What is an episiotomy? Definitions of episiotomy on the Web. Is a cut made in the skin between the birth canal and the anus. This area of skin is called the perineum. The cut is made so the baby can be delivered more easily.
Hopefully you will not have to have an episiotomy as this is a practice not used very often anymore. You will only find that this method is used when a mother is more than likely going to tear very badly during the birth of her newborn. Otherwise, chances are - this will not be something you will have to worry about having done.
I did have this procedure done on me for the birth of my first daughter and it was not even necessary; however, at that time it was still a much used preventative method. I was given a sterile hospital water bottle and a pain reliever that I applied directly to the wound. Think of hair mousse and how it foams out. It was very similar to that and it indeed did relieve the itching and pain from the stitches and pain. The doctor also suggested I take sitz baths to help speed up the healing process. Lastly, there is a no "sex until fully healed rule" to prevent tearing up the stitches and reopening the wound; which wasn't a problem since it would be painful anyways. I hated to have to go number two as this caused pain, so I had to take laxatives or eat/drink more fiber. And, the healing process took about 2-3 weeks for things to start to get back to normal for me.
So, in the mean time, lots of water bottle cleaning, foam treatments, and a few sitz baths, pain when going to the bathroom - even urinating was painful due to the acidicness in the urine.
As you can see the doctors had to weigh the risks and worth of this method when giving birth and it has been ruled that it is not needed unless there is no question the mother will tear badly. If a mom will only tear slightly or not at all - doctors will not perform this minor surgery as it has been found that the mother heals better without it.
Check out this great article for more information: http://www.pregnancy-info.net/breech_birth.html
When to call the doctor
Source:kidshealth.org You should call your doctor about your postpartum health if you:
experience an unexplained fever of 100.4° Fahrenheit (38° Celsius) or above
soak more than one sanitary napkin an hour, pass large clots, or if the bleeding level increases
had a C-section or episiotomy and the incision becomes more red or swollen or drains pus
have new pain, swelling, or tenderness in your legs
have hot-to-the-touch, reddened, sore breasts or any cracking or bleeding from the nipple or areola (the dark-colored area of the breast)
find your vaginal discharge has become foul-smelling
have painful urination or a sudden urge to urinate or inability to control urination
have increasing pain in the vaginal area
develop a cough or chest pain, nausea, or vomiting
become depressed or experience hallucinations, suicidal thoughts, or any thoughts of harming your baby
C-section:
Healing from a C-section
I have not had a c-section and cannot provide any personal knowledge. So, I did some online research and found this wonderful site it’s easy to read and does not have all kinds of ads causing you to have to go through 5 pages to read one article. :) This site even has support web links and 800#'s! http://www.ican-online.org/recovery/recovering-cesarean-tips-healing
When to call the doctor
Source: from the above link ican-online.org
Any bleeding in your incision. It can mean the surgical stitches have separated.
Unrelieved pain, or if the pain has increased.
Pus, leaking, redness and swelling in your incision, which can indicate an infection.
A fever can also suggest an infection, most likely in your incision.
Pain or cramping in your arms or legs that will not go away is a serious symptom and can suggest the presence of a blood clot. Other symptoms can include sudden swelling in the arm or leg, red or discolored skin, and skin that is warm to the touch.
Continuous headaches, dizziness or back pain could suggest after-effects of the anesthesia used during surgery.
Symptoms of postpartum depression can include tearfulness, anxiety, appetite changes, sleep problems, extreme fatigue, and difficulty focusing your thoughts, among others.
Both:
Weight loss
It may come to a surprise to many of you - but weight loss after birth is not as hard as many are told it is. Bottom line - if you took care of yourself and didn't overeat during your pregnancy and you opt-in to breastfeeding the pounds will just fall off very quickly as the baby nurses them away, plus nursing also stimulates the uterus healing, a faster shrinking uterus = smaller waistline sooner. One reason a woman may have trouble losing weight after birth is due to the fact she thought she was eating for two and figured she had to eat double of everything. When the truth is you're not eating for two full grown adults - you really only need about an extra 300 calories a day for most single birth healthy pregnancies; which is equal to about adding one cream cheese bagel to your menu a day. Seems odd, but it is true. Talk with your OB/Gyn or midwife on what is best for you and your baby. If you want to be pre-pregnancy weight or better, less than a year after the birth of your child, stick to a healthy diet and do not give into unhealthy cravings. Here are some healthy fixes that you can substitute your sinful cravings with: source: advancingwomen.com
Ice cream - opt for a nice cold fruit smoothie, non-fat frozen yogurt, sherbet/sorbet or popsicle;
Cola/Soda - flavored seltzer, mineral water with fruit juice or lime juice;
Doughnuts and pastries - whole-grain bagels or toasted bread with jam;
Potato chips - low-fat or baked chips, pretzels or light microwave popcorn;
Chocolate - have a few squares only, chocolate milk, fat-free hot cocoa or make some trial mix with a small handful of chocolate chips, dried fruits and nuts;
and, Cakes and cookies - low-fat banana-nut or zucchini bread or try an Angel food cake topped with fresh strawberries, Graham crackers with a little peanut butter. Suggestions to control your cravings:
Cravings lose their intensity while the pregnancy progresses. But here are some ways to help you manage your food yearnings:
