connect with your baby, the better you’ll come to understand their needs.

Insecurity
Feeling uncertain about being a parent is very common. You may wonder: Can I really do this? Is this how I imagined it would be?
Take comfort in knowing that confidence usually grows over time — you’ll get the hang of it.

Postpartum recovery (hormonal adjustment)
After childbirth, your body begins the process of returning to its pre-pregnancy state. Significant hormonal changes take place: your hormone levels temporarily drop, often even lower than before pregnancy. Your body produces less progesterone and estrogen, and immediately starts producing hormones to support milk production and to help your uterus contract. This transitional phase is called postpartum recovery.
During postpartum recovery, you may experience symptoms such as:
• Fatigue
• Irritability
• Difficulty concentrating
• Feeling down or low
• Back pain
• Headaches
• Hair loss
• Irregular or absent menstruation
• Feeling generally unwell
Postpartum recovery typically takes about nine months.

What if the symptoms don’t go away?
Some women continue to struggle with symptoms like sadness, fatigue, or irritability. Not everyone feels like they’re on cloud nine — in fact, most women don’t, or only briefly.
Don’t keep it to yourself. Talk to your midwife or GP if you’re feeling this way.

Sweating
Some women experience excessive sweating, especially at night — sometimes so much that you need to change your shirt. This is completely normal and usually resolves on its own.