After Labor recovery

[caitryn]

Forgive me, please, if this is in the wrong spot...

I am looking for suggestions on what to do for pain relief and such after giving birth vaginally.

Some of the stitched areas seem to be getting better, but there's one in particular that is still causing a good deal of pain. I am to the point of being scared to death of going to the bathroom. I actually cried earlier, and I didn't even do that while in labor.

I have been using dermoplast(sp?) spray, Tylenol, and the occasional witch hazel "pad." I have a bottle to spray the area with water after going.

The hospital sent me home with a tub to put in the toilet and and an IV bag sort of thing for sitz(sp?) baths, but I don't understand how that is supposed to help since all I was told to use was plain warm water? Am I missing something somewhere?

I'm incredibly confused, and it's a good thing my husband is home to help with the baby. Sometimes I start hurting to the point that I can't just jump up when the baby might need me (which makes me feel like a bad mommy).

For all I know, this is compounded by the fact that I have interstitial cystitis. It's pretty much been in remission throughout the pregnancy, but I don't know if that is effecting acidic levels and such which would make this hurt more.

I also feel like an incredible wimp for having to post this.

Any help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[KD's Momma]

Congratulations on the birth of your sweet baby!!:

Don't feel like a wimp momma, we all deal with pain and heal in different ways. I didn't ever have any stitches with my deliveries but I had a skid mark with my first that left me screaming at times. I used the sitz bath to pee in - seriously - it hurt so bad to pee but if I sat in warm water and peed in it, no pain. I also had a pp tea that I got to soak in also that seemed to help alot. I used motrin and arnica (sp) for the pain after delivery. I have also read of people using calendula soaks and comfry teas. I hope some of the other posters can help more.

[wombatclay]

HUGS! And congrats on your babe!

You are not a wimp! No way! So hang in there and hopefully some of this will help...

If most of the stitches feel fine but one area or stitch hurts more now than it did... please have your midwife, OB, or regular care provider check it. It may be fine but it could be infected or there could be a cyst forming. It's a quick check and if it's an infection they can treat it... and if it's a matter of a "tight stitch" they can cut it to releave the pressure. It could be you just need time, but get it checked since there could be a "quick fix".

Sitz bath- you don't really need to use the "iv bag"... just fill the bath with warm/hot water and sit in it! Some mamas (like pp) find it's the only way to pee in comfort, and the warm/hot water will help speed healing (the heat increases blood flow and helps the tissue relax at the same time. You can use plain water, or add some epsom salt, comfrey, ginger, or garlic to the water and make a sort of "tea". And you can buy "bottom teas" too...

I used witch hazel pads with EVERY bathroom visit for months. And you can spray yourself with the bottle while urinating.... this dilutes the urine so it doesn't hurt as much on the sutures, and it also "distracts" the nerves a bit (again reducing discomfort). And then you can spray again afterwards and blot dry. The pain relieving spray is nice but don't over use it... it just numbs the skin a bit and you can injure yourself further by not "noticing" that you're doing too much. So just be aware when you use it!


Anyway, this may be more info than you need, but since I had a really big tear/repair I put together a list of all the tissue healing ideas people gave me (here on mdc, and IRL). Here they are!

Right off the bat:
---Alterate warm with cold. Although the cold packs will reduce swelling you also want to encourage circulation, which is what a warm pack does. Start out with cold packs, but after the first hour or two (12 hours max) start alternating a warm chem pack, heated rice sock, or warm cloth with the cold pack.

---for the cold/warm therapy, make an herbal tea (see sitz bath ideas below). Soak clean wash cloths or fabric menstrual pads in the herbal blend then freeze or place in a crock pot (depending on whether you want cold or hot). Use these instead of the "glove full of crushed ice" the hospital offers.

---Rock Rose and Star of Bethlehem are Bach Flower Remedies that address shock, trauma, and birth injury. Rescue Remedy is great for any birth, but start taking Star of Bethlehem and Rock Rose as soon as possible... even during suturing!

