You can also heat up baby wipes, prop your feet up on a stool to aid bowel positioning, and talk to your healthcare provider about other positions that might help your body out. Use the stool softeners and fiber supplement to help achieve soft stool that passes easily without straining.
Eat plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, salad, wholegrain cereals and wholemeal bread, and drink plenty of water. This should make pooing easier and less painful. Try not to push or strain – this will make the piles worse. Let your midwife know if you feel very uncomfortable.
Caring for your wounds and stitches
Sitting on the toilet backwards can ease stinging caused by urine passing over the injury (it sounds strange but it can really help!)
Straight talk: The first poop after giving birth can be challenging. It can be hard to pass, and may be more painful than you expected. That's because after you give birth, the perineum (the area between the bottom of the vaginal opening and the anus) is still sore and tender, especially if you have stitches.
However, if you're later in your labor or if you have an epidural and can't really feel things and you suddenly feel a ton of pressure, like you need to have a bowel movement, you need to call your labor nurse ASAP.
In the first few days after giving birth, you may feel pain or burning when you urinate (pee). Or you may try to urinate but find that you can't. Sometimes you may not be able to stop urinating. This is called incontinence.
If you are unable to fully empty your bladder when it is full you are experiencing postnatal urinary retention (also known as voiding dysfunction). This is a common problem in the first day or two following childbirth. About 1 in 500 women may have a problem with bladder emptying which lasts longer than 3 days.
Most women who leak urine after childbirth find that it goes away in the first few weeks, as the stretched muscles and tissues recover. However, for some women it can take months while others find their pelvic floor never recovers fully.
When you're ready for your first postpartum poop, or you're in the bathroom because ready or not here it comes, try to let gravity assist you. Small, gentle pushes are okay but let your poop come naturally, without straining.
How long does it last? Constipation is most common in the first few days postpartum. But studies suggest that many women experience constipation for three to six months postpartum. In some cases it may even persist for up to 12 months following delivery.
If you delivered vaginally, you may drive when you feel comfortable and have stopped taking pain medications. If you had a cesarean section, wait at least two weeks before driving. Sitz baths (warm, shallow baths), regular baths, and showers are safe after vaginal delivery and can help with discomfort.
How long does lochia last? It can vary between people, but lochia typically lasts about six weeks. However, some people have traces of lochia for up to eight weeks.
Bladder control problems can happen both during pregnancy and after childbirth. Causes of bladder control issues can include pelvic organ prolapse, weakened pelvic floor muscles and damaged pelvic nerves. Kegel exercises are often recommended to help strengthen you pelvic muscles and regain bladder control.
After going to the toilet, pour warm water over your vaginal area to rinse it. Pouring warm water over the outer area of your vagina as you pee may also help ease the discomfort. You may find squatting over the toilet, rather than sitting on it, reduces the stinging sensation when peeing.
The process of giving birth can alter your body that can lead to difficulty in urinating. Pressure from pushing the baby through the birth canal and anesthesia can decrease sensitivity or cause temporary paralysis that can make urination difficult.
A Foley catheter (another type of small plastic tube) may be placed in your bladder to drain urine since you won't be able to get up and go to the bathroom. The Foley catheter is placed after the epidural and is usually not uncomfortable.
Doctors began requiring women to fast during labor after it was documented in the mid-20th century that pregnant women who were put under general anesthesia had an increased risk for aspiration. Aspiration occurs when food or liquid is inhaled into the lungs. It can cause a severe inflammatory reaction or death.
Theoretically, allowing a patient to bathe immediately after a procedure may expose the procedure site to pathogens, which could travel directly to the spinal canal via the needle tract. Conversely, restricting patients from bathing may promote immobility and allow for the development of a nidus for infection.
Doctors have to wait until the cervix is at least 4 centimeters dilated before doing an epidural. Otherwise, the epidural will slow the process down too much. However, once the cervix becomes fully dilated it is too late for an epidural to be given.
Pelvic floor changes: The process of delivering a baby stretches the muscles in your pelvic floor, which can also cause changes in the rectum. More stool may collect in your intestines before it's finally expelled.
Most parents of newborn babies have seen their child go through this stage. Your baby goes from having several effortless poopy diapers a day to straining and screaming only to pass a soft bowel movement. This apparently painful pooping is technically called infant dyschezia.
But experts say there's nothing wrong with going out so soon after having a baby—provided you're smart about it. “Many doctors will tell women that they can leave the house as soon as they feel well enough to do so,” women's health expert Jennifer Wider, M.D., tells SELF.