After giving birth, what does your body say? - Featured - Destination Health

You gave birth but your body is taking a little time to recover. The swelling of the lips, the contraction of the uterus which returns to its normal size or the lochia… So many inconveniences… completely normal.

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After a vaginal delivery, the vagina gradually recovers from the forceful passage caused by the arrival of a baby. "The cervix remains open for about a week, it can even show a slight tear which repairs spontaneously in the majority of cases", describes Pr René Frydman, obstetrician-gynecologist, in the book "Waiting for a child". “The vagina is swollen the first few days after childbirth. It will take almost a month for everything to be back to normal. The labia majora and labia minora have doubled in size. »

After childbirth, the uterus will contract to regain its appearance: large enough to accommodate a being of about 3 kg, it will return to its normal size... that of a pear of 50 to 100 g. During the 2 to 3 days following childbirth, these contractions are called trenches and result in “pains similar to those of colic”.

A bright red and regular discharge

The young mother also goes through the stage of lochia, vaginal discharge of blood. “They last 21 days on average, but this time varies a lot from one woman to another. “Where does this bleeding come from that we talk about very little? “Of the healing of the implantation of the placenta in the uterine cavity. Their appearance changes from day to day. First of a bright red color, they become darker. Likewise abundant at the beginning, they will be rarer over time. The end of the lochia is marked by "a light yellow or colorless discharge".

During lochia, wearing sanitary napkins or suitable diapers is recommended. Tampons are to be put aside because they would promote infection.

Note: after the lochia, any continuation of the discharge and/or bad odors must be the subject of a consultation with the gynecologist or the midwife to eliminate the risk of infection and/or the related complications to healing.