A lot of newly, post-partum women feel like the determinant of success is how quickly they recover from child-birth. Unfortunately, for most, it takes a lot longer than the initial 6-week recovery period to begin to notice signs of healing, and this can be both a discouraging and overwhelming feeling.
Within this 6-week period, resting your body, and especially your pelvic floor, is necessary to ensure that a proper, long-term recovery is possible.
After the initial 6-week recovery period, some women still experience negative symptoms associated with birth and pregnancy. It’s important to monitor your body during the recovery process to ensure symptoms are improving at an appropriate pace so that you don’t have lasting impacts moving forward.
Here is a list of the most common symptoms women experience during the post-partum recovery period:
Urinary Symptoms:
· Leaking urine
· increased urinary urgency (strong feeling like you have to urinate)
· urinating more often
Bowel Symptoms:
· Leaking feces or gas
· Constipation or other bowel changes
· Hemorrhoids that developed after delivery
Vaginal Bleeding:
· Bleeding more than 5 pads per day after the 5th day of birth for vaginal or c-section deliveries.
Pelvic Organ Prolapse:
· Vaginal pressure, heaviness, pain and achiness, or seeing internal tissue descend outside of vagina.
Scar Pain:
· Pain in a scar from injury at birth, episiotomy, or C-section, all the time or with certain activities.
Penetration Pain:
· Pain during or after sexual intercourse, PAP exam or menstrual product insertion
Abdominal Muscle Separation:
· A visible bulge or indent somewhere along the midline of the abdomen, that is apparent when the abdominals are in use
Pelvic Pain:
· Pain in the pubic bone, hips, low back or pelvis, which typically worsens with activity.
Although some of these symptoms are considered to be normal, they shouldn’t linger, and they should get progressively better over time. If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms post-partum, contact your pelvic health physiotherapist for an assessment today.