1. Eat breakfast everyday to lessen the intensity of your cravings.
2. Understand your cravings to help find healthier substitutes for your food urges. Try to take time breaking your cravings down: What are you longing for: something cold, smooth, creamy, and sweet? This will aid you in identifying more nutritional substitutes.
3. Keep a food diary and review whether you're eating a balanced diet or not.
4. Work out to help you curb hunger.
5. Have lots of emotional support from loved ones.
6. Think small in terms of the amount of intake.
7. Always consult your doctor. While pregnant, keep in mind that this is no time for dieting but a time to experiment with foods and make eating fun as it should be. Have assortment in your foods, balance your diet well, and make eating fun, not weird. Lastly: Check out this site: Top Ten Ways to lose Unwanted Pregnancy Weight
Bleeding and Abdomen Healing
Abdomen pain after birth is generally normal and isn't usually that painful. It is just spasms from your abdomen contracting to allow your body to go back to its smaller shape. With the baby out of your body, there is no need for your abdomen to be stretched that large and so the inner healing process begins. Read More from this site..... If you gave birth vaginally you will have bleeding for about 2-3 weeks - to learn more go here....
Sleeping right
Ahhh... rest after having a baby - lol is this even possible! Yes it is! But, you need to be in control and work out a family and you schedule. If you have a partner in your life, it helps if they contribute to the schedule when they are home. Also, it is not just as important that you get much needed rest, it is also as important the baby get rest too. So, family just dropping by is not ok. Pre-make out a family visiting schedule and if you have to post a laminated copy on the front door. This way if someone decides to drop in during the day when you and baby are taking your much needed nap they can see your sign stating, “- no visitors during such and such times - as baby and mommy are taking their naps". You may also include - this means you too "Nana" or so and so, if you have one of those overbearing "rules don't apply to them" family members. You can even make it to where it shows when the visiting hours are. Get some great tips here: family.go.com
Eating Right
Eat healthy, balanced meals My recommendation is to eat good balanced meals that include fruits, vegetables, lean meats, fish or poultry, and low-fat or non-fat dairy products (your body will need lots of calcium). --S. Angel, R.D., M.Sc. Try sticking to only fruits and vegetables most of the week and "fleshy" meats only twice a week. I try very hard to make the effort to eat mostly fish and chicken when I do eat meats. --iVillager
Post Partum Depression
Are mood changes common after childbirth? After having a baby, many women have mood swings. One minute they feel happy, the next minute they start to cry. They may feel a little depressed, have a hard time concentrating, lose their appetite or find that they can't sleep well even when the baby is asleep. These symptoms usually start about 3 to 4 days after delivery and may last several days. If you're a new mother and have any of these symptoms, you have what are called the baby blues. The baby blues are considered a normal part of early motherhood and usually go away within 10 days after delivery. However, some women have more severe symptoms or symptoms that last longer than a few days. This is called postpartum depression. Read more......
