How to restore the four private parts of women

After giving birth, when a new life is born, the mother enters the postpartum recovery stage. This recovery means that the mother herself must restore all aspects of the body, including the reproductive organs, caused by pregnancy and childbirth. Here we will introduce to you how to recover the four major private parts after childbirth?

Private Part 1: How to restore the uterus to its original size after childbirth

Q: Ms. Huang from Hangzhou: Does the uterus return to its original size after giving birth? If not, how long does it take to recover?

A: From the moment the fetus is delivered from the mother's body after 10 months of gestation, the baby begins his own life. However, the little house inside the mother's body - the uterus, will not return to its original state all at once. Now that its sacred mission has been completed, it needs more care and attention so that it can recover its health as soon as possible.

After delivery, as the placenta is expelled, the size and weight of the uterus will gradually return to its original state. However, this process takes about 6 weeks.

When the uterus recovers, the unnecessary contents inside the uterus will be discharged. This discharge is called lochia and lasts for about 3-4 weeks. Initially, red blood is discharged from the placenta, which turns brown after a few days and yellow after a few weeks. The color change is unpredictable because blood loss can vary during this time. The most common are small blood clots. Normally lochia does not have a bad odor. If you notice a large clot, persistent or extreme loss, or a foul odor, you must tell your midwife or doctor about this. This means there is an infection inside the uterus and it should be treated.

In order to restore the uterus well, the mother should pay attention to the following aspects

1. Urinate promptly after delivery

It is important to urinate promptly after delivery to prevent the bladder from becoming over-inflated or often in a distended state.

2. Avoid lying down for a long time during the postpartum period

6 to 8 hours after delivery, the mother can sit up after her fatigue is eliminated, and can get out of bed and move around the next day. This is beneficial to the recovery of the body's physiological functions and physical strength, and helps the uterus recover and discharge lochia.

When resting in bed, try to lie on your left or right side and avoid lying on your back to prevent the uterus from tilting backwards. If the uterus has already tilted backwards, you should do the knee-chest position to correct it.

3. Breastfeeding after childbirth

Breastfeeding is not only very beneficial to the baby's growth and development, but the baby's sucking stimulation will reflexively cause uterine contractions, thereby promoting uterine recovery.

4. Pay attention to genital hygiene

Pay attention to vaginal hygiene after delivery to avoid causing genital tract inflammation, which will further affect the recovery of the uterus.

Private Part 2: How to recover vaginal and pelvic floor tissue after childbirth

Q: Ms. Wang from Shanghai: I really want to know what changes have taken place in the vagina and pelvic floor tissues after childbirth? Can they return to their pre-pregnancy state?

A: Due to pregnancy, it is inevitable that the vulva, vagina and pelvic floor tissues have undergone certain changes. The following explains their changes and recovery one by one.

1. Changes and recovery of vulva

After delivery, mild edema of the vulva may occur, which will disappear on its own within 2 to 3 weeks. If you pay attention to local cleaning and care, mild lacerations or perineal incisions can generally heal within 4 to 5 days. If the perineum is severely lacerated or the wound is infected, the incision dehiscence will increase the pain of the mother and it will take 2 weeks or even 1 month to heal.

2. Vaginal changes and recovery

During delivery, as the fetus passes through the vagina, the vaginal wall is stretched, causing swelling and many small wounds. You will feel stinging pain when urinating 1-2 days after delivery, and it will recover after 1 week. Generally speaking, the enlarged vagina will tighten one day after delivery.

After delivery, the vagina expands and the vaginal wall muscles relax and become less tense. The vaginal mucosal folds disappear due to excessive stretching during childbirth. During the postpartum period, vaginal muscle tone gradually recovers, but cannot fully reach the pre-pregnancy level. Mucosal folds begin to reappear about 3 weeks after delivery.

3. Changes and recovery of pelvic floor tissue

Private Part 3: How to recover breasts after childbirth

Q: Ms. Zhou from Beijing: On the second day after giving birth, I felt my breasts were extremely swollen and tender. Sometimes the lymph nodes under the arms may become swollen and painful, and there may be sagging breasts. What is going on? How can it be avoided?

A: The key to preventing breasts from becoming soft and no longer firm due to childbirth is for the mother to take good care of herself.

Some people believe that breastfeeding makes their breasts saggy, but the opposite is true. Practice has shown that breastfeeding can better promote breast recovery.

But it should be noted that the breastfeeding posture must be correct.

1. Don't let the baby too close to your chest. When he is in the right position and starts sucking, you will find that his temples and ears will tremble slightly. If the baby is positioned correctly, the nipples should not be sore or swollen.

2. Place one hand flat on your ribs under your chest to support your chest. Avoid applying pressure to the top of the breast, as this is likely to change the direction of the nipple and cause blockage of the milk duct.

3. Each time you breastfeed, you should switch to a different breast. Feeding your baby on different breasts at different times can help avoid putting too much pressure on one breast.

4. Before breastfeeding, sprinkle some warm water on your chest to help the secretion of milk. This way the baby doesn't have to struggle to suck milk from a hard and painful nipple.

5. If your breasts become hard, you can squeeze out the milk with your hands to make it easier for the baby to suck.

6. After breastfeeding, wipe the breasts with a cold towel to constrict blood vessels and reduce breast swelling.

7. Gently squeeze the swollen nipples. This is a simple and easy way to do it.

8. Wearing a suitable bra can make your breasts feel comfortable. Until it is close to the pre-pregnancy state, otherwise it cannot be restored to its original state.

Private Part 4: Changes and Recovery of Pelvic Muscles after Childbirth

Q: Ms. Zhou from Changchun: I heard that after giving birth, the pelvic muscles will become fragile due to extreme expansion, so it is necessary to exercise these muscles as much as possible. But how can we make this part firm again?

A: To answer the above question, let us first have a brief understanding of the structure of the pelvis.

The pelvis is a bowl-shaped skeleton consisting of two large hip bones: the ilium, the ischium, and the pubis. Below the sacrum of the spine, there are four small bones that make up the coccyx.

The main function of the pelvis is to support the body's structure while protecting the uterus and bladder. The floor of the pelvis is made up of a layer of muscle called the pelvic muscles. The pelvic muscles are divided into three layers, namely the inner layer, the middle layer and the outer layer, which are connected from the pubic bone to the coccyx and pass through the hip bones on both sides.

There are three outlets in the pelvic muscles. One is the urethral outlet extending from the bladder, located in the front; the other is the anal opening extending from the large intestine, located in the back; the third is the vaginal opening extending from the uterus, located in the center.

The outer layer of pelvic muscles forms a ring at the outlet, called the sphincter, which allows these outlets to close tightly, especially when the abdomen is exerted, when laughing, coughing or sneezing.

During pregnancy, the pelvis supports the weight of the fetus, the placenta, and some extra fluid in the expanding uterus. After childbirth, these muscles are extremely expanded and fragile, so in order to restore them to a strong state, you need to exercise them as much as possible.

Some women worry that tightening these muscles may cause pain after a laceration or episiotomy. In fact, this worry is completely unnecessary. When you tighten and relax these muscles, you can enhance blood circulation in this area and promote the healing process. These wounds will not be harmed by exercise, so it is best to start exercising as soon as possible.