---homeopathic arnica, 200c, taken orally every 15 minutes on the first day, then 3-4x a day. Again, safe to start during suturing.


After the first few hours:
---sitz baths! At least twice a day for 15 minutes (though I found that a sitz bath before/after every bathroom visit was very helpful during the first weeks... and I even nursed while sitting on the toilet topper sitz bath). An herbal blend can be purchased or make your own. For example, epsom salt, sea salt, lavender, calendula, rosemary, comfrey, uva ursi, garlic, shepherd's purse, or ginger in any combo can be added to the hot water. One recipe (if you want a recipe) is:

2 oz Uva Ursi
2 oz Comfrey
2 oz Shepherd's Purse
1/2 cup sea salt
2 or 3 bulbs garlic
Put the herbs into an 8-qt pot filling with water 1/2 to 2/3 up the side. Bring to a boil, immediately reduce to simmer and set timer for 20 minutes. In meantime break garlic bulbs into cloves and peel. When timer dings, pour *tea* into another pot covered by strainer or colander. While drawing bath mash garlic (bottom of cast iron pan works great) and add sea salt and mashed garlic to tea.

---use some of the sitz bath "tea" in a peri bottle for bathroom visits

---"Sun your Bum": Use the sitz bath for 10-15 minutes. Then smear the healing tissue with topical aloe vera gel. Lay down on the bed so that your nekkid bum is sticking up, hopefully in a sun beam. Wait 5-10 minutes then get dressed or take another sitz bath. (this made a HUGE difference for me... days when I didn't sun were much more painful).

---keep your legs together! Don't do things where the tissue is "pulled" against for a few weeks. Be careful getting into and out of cars, or walking up and down stairs, to make sure your legs stay together.

---some mamas like those donut pillows, but a pillow or cushion made from memory foam may be better. Donut pillows allow the healing tissue to "sag" while the memory foam provides some support. If you do choose a donut pillow, try not to use it for more than a few weeks before moving to a more supportive pillow.

---along with topical aloe vera gel (look in a natural food store for the kind sold as a beverage, it's usually purer than the other brands) applied 1-2x a day to the healing tissue, try patting the healing tissue with honey (a little honey, dabbed on, then "tapped" so that the skin pulls a little with your finger tips) or smooshing on some plain (no added sugar) yogurt. You can leave them in place or rinse them off (rinse off or rinse in a sitz bath).


In general:
---Add more protien to your diet. It takes protien to build new tissue and you're building tissue on top of dealing with a new baby, possibly older kiddos, the rest of the world, etc. So try eating whole foods, in season, with a bit more protien than you'd normally have.

---Take a prenatal multivitamin (with iron, you're building tissue after all and probably have some blood loss due to the tear). Add flax or cod liver oil. Take a probiotic or eat live culture yogurt (plain, without sugar).

---scar massage: rub firmly across the scar, then along the scar. Rub in little circles along the scar and then "roll" the scar between your fingers (insert a finger vaginally so you're "holding" the scar between your fingers). The goal is to lift the scarred tissue off the underlying muscles so adhesions are minimized and pain is reduced. Although some people suggest doing this dry, I think vitamin e oil or aloe gel is a good addition to the scar massage.

---Belly Dance! It sounds odd, but the gentle stretching and increased blood flow to the pelvic area that comes from belly dance is a good healer. In addition, some people feel that genital trauma or birth injury can cause the body to "shut down" the pelvic area. Basically the body responds to the pain by isolating the area, but re-integration of the pelvic area isn't automatic. You need to encourage the body to re-integrate. Belly dance and gentle yoga (svaroopa or kundalini) that encourage focus and awareness of the pelvic muscles while stretching/enhancing blood flow encourages the body to heal on more than just the physical level.

---Tapping, kundalini yoga, chiropractic, acupuncture/acupressure or other energy work. Many traditions believe that there are "energy lines" in the human body. Alternate health therapies like acupuncture, reiki, and some chiropractic schools focus on these channels. Many traditions teach that the perineal area is the root chakra, or that lines of energy flow through this area. Tears damage the energy chanels and chakras as well as the physical tissue so spending some time restoring energy flow can help you heal completely.

