After the baby arrives, there will be some changes in your body and they will show up. Let’s know more about these changes that happen after you deliver your baby.

Hair loss

After a few weeks of delivery, you may start to lose large amounts of hair. During pregnancy you do not lose the normal number of hairs that an average person loses. So, after the pregnancy is over, your body will compensate and lose extra here for the first six months after your delivery. However, you don’t have to worry much about it because it’ll come back to the normal growth cycle after some time.

Skin discoloration

Some women may see skin discoloration. It is known as “mask of pregnancy.” If you have different colors around your eyes, it will start to fade. If you suffer from acne during pregnancy, the skin will start to clear up. Some women may experience a red rash around the mouth and chin. Some others may suffer from extremely dry skin.

Constipation

If you suffer from constipation during pregnancy, you may still have the problem after delivery. Some may suffer from episiotomy or hemorrhoids and that may make bowel movement painful. You will need a diet that is high in fibre and loss of water, milk and juices to reduce the pain and to reduce the constipation problem.

Stomach changes

Just after giving birth, the uterus will still be hard and round and you can feel it by touching your naval. After about six weeks it will gradually diminish. If you had a brown line down the center of your lower abdomen during pregnancy, it will go away. However, the stretch marks that you have deadlocked during pregnancy will not go away. Shortly after pregnancy they may appear bright red but eventually they will become silver in color and will begin to plant in with your skin. You may experience some flabbiness in the midsection after giving birth. This is a normal phenomenon with most of the mothers, even with the fittest moms.

Incontinence

You will not be urinating as frequently as you did during pregnancy. During pregnancy, the baby was pressing on your bladder and so you urinated more frequently. During the delivery, there will be pressure on the urethra which can make urination difficult after the baby is delivered. Some women may suffer from incontinence or a urinary tract infection and they will feel a burning sensation during urination.

Back pain

Since your abdomen muscles where stretched a lot during pregnancy, it will take some time to become strong again. During pregnancy, the muscles of your back also had to suffer from the extra weight. It may develop a backache until the abdominal muscles tighten up again. You may also suffer from back pain because of your poor posture during pregnancy.

Vaginal pain and discharge

Because during giving birth the vagina was stretched, so you may feel your vagina stressed and tender after the delivery. You can reduce the discomfort by using cold packs. After the delivery, you may have a vaginal discharge that will contains blood and the remaining of the uterine lining from the pregnancy. It can last for several weeks. You may also experience vaginal dryness if you are breastfeeding. If you are breastfeeding, the periods may not return for several months or possibly not until you stop breastfeeding. If you are not breastfeeding, period will return about 7 to 9 weeks after delivery.

References

1. Your Body After Baby
2. Childbearing and Obesity in Women: Weight Before, During, and After Pregnancy
3. Recovering from birth