after the birth

[littlemomma]

With my last child, I had a homebirth. After his birth, I felt very dizzy and like I could faint if I wasn't lying down. I was filthy and depressed and tired. Everytime I sat up I gushed blood. I had labored all through the night, everything went perfectly, and he was born in the am. He had needs from the moment he was born. He nursed like he was starving, he cried like he was pissed off, he pooped meconium in little spirts rather than all at once, he didn't really sleep.

My first child, hospital birth, I felt sooo good and happy after I had him. I didn't bleed too much- totally managable. He slept and slept and slept for days. I did have an epi, so I guess that may have contributed. I felt rested and even put make-up on and blew dry my hair to leave the hospital!!! With number 2, I didn't get out of bed for probably a week. I had crazy dreams when I did sleep. It was like a huge fog.

For future children, I want to have a hb again for many reasons, but I am wondering if my pp experience is because I was at home and not at a hosptial. I almost wish I could have a baby at home and then go to the hospital afterward.

It seems like the norm that people take showers after their births. I had to crawl, literally, to the bathroom to pee. There is no way I could have showered.

What does this sound like to y'all? What do you do to ensure a healthy/happy postpartum time.

I am planning on eating placenta this time. What else?

[dogmom327]

I think every birth is different. With DS I felt like you did with your second child. Be sure to have helpful people around (even just a good MW and DH is enough) who are willing to wait on you hand and foot. Have some pick-me-up foods available for immediately after--something you like. My MW brought some candy for me to suck on but it wasn't anything I liked. I know that sounds picky but I didn't feel good and sucking on gross candy doesn't help.

Remember that it's just as likely you will be fine after this birth!

[brendaziz]

Well there are a ton of factors that could contribute to this difference. Every birth is different and I think that you could feel different after each birth even if they were exactly the same.
It seems natural to me though to find the hospital helped you feel better physically- b/c there is extra help to take care of you and the baby. The epi may have something to do with the baby's different temperaments- but it could have nothing to do with it also- b/c every baby is just different.
Also, some women find the 2nd time recovery to be worse b/c you have another child in your life to care for- or at least worry about. That might play a role.
I'm sorry that your pp experience last time around was less than ideal to say the least. Just try and plan ways to get extra rest and maybe a little extra help with your kiddos and the new baby pp. It could be the same as the last or way better. You just never know. I'm sorry if my words aren't too encouraging :-) But I'm sure regardless you'll get through it all and be stronger for the experience. Here's hoping for an easy as possible time though!

[babsbob]

I had two homebirths and I felt worse after my second birth too.

You may have lost more blood at the homebirth, which was why you felt so dizzy. At the hospital I think it is standard procedure to inject you with something to stop the bleeding and it is usually homebirth midwives do not use drugs like this. It is really important to replace fluids with recharge/gatorade and regain your strength with good food and lots of rest. This is hard to do with two kids. My second didn't sleep for very long periods of time either but as long as we were cuddled up nursing it was okay.

[kkfum]

i felt very dizzy after my birth at a free-standing birth center. i couldn't walk two steps w/o feeling like i was going to pass out and i didn't lose a lot of blood. the midwife ended up giving me a liter of fluid through an iv and then i was fine. i was dehydrated. i hadn't really drank or ate anything in a day and a half. so, i'm assuming that at the hospital you were hooked up to an iv. just make sure you continually drink water/sports drink throughout the labor, even if you don't want to. force yourself (or have someone force you!).

and i think every baby is different, in terms of high needs, sleep, etc.....as for not getting out of bed for a week, that's exactly what my midwife prescribed for me. i was not to get out of bed (except to go to the bathroom!) for a week. which i was happy to do and lucky enough to have dh at home to help!

[Lemon Juice]

I am having my 1st homebirth and my mw has me making a few drinks to have for during labor and for after to prevent getting dizzy and the "shakes". She suggested to have 1qt. of this ready in a few containers. So I am going to use the empty glass jars of organic juice that are 1qt in size and will put the drink in a few of those to have on hand. This is in place of gatorade and a more natural option.

She suggests making RRL tea or plain water with some sea salt, honey, and lemon juice. She calls this her juice recharge and it replaces your electrolytes preventing you from feeling this way. I hope it works! On my ddc this was suggested by some hb'ing mamas:

Labor-Aide
courtesy of Elizabeth Davis, Heart and Hands

1 quart fluid (water)

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking soda

2 crushed calcium tablets

My mw said eating Miso soup and broth as well..so we have those on hand too. As for bleeding mabye this time try some Depends type pants to prevent gushing all over and that might help you feel better since you won't leak as easily? Was the hb a waterbirth? You might feel cleaner if you go that way jic you don't have the energy to shower. But I think most mamas draw a bath w/ herbs to help w/ PP. So if you crawl over to pee..then maybe have someone help lift you into the tub and draw a bath? Have you considered a PP doula to help out afterwards?

I am also consuming the placenta and other methods to avoid the blues and PPD. Like Rescue Remedy & Skullcap, plenty of vit B and D, essential fatty acids, and Arnica. Also taking some of the placenta right away in a smoothie form until the capsules are ready is what I plan to do.

HTH and

[madiesmommy]

I had a hospital birth with dd, and a home birth with ds. Much like you, I remember being up and about within hours of dd and I struggled a lot more with ds. I think alot of the difference was the epi numbed alot more than I thought with dd, I was hooked to pit which controlled the bleeding (which explains my insane clotting afterwards), and I think they gave me more pain killers after to keep me "happy" after birth.

