What Happens to Your Vagina After Normal Childbirth?
Many women choose the vaginal or normal methods of childbirth other than all other techniques of childbirth. In fact, most health care experts advise choosing vaginal childbirth over the other methods of childbirth. This is mostly because vaginal childbirth is still considered by most physicians as one of the safest methods of childbirth and it does not have any side effects during or after birth, as it is found in those childbirths that are either C- section or are done with medical assistance. But it is important for the new mother to know what will happen to her vagina and the organs and spaces surrounding it after having normal childbirth. There can be a lot of difficulties that might occur after you undergo vaginal childbirth but there are some easy ways and therapies that might be done to get relief from these issues. So, the conditions that can occur to the vagina after normal childbirth, what easy precautions can be taken to get rid of these complications, and most importantly how to treat these complications should be thoroughly discussed.
Vagina After Normal Delivery
Many new mothers might be thinking that what can occur to the vagina after a normal delivery. But we all should know, that if the vagina does not cure properly after childbirth, then a lot of complications might start to occur in your vagina. Some of those issues and complications are as follows:
1. Feeling of soreness in the vagina
After a vaginal delivery, the new mother is most likely to feel soreness in her vagina. Some mothers often develop a vaginal tear during the time of childbirth, which might also lead to several difficulties later. This soreness and hurt might last for a few days to weeks after vaginal childbirth and once you notice any complications arising in your vaginal area, it is highly recommended that you should consult your health care expert at once. To get rid of these issues, try to follow these tips:
- Sit on a pillow or on anything that has padded support.
- Consume pain killer medicines or you can apply safe creams or gels in the area, but consult with your health care expert first.
- Cool the area with a wet pad or ice pack.
- Sit in a warm bath to relax the area.
- Consult your health care expert.
2. Vaginal discharge
Vaginal discharge is not a serious discomfort, but a discharge of a slimy, gel-like pinkish to whitish fluid, sometimes accompanied by the flow of blood or little traces of blood, which will come out heavily at first and then will slowly and gradually decrease with time, that usually occurs after a vaginal delivery. This discharge is the mucous membrane in the uterine wall that got created during your pregnancy and is now shedding away after childbirth.
3. Improper bowel movements and Hemorrhoids
It is very common that after a vaginal delivery, you might find that you have certain issues with bowel movements. This happens because, during vaginal childbirth, the nerves and the veins surrounding the anus and rectum might get swollen and can lead to hemorrhoids and severe pain during a bowel movement in the anal region. If your bowel movement after vaginal delivery becomes a severe issue, it is high time that you need to ask for help from your physician.
4. Pain, Cramps, and Contractions
Immediately after having a vaginal delivery, you are likely to feel pains and contractions that might occur frequently. But these cramps and contractions are not so severe, and these are common if you are breastfeeding after vaginal childbirth that occurs mostly due to hormonal changes, and these are in fact useful as they help to lower excessive bleeding.
5. Soreness and tenderness in breasts
This has been a long issue since your pregnancy. The moment you get pregnant, after a few weeks from that you will find that your breasts are increasing in size, with a feeling of soreness and pain, along with a feeling of breast leaking and darkening of the nipples, which will continue for most women for some weeks even after the childbirth. But after childbirth, the soreness of the breast will create an issue because if you have a tingling feeling in your breasts, your little one will find problems in latching and this can cause severe problems in the case of breastfeeding.
Vagina After Childbirth: There Is Nothing To Worry About It
Are you worried about the state and condition of your vagina after childbirth? You should not be. Here are the things that you should know about your vagina and what happens to it after childbirth:
1. Postpartum incontinence
Many new mothers have experienced postpartum incontinence after childbirth, and it is a quite common occurrence among many new mothers. But this should not continue for long. Given the journey your pelvic floor has been on with pregnancy and delivery, it will be weak post-birth. According to recent studies and experiments, it has been revealed that new mothers should not experience postpartum incontinence after at least three months of childbirth.
Some adversities related to urinary incontinence after childbirth are as follows:
- Childbirth through the vagina
- Excessive smoking and drinking alcohol and other drugs
- Abnormality in the size of the baby
- incontinence during pregnancy
2. You are not loose after childbirth
A woman is never “loose” after childbirth, but her pelvic muscles are now in a much higher tone after childbirth because these muscles get stretched and increase in length during the time of pregnancy and increase more during childbirth. But these muscles have the capability to tighten slowly and gradually with time after recovery.
3. Take Perineal pain seriously
Perineal pain is felt both during the time of pregnancy and after childbirth. But one needs to know about it in detail. According to recent studies and experiments, it has been found that a large number of pregnant women complain of feeling pain in the pelvic region and perineal pain. Perineal is commonly felt due to a lot of reasons such as an increase in body weight, rapid changes in the hormones, and so on, but in some cases, it can be an indication of a severe gynecological condition too. If you feel intense pain after childbirth, it is advisable that you should seek the advice of your concerned health care expert.
4. Are Kegels exercises good?
It has often been found that most physicians recommend going for Kegels exercises to get rid of pelvic floor disorders, but sometimes these do not work and can cause even more damage to the pelvic floor, especially for those who have stress incontinence.
5. Do not worry about intercourse after recovery from pregnancy
After the vagina recovers from childbirth a 9 month- long pregnancy, the parents are quite anxious about having sexual intercourse because it becomes difficult for them to know which one is the right time to have sex after recovery. Sex just after pregnancy, especially penetrative sex, if the mother’s vagina has not recovered completely can lead to a lot of vaginal issues such as tearing of the vaginal muscles, episiotomy, problems and functional issues of the pelvic region, infections, stress and can also lead to postpartum depression. If you do not know what the right time is to have sexual intercourse just after vaginal childbirth and what complications can occur from that.
6. Damage to the pelvic floor
If any damage occurs on your pelvic floor, it is not necessary that you will notice significant signs and symptoms of damage. Though there are certain symptoms in the most severe cases like hernia or related issues. But if you have severities or any kind of adversity on the pelvic floor, you might feel the following:
- immense pressure and heaviness in the perineal area
- pain and issues during urination
- leaking of urine after you are done with urination
- constipation and problems in bowel movement
7. Therapy on the pelvic floor
The pelvic floor of a woman is not similar just like the other muscles of the body. It requires intensive care and therapy on the pelvic floor cannot be penetrative because this might cause damage to the region. So, if you require pelvic therapy, it is always advisable to go through the therapy using physical workouts and exercises.