Importance of the 1st 40 days
You’ve taken 9 long months to create new life. Naturally, it will take you some time to recover from the life-changing experience of giving birth. Find out why the first 40 days after birth are so important for you to recover and bond with your baby.
Congratulations on delivering your beautiful baby!
The process of giving birth is an amazing achievement that every mother should be proud of. Your feelings and emotions are probably all over the place as you will need some time to recover and get into the routine of caring for yourself and your new baby.
You will most likely feel exhausted after the birth; remember that you are recovering from an immense amount of physical and emotional stress that has an impact on anybody.
Be kind to yourself and your body, and give yourself plenty of time to get your strength back. This should help you recover quickly.
Why are the first 40 days of postpartum so important?
Traditionally, the 40-day period is believed to be the right amount of time needed for you to recover from the delivery and for your baby to gain strength & immunity.
This is why doctors, midwives and even tradition give so much importance to the first 40 days after delivery. These 40 days are needed for your body to heal, reenergize, and go back to pre-pregnancy mode. At the same time, this period helps your baby adjust to living outside your tummy and to bond with you face-to-face.
Here are some highlights of the changes your body will go through during the first month or so of giving birth:
- For a period of around six weeks after birth, your uterus will be actively trying to go back to its pre-pregnancy size. You may feel contractions especially while you are breastfeeding.
- Sore muscles all over your body that will last a few days after birth. This is due to all that hard work you did during delivery!
- Bleeding, or blood colored discharge known as ‘lochia’, will lessen typically after 10 days, eventually going back to normal after six weeks.
- Your heartburn and constipation will go away.
- By the third or fourth day, once your new milk (colostrum) is released and your breasts start to fill with milk, your breasts may feel hot, hard and a little tender.
- Vaginal soreness, bruising and some discomfort for the first few days after birth. If you’ve had stitches or a cesarean, it will take a couple of weeks for it to heal.
With your body working hard to recover and heal on its own, here are some quick tips to remember and help with the process:
- Apply warm towels on your breasts to help soften them
- If you are in pain, or feeling sore, talk to your doctor to prescribe a light painkiller suitable if you are breastfeeding.
- Don’t use douche s or any vaginal cleaning products
- Eat healthy and drink lots of fluids like water & soups
- Sleep & rest at every opportunity you may have
- Let family and friends help you with your baby or with chores around the house
The Apta-Advice team wishes you and your little one a wonderful start and are available to answer any questions you might have to help you along the way!
