Self-Care After Delivery: 10 Small Things Every New Mom Deserves

After the baby arrives, the whole house turns towards the baby. Visitors ask about the baby. Gifts are for the baby. Every plan is about the baby.

And the mother? She is healing from delivery, barely sleeping, and often forgetting to eat. If this is you, please read on. Looking after yourself is not selfish. A mother who is rested and healthy can look after her baby better, too.

Here are ten small things that can really help. You don't have to do all of them. Start with one or two.

1. Sleep when the baby sleeps

It is the oldest advice, and it is hard to follow. Even so, try to lie down and rest when the baby sleeps. The dishes and the phone can wait. Short naps add up, and they help your body heal.

2. Eat properly, and on time

Your body is healing and, if you are breastfeeding, making milk. Skipping meals will make you weaker. Keep simple, filling food around, like dal, roti, vegetables, eggs, fruit and nuts. Ask your doctor if you need iron or calcium tablets, and take them only as advised.

3. Drink water all day

Keep a bottle or glass next to you wherever you sit to feed the baby. Many new mothers forget to drink, and then feel tired and get headaches or constipation.

4. Take care of your stitches or C-section wound

Keep the area clean and dry, and follow your doctor's instructions on how to wash and dress it. Don't lift heavy things. If the area becomes more painful, red, swollen, or starts to leak or smell bad, tell your doctor.

5. Be ready for the bleeding

Bleeding after delivery is normal and usually lasts around four to six weeks. It is heaviest at the start, then slowly becomes lighter. Keep clean and comfortable supplies close by so you don't have to get up and look for them, especially at night. Change often, and watch the flow.

6. Move gently

Slow walks around the house are usually good, once your doctor says you are fine to do them. Don't rush back to exercise or to heavy housework. Ask your doctor when you can start exercises for your belly and pelvic muscles.

7. Accept help, and ask for it

You don't have to do everything alone. Let your husband, mother or mother-in-law take over food, laundry and baby duty for a few hours. If someone says "tell me what you need," tell them. A clear answer like "please cook lunch today" is better than "I'm fine."

8. Say no to too many visitors

You are allowed to say, "She needs rest right now." You don't have to entertain guests, smile for photos or explain how you are feeling. Ask your family to be the gatekeepers.

9. Watch your mood

Many mothers feel weepy, anxious or overwhelmed in the first week or two. This is common and is often called the baby blues, and it usually passes. But if you feel very sad, hopeless or numb for more than two weeks, can't sleep even when the baby sleeps, feel you cannot care for yourself or your baby, or have any thoughts of harming yourself, please talk to your doctor right away. This can be treated, and it is nothing to be ashamed of.

10. Don't skip your check-up

Most doctors ask new mothers to come back around six weeks after delivery. Go, and ask all your questions about bleeding, pain, feeding, family planning and how you are feeling. Don't wait for something to go wrong.

Call your doctor straight away if you have

A pad full of blood in one hour

Clots bigger than a golf ball

Fever or chills

A bad smell from the discharge

Dizziness, fainting or a racing heartbeat

Severe pain in the belly, or in a stitch or wound

A small reminder

You don't have to be a perfect mother or bounce back quickly. Your body has done something big, and it needs time. Be as kind to yourself as you are to your baby.

Where Dreamease can help

The first weeks of heavy bleeding are tiring, especially at night. Our disposable period panty is made for this time. It covers fully and is quick to change, so you can rest more and worry less.

And if you have a question and don't know who to ask, you can talk to a gynaecologist on Dreamease for just ₹49.