I almost believe every family has at least one close relative who is guilty of thinking they can live your life and raise your children by far better than you can and do they love to express it. Truthfully, many parents have different parenting skills and some may think theirs is better and in reality, it is not or it is the same goose different color. I personally have had much advice given to me with all my children that was not asked for and I heard them out, but I still do things based on my personal research and not just the advice of one or another person who just doesn't agree with me for no real factual reason. To make things better, I have discussed many of these advice givers' and critics suggestions to professionals; like my doctor and their nurses, family counsilors and even did online reasearch and have found that in most all cases - I was in fact doing the right thing and the advice that was given to me was not always very good advice and should be disregarded. Many times those advice givers and critics give advice based on how they were raised and how their family did things and many of those family traditions have been found - not so good for kids - and those advice givers are so bent on being the smart ones, they generally never listen to what doctors or professionals these days have to say on the matter. They feel they are right and they will make sure you understand that and they are more upset if you hurt their feelings then if they hurt yours. It seems they feel their reasoning for hurting your feelings is justified and you shouldn't blame them for just trying to help. With that said: They really usually only mean the best - so do not give them a hard time. Here is a great site I read on this issue and I thought I would share it. http://stress.about.com/od/relationships/ht/handle_advice.htmAlso read:http://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/dealing.html
Its about presentation. Always involve your children in the new baby before it is born, have them read to your belly. Draw in a connection and bond before baby is born and when the baby is born have your children have an active role in helping and being a big brother/sister. If they feel they are important to the new baby and the new baby loves them so much, it is a blessing to them. Saying don't touch the baby, leave the baby alone, you will hurt the baby - will cause jealousies and worries to your children. Keeping them involved with baby will help bring the whole family together -
Your Top 10 Questions About Sleep—Answered! New parents often worry about their baby’s sleep: Is he sleeping too much or not enough? Is he in the right position? Where should he sleep? Don’t let these questions keep you up at night— the answers are easy once you know the basics. A newborn’s circadian rhythm, or internal clock that tells the body when to sleep, is not well developed at birth. As a result, he can sleep as easily during the day as he does at night. A normal, full-term newborn sleeps about 14 to 18 hours a day but rarely for more than a few hours at a time. And when he does sleep, he may twitch, smile, frown, make sucking movements or breathe irregularly. A lot of parents think that their baby isn’t sleeping well as a result, but this is totally natural. Around 2 to 3 months of age, sleep becomes more regular as the circadian rhythm kicks in. Babies become more aware of darkness and light, and feedings and nighttime routines begin to make their sleep and waking patterns seem more conventional. As your baby grows, he’ll need less sleep. At 2 to 6 months of age, most infants need 15 to 16 hours total each day and will sleep up to 6 hours at a time, but by 6 to 9 months, they can be down for up to 7 hours at a time. At 9 to 12 months, most babies sleep 14 to 15 hours a day and can sleep through the night for up to 10 to 12 hours. One or two daytime naps are usually fine. With these patterns in mind, read on for details. Read more from newborn.com.....
Awesome Video on Breastfeeding. Beware - this video does not concern with modesty.Burping Baby:
Diaper Changing
Babies should have their diaper changed every 2-3 hours. A good way remember this is to change baby right before you feed him. How to Use Cloth Diapers : How to Change Cloth Diapers on the RoadBasic Baby Care : How to Change a Baby's Diaper
5 mistakes parents make with newborns -- and how to avoid them
By Elizabeth Cohen CNN ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- When you take your bundle of joy home from the hospital, it's inevitable you won't do everything right. We asked pediatricians for the five most common mistakes parents make with their newborns. Read More.... Congratulations on the birth of your new baby!
To make sure your baby’s first week is safe and healthy, it is important that
1. Your baby is checked for jaundice in the hospital.
2. If you are breastfeeding, you get the help you need to make sure it is going well.
3. If your baby is discharged before age 72 hours, your baby should be seen by a doctor or nurse within 2 days of discharge from the hospital.
Jaundice in newborns
Q: What is jaundice?A: Jaundice is the yellow color seen in the skin of many newborns. It happens when a chemical called bilirubin builds up in the baby’s blood. Jaundice can occur in babies of any race or color. Read More questions and answers...
Foods to avoid while breastfeeding
Here I will list a few sites that I found very helpful.
Check with your insurance provider and your doctor’s office to find out if you have access to a 24 hour nurse line for questions. This is a great way to ask questions without having to call your doctor all the time. I have also listed "When to call your doctor" help in my site under different sections; such as: Labor and Delivery Q&A:. If you feel you are in an emergency situation you should always call 9-1-1!! Otherwise, if you truly are concerned - you should go ahead and call your doctor’s office and speak with a nurse who can help you and also speak with your doctor on what he/she wishes to have you do.
You should always keep your doctors business card with you and on your fridge or by your phone. Make sure to memorize the name of your doctor and their office, including the street address in case you have to call 411 or look it up online. When you call the doctor’s office ask to speak with a nurse that is associated with your doctor and let them know you have concerns about your pregnancy/newborn and want some help. They will assist you on what to do next in accordance to their ability.
