Normal Delivery Aftercare: Balancing Rest, Nutrition, and Exercise

It is a challenging task for a woman to change her daily routine after the birth of a child. At this time, along with taking care of the child, the woman should also take full care of herself. Working women should not go to office for at least six weeks immediately after the birth of the child. During this time, you will be able to easily adopt the changes in your routine. You are unable to get full sleep for many nights while feeding the child, changing his diapers and doing other tasks, but gradually you will make all the child's work a part of your routine. After delivery, you should change your routine in the following way.

Take more rest -
Take as much sleep as possible to reduce fatigue. Your baby may wake up every two to three hours at night to drink milk, so you should also rest when your child is sleeping. 

Take help from family members -
After delivery, you should not hesitate to take help from your friends and family members. After delivery, your body is slowly recovering and in such a situation, you will get time to rest with the help of family members. Your friends and family members can help you in cooking, taking care of other children and other tasks at this time. 

Eat healthy food -
To recover fast after delivery, you should eat a healthy and balanced diet. Increase the amount of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and protein in your diet. You also need to take more fluids during breastfeeding. 

Exercise -
You should start exercising only after consulting a doctor. Do not do too tiring exercise and go for a walk in a park or garden near the house, this will make you feel refreshed and energetic.

(Read more:Relief During Childbirth)

After the birth of the child, the routine of all the members of the family changes. At this time, the relationship of the woman who is going to become a mother with her husband also starts changing. After delivery, the man and woman are able to spend less time together, due to which many kinds of problems start. This can be a stressful time for both of you, during this time both of you should act wisely.

When this happens, both of you should maintain patience and take help from other couples who have become parents. It takes some time to adopt many kinds of changes, for this you should understand them properly.

If at this time any other child or husband of the house starts feeling lonely, then in such a situation you should talk to them and try to explain to them by understanding their problem. Children need more care after delivery. At this time, you and your husband may be busy the whole day taking care of the child. In this situation, do not feel guilty for not being able to spend time with your partner.

(Read more - Normal Delivery (Vaginal or Natural Birth))

Your mood may change after normal delivery. Generally, you can feel a change in your mood for two weeks after delivery. The problem of mood changes is seen in most cases of delivery and the symptoms of this problem can also be different in all women.

70 to 80 percent of women who have recently become mothers have the problem of negative thinking and mood changes. This happens due to hormonal changes in the body and you may experience the following symptoms during this time, such as:

• Crying without reason
• Irritability
• Insomnia
• Sadness
• Mood swings 
• Restlessness

When To Go To The Doctor In This Problem?
This condition gets cured within two weeks after delivery. If this kind of problem is not cured even after two weeks, then it is considered a problem of postpartum depression. In this problem, you need medical treatment. If you feel that this condition is harmful for the child, then you should talk to your doctor about it. The problem of depression after delivery can occur anytime up to one year after the birth of the child.

(Read more - Pros and cons of natural birth and C section)

• Get a checkup from the doctor after one week of delivery. After delivery, you can also ask the doctor about the date of the next routine checkup. Usually, the doctor calls you for a checkup only after 4-6 weeks. 
• After delivery, keep taking regular care of the area between your vagina and rectum (Perineum) with the methods prescribed by the doctor.
• Do not have sex with your partner before the medical checkup. Do not have sex with your partner until the doctor tells you to have sex. Have sex only when the perineum is healed and the bleeding and discharge after delivery is reduced. 
• Be sure to consult a doctor before using any contraceptive method after delivery. You can conceive even if you do not have menstruation during breastfeeding. 
• Do not use tampons before your first medical checkup 4-6 weeks after delivery. Tampons are small cotton plugs that absorb menstrual blood. 
• Even after delivery, you should continue taking prenatal vitamins (prenatal vitamins: medicines to overcome vitamin deficiency before delivery) daily. If you do not take prenatal vitamins, you should still take iron-rich multivitamin medicines.
• Eat nutritious food every day. Do not drink caffeine and alcohol.
• Go for a walk in an open place near the house. Apart from this, also talk to the doctor about starting exercise. 
• Drink about eight glasses of juice, milk and water every day.

(Read more - After delivery care for the mother)

• For the first 2 weeks after delivery, you need more rest, so meet as few people as possible. This will also help you get used to breastfeeding. 
• Do not lift objects heavier than the weight of your baby. 
• You should wash your hands thoroughly before changing the baby's diaper, going to the toilet and feeding the baby.
• Do not use stairs for at least one month after delivery. 
• Do not worry about cleaning the house all the time.
• Do not bathe the baby every day. Instead, you can clean the baby with a wet cloth.
• If you worry all the time and are unable to sleep because of this, then you should consult your doctor about this. 

​(Read more - When do periods start after pregnancy)

Care after a normal delivery is extremely important for the health of both the mother and the baby. The new mother needs adequate rest, nutritious food, and hydration to regain the body's energy and get the nutrients necessary for breastfeeding. Special attention should be paid to hygiene and monitoring of stitches and any physical discomfort after delivery. Regularly consulting a doctor and doing prescribed exercises helps the body return to normal. Mental health care is also important, so support from family and friends and use stress management techniques. Overall, balanced care and rest help the new mother recover quickly and provide a favorable environment for the baby's development.