[caitryn]

Thank you so much, you two! I don't know what all will actually work for me yet, but at least now I have somewhere to start. I didn't know until now that I didn't have to use the IV bag, for instance. That will make dealing with the tub and clean up afterwards a bit easier. Also, thanks for the reminder to keep taking my prenatal vitamins.

I am going to have to be as careful as possible from now on. My mom actually told me I shouldn't be doing half as much running around as I was so soon after getting out of the hospital. All I had been warned about by my doctor was not to lift anything heavier than the baby for a while. There were no other restrictions on movement from what I can remember. Now I'm starting to see why people were so surprised to see me at the grocery store so soon after giving birth. Maybe the doctor and nurses just assumed that having stitches would mean I would know not to do too much?

I also didn't know that it would be best to keep my legs closer together. There have been times so far where I would sit in some very un-ladylike positions in hopes of easing my discomfort. (Naturally, those didn't really seem to help either.)

I guess the next question would involve bm. I tried peeing in the sitz bath which seemed the help the first time. Unfortunately, the two times after that, I couldn't seem to control the other. It's not alot, but definitely enough to scare me and be painful to clean up. (Makes me wonder if I have/had another hemorrhoid.)

Mom says the worst of this should be over in a couple of weeks. Tomorrow will mark the end of week 1. Things should start to get better, right? Hopefully so since the hubby has to go back to work, which will leave me trying to manage everything on my own for 10 hours a day. I had already gotten used to having his help all the time.

[wombatclay]

Hopefully you'll be feeling better soon... one week is still really soon, your body is still recovering and it's a good idea to take the time you need to heal. In some cultures a new mama isn't even allowed out of bed for several weeks! I'm not saying you should stay in bed, but do try to take things slowly and just enjoy cuddling with your babe...they need you more or less 24/7 right now and the first few weeks are prime "cuddle snuggle sleep" weeks. It promotes bonding and happy babe while at the same time helping you heal and recover!

For BM... if you poo in the sitz bath just stand up, dump the bath in the toilet, rinse it out with some soap, and refill it. Use the peri bottle to rinse yourself off too... don't rub or wipe, just keep rinsing and rinsing, blotting with the witch hazel pads, and rinsing some more. I was lucky since our bathroom at the time was very small and the shower sprayer easily reached to the toilet, so I could easily refill the sitz bath or even use the sprayer directly on my bum (sort of a low tech bidet ). However, if you have an electric kettle or thermos or crockpot you could keep a supply of hot/warm water by the toilet to make refilling easier.

After dh went back to work I put a small snuggle chair/bouncy chair in the bathroom and while I sat I'd have dd2 sleeping in the chair (I actually nursed her while on the sitz bath) and often dd1 playing with crayons in there as well. Sort of turning the bathroom into a play room for a while so I never felt "rushed".

Hang in there... and do try to take it easy! Congrats again!

[stacyann21]

Sitz bath- you don't really need to use the "iv bag"... just fill the bath with warm/hot water and sit in it!

Yep, I did this several times a day. I filled the tub about half way with the hottest water I could stand. It was instant relief. Also, squirt the water bottle on your nether regions while you pee.

[kltroy]

My VBAC is still fresh in my mind and I remember your pain! The OPs are right - a bath every day - or even twice each day - will help with healing and feels good to clean up from the bleeding. Don't be afraid to take ibuprofin now - you're not preg. anymore. Stay well hydrated so that your pee is pretty dilute and it will sting less, also the squirt bottle trick really does help.

All I can tell you is that I really started feeling MUCH better about 2 weeks postpartum. At that point my aches were basically gone, I was no longer engorged, my stitches were mostly healed, and I didn't feel like someone had kicked me in the crotch anymore. Hang in there and enjoy your beautiful baby!!!