What if you feel the doctor is wrong
Second guessing your doctor is not abnormal or wrong. You are trusting someone with your body and your unborn child, you can always request a second opinion by another doctor if you truly do feel that your doctor is missing something and unable to help you.
Truth is - most doctors do not get upset about patients getting a second opinion as long as the patient is mature about it and just isn't going around being rude and pushing an issue they want to be the case, even though the doctor is in fact right and it is too hard for the patient to take in.
So, take a breath and work with your doctor calmly and ask as many questions as you like. Take the information home, take time to absorb it, and it doesn't hurt to do some online research. Just don't go to a forum and look for people to tell you what you want to hear, many of those people do not have the same situation you may have and so without knowing everything - there advice may be misleading.
Feel free to contact a second doctor and ask for a second opinion - make sure to check with your insurance provider first on the way they require you to do this so that the charges are covered.
Remember, in most cases your doctor will be right. But, doctors are human and also rely on their nurses and staff to help them and in some cases they can be wrong.
I speak in first hand experience - My now 9 year old daughter would have been dead at 6 days of age if I didn't push the doctor and hospital into checking her out and admitting her back into the hospital. They kept telling me after my 3rd visit in a row to the emergency room that nothing was wrong with her and on that visit I refused to leave and said she is not healthy. They called me a bad mother and I was going to put undue pain and stress on my newborn - but finally they had her checked out and much to their surprise she had pneumonia and breathing problems and needed to be admitted to the pediatric ward and she was there for 2 1/2 weeks. I was later told she would have died in a day or two if I had not pushed the issue.
I do not encourage everyone to not trust your doctors; just don't ignore your instincts either. Get informed, ask questions, and follow your heart.
Here is a piece from the article above stated by pediatricians themselves - "5 mistakes parents make with newborns -- and how to avoid them"
Not trusting your instincts Our pediatricians said too many new parents don't trust their inner voice. "It's all about listening to yourself and trusting yourself," says Dr. Lisa Thebner, a pediatrician in New York City. "But when you're getting a lot of feedback from nannies and friends, it can be hard to block out all that white noise."
If you don't trust yourself, you could be putting your baby in danger, says Madden, who's chair of pediatrics at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland, and associate clinical professor of pediatrics at George Washington Medical Center in Washington.
"I've had parents who have a feeling their baby is sick, but people around them say the baby is fine," she says. "So even though their instinct says something's wrong, they wait way too long to bring the baby in to the doctor because people reassured them."
And here are three more mistakes parents of newborns make, according to our experts :
•They put their babies to sleep on their sides or stomachs. (The American Academy of Pediatrics says the back is best to avoid Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.)
• They don't vaccinate their babies even though the pediatric academy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and virtually every scientific organization recommends it.
• They don't bring a baby with a fever to see the pediatrician. Any newborn with a fever needs to be evaluated by a doctor.
What you need to know about SID's
SIDS stands for sudden infant death syndrome, a term used to describe the sudden and unexplained death of a baby younger than 1 year. Some people call it crib death, because most babies are found in their cribs, but cribs do not cause SIDS. Get the facts...
This is a controversial subject - my personal experiance has taught me to advise against it. I did co-sleep for a short period of time with my first daughter. This lead to me not sleeping well as I fell asleep and woke up in the same position as I did not want to roll onto my daughter. Keep in mind - SIDS is linked to co-sleeping and it takes just a small movement of your arm (for example) to slightly cover baby's nose and mouth and your precious little one is so small they can't move enough to wake you and let you know they are sufficating.
That seems to be the biggest worry - your bed has a blanket and pillows etc... all which are known causes of SIDS. Taking a baby to bed with you does not decrease the risk of SIDS, it increases it.
I really like those bedside cribs or bassinetts. You can have newborn with you in your room next to your bed, with out risking sufficating your baby. Plus, since they learn to sleep in their own place, this makes transistion to their own bed much easier.
Just like us, babies have varying sleep requirements. Just like us, babies are individuals, and this goes for sleep requirements too. It may help you to know that in most infant sleep studies, “all night” is defined as five hours. If you are thinking that even five hours of uninterrupted sleep would be a dream come true, here are some gentle strategies you can try to help your baby (and you) to sleep better: Read more.... 15 Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep
Bathing Baby
Bathing Newborn Baby:
Caring for the umbilical cord
Highlights What's the purpose of the umbilical cord? How long will my baby have an umbilical stump? Does the stump require special care? What are the signs of infection? Read more...
