How long does it take to defecate after giving birth?

Generally speaking, women need to defecate within 24 hours after giving birth, but most women will experience constipation after giving birth. Therefore, you must defecate in time after giving birth. If constipation occurs, you can eat some bananas or dragon fruit appropriately, which can easily promote defecation. Timely ventilation and defecation are needed after giving birth, otherwise it will cause health problems and be harmful to your health.

Causes of postpartum constipation

1. Lack of activity and poor diet

Postpartum women stay in bed for a long time, have less activity, poor appetite, eat less, have less feces, and have less stimulation to the intestinal wall, so their gastrointestinal motility is slow. This is the main cause of postpartum constipation.

2. Less stomach acid after childbirth

The amount of hydrochloric acid in the postpartum gastric juice is reduced and cannot effectively stimulate gastrointestinal motility.

3. Relaxation of abdominal and pelvic muscles

The mother's abdominal muscles and pelvic floor muscles relax, abdominal pressure decreases, and she becomes weak during bowel movements.

4. Surgical scars

Postpartum perineal laceration, or wounds from episiotomy or cesarean section, as well as hemorrhoids that cause pain and inability to exert force, can lead to difficulty in defecation.

What to do with postpartum constipation

1. Use laxatives

It is not advisable to use strong laxatives for postpartum constipation to avoid diarrhea, which will affect the health of the mother and milk secretion.

You can use some laxatives in moderation under the doctor's advice. The most commonly used one is fruit laxative tablets, one tablet per night, before going to bed.

2. Abdominal massage

Massage the abdomen in a clockwise motion around the navel. Do it 2-3 times a day, each time for no less than 10 minutes, to stimulate gastrointestinal motility.

3. Diet therapy

(1) Sesame, walnut and honey paste

Ingredients: 60 grams each of black sesame seeds, walnut kernels and honey.

Method: First, crush the black sesame seeds and walnut kernels and grind them into a paste. After cooking, add honey and take it twice a day.

Efficacy: This method can lubricate the intestines and facilitate bowel movements.

(2) Perilla and Sesame Seed Porridge

Ingredients: 20 grams of perilla seeds and hemp seeds, 200 grams of polished rice, and 30 grams of white sugar.

Preparation method: Mash the perilla seeds and sesame seeds, soak them in water and stir them. Put the juice into the pot, add the washed rice and cook into porridge for consumption.

Efficacy: It can relieve gas and stagnation, moisten the intestines and promote bowel movements, and invigorate qi and strengthen the stomach. It is suitable for postpartum constipation. Since the diet therapy recipe contains Perilla seeds which can relieve gas, it is more suitable for those who also have abdominal bloating.

4. Tea therapy

(1) Senna leaf brown sugar drink

Take 6 grams of Chinese medicine senna leaves, add appropriate amount of brown sugar, soak with boiling water, and drink frequently instead of tea.

(2) Honey tea

Put an appropriate amount of tea leaves into a small cloth bag. Put it in a teacup, pour boiling water into it, and then add appropriate amount of honey.

Drinking this tea can quench thirst, nourish blood, moisten the lungs and benefit the kidneys, and can also treat constipation, spleen and stomach disharmony, pharyngitis and other symptoms.

5. Anal lifting exercise

Anal lifting method (can be done while sitting, lying or standing): When inhaling, pull the anus inward and upward, tighten the anus, and relax when exhaling. Relax and tighten the anus 30 times each time, once in the morning and once in the evening. If you can take the chest-knee position (kneeling on both knees, chest against the bed, and hips raised) and do anal lifting exercises, the effect will be better.

Efficacy: Anal lifting exercises can improve local blood circulation, improve the function of the anal sphincter, prevent anal relaxation, and are effective in preventing and treating hemorrhoids, constipation and prolapse of the anus.