With my home birth, I was sitting the birth pool thinking how sore I felt and how much I hurt. I had a hard time getting up to birth the placenta (couldn't push it out in the pool). I crawled up the stairs and had to be stitched....the lidacaine didn't work. I felt dizzy, sick...and all I took for pain was 2 tyelnol twice a day. This continued for 3 days. The mw came back for my 3rd day check and I told her I felt awful, like I'd been hit by a bus and that I was not doing well. She said that was normal and that I was fine. Some of how I felt was my milk coming in (it came in in 24 hours!), I did loose a good bit of blood (I am a bleeder, always have been) and that I would start to feel better. She was right, from that point I felt better... The 1st three days I felt like hell but after that I think I healed faster than with dd.

That being said, I would not birth any other way. Next time I am going to encapsulate the placenta. I know it won't help with the first 3 days, but I don't think I can eat a placenta smoothie. I also am going to birth on the same level as my bed and bath tub. I really wanted a bath but did not have the energy or strength after I went upstairs. I did pretty good staying in bed for those 3 days (I did NOT even go downstairs) and next time I think we will make sure someone is around to help with the kids so DH can wait on me as needed. Or I will hire a post partum doula to wait on me and baby. I also will do a better job with my sitz baths and my after ease...I felt so bad I did not make myself do these. And I WILL take my thyroid meds no matter where I am in labor. I totally forgot that morning!

I hope you find the secret so you can pass it on

[MsBlack]

Did you have any postpartum care from your midwife? It sounds like you did bleed too much after the birth--at least, bled too much for you. Maybe it wasn't so much right after, but then you had more bleeding than is healthy in the days following. I ask if your mw was around because many of them will visit at least 2-3 times in the first days/weeks to check on things like bleeding, how you're feeling generally, how to feel better if you're not feeing pretty good--things like that.

Of course, it is always important to have some downtime in the weeks following a birth--this is especially true if you already have little ones around. Getting some care for the other kids lined up--whether your partner takes time off work, relatives come, you hire a sitter or pp doula--this is so important. Birthing and bonding, starting breastfeeding, all this takes a LOT of energy on all levels! You need to know that along with some daily breaks from the kids so you can just rest and be with baby, that also all household chores are taken care of by others for a week or 2 at least. It would be great if you had at least a little help for a whole month (reducing each week, maybe). If you can be totally non-responsible for the kids and household for a full week, then only partialy responsible for another couple of weeks, this really helps with recovery--the bleeding stops sooner, your energy comes back, you regain strength more readily. It always takes longer to make that full recovery if you never really get some time for it.

anyway--maybe you need to have a plan for your next postpartum time that allows for you to rest and recover. And maybe you need to stay in closer touch with your mw, so you can get some help/advice on things like the amount of bleeding and such. If your mw is not one who gives much pp care, then maybe you need to find one who does--or a pp doula or something. EVen if a birth goes perfectly fine, I find that most moms need at least a little pp support--and many of them benefit from it quite a lot.

[BrooklynDoula]

I agree with MsBlack - it sounds like you did not have enough support pp and there should have been more attention paid to your bleeding/enery level/faint feelings. The midwives around here usually see someone at 24 hours and again at 1 week (and more if needed) plus I see them at 2-3 days pp and more if needed, so they end up with a minimum of 3 visits in the first week and more if things (like what happened to you) come up.

Sorry you had such a bad experience. I hope next time is better.

[boscopup]

I would guess that the excess bleeding is what made you feel that way. I didn't bleed nearly that much in my homebirth, and I was able to walk to the bathroom and take a quick shower and such. I felt pretty normal the following day.

I would talk to your midwife about ways to prevent excessive bleeding next time.

As far as the baby goes... My baby cried for 3 hours after he was born, and he wouldn't nurse during this time. Finally, he opened one eye, looked around, and stopped crying. He then nursed and was quiet and normal the rest of the time. He opened his other eye the next day. I think for him, it was just his temperament... he wanted to see what was going on around him!

[sandy'smama]

I am sorry to hear you felt so rotten.
My experiences were totally the oposite, my ds born in hospital with epi, stayed in for a week had lots of help and felt awful physically and mentaly for months afterwards, ds was also high needs from the word go. My dd born at home very quickly, drug and pain free, she was really mellow and slept and nursed like a champ from the start. Couple of hours after birth I decided to get up and fix myself some food as I was starving and felt I could move mountains anyway!

So I agree that no matter what arrangements you make every birth is different I would suggest you maybe bled excessively which made you so unwell.
Drink RRL tea, it has iron in it as well as other good things and have something on hand to stop bleeding if it is too much (herbal or otherwise). My midwifes had pictocin injections in case I bled too much, stored in my fridge a couple of weeks before my dates. I was a bit shakey just after the birth apparently because it was so quick so I got loaded with sweet tea and yummy cookies to quickly raise my blood sugar and it really helped. Midwifes stayed for over 2 hours helped me to get myself clean and tidied the room a bit and fluffed up the bed etc.
Hope it all turns out well for you in future.

[phatchristy]

I've heard exactly the opposite comments from most people it seems. In my case, all three of my births have been at home. After the initial meet the baby and bonding time I have always been able to shower right afterwards (hense not feeling gross). I think they still sort of were there in case I wasn't steady though. I do remember moving very slow, but never remember being dizzy. With my third, DS came out posterior and my crotch felt SO bruised (ouch)...much more than with my first two!

How are your iron levels? Perhaps you did bleed more than usual at your last birth which caused you to have a longer recovery time. I believe I have always had less than average blood loss here. I also have very good iron levels and do take herbs near the end. With my last couple of births I actually also took floradix at the end to ensure really good iron and a smooth recovery. The mws seem to think that red raspberrry leaf tea helps moms with uterine toning as well. Just some thoughts on things that may help.

[sdejje]

I'm guessing that your blood loss was the problem. I've had four babies with minimal bleeding and great recoveries, and one baby with lots of bleeding and an absolutely miserable recovery. Apparently not having any blood in you is a bad thing. Who knew?