are the afterpains worse?

[beansbeans!]

Hi all;
I was talking to a friend the other day who has just had her second bub.
She was telling me that the afterpains of the uterus contracting and all that are really painful this time round. Apparently the lady she was sharing with told her this is normal and the midwives and nurses all agreed to!
My friend actually advised me to get a script for pain relief from my ob on my next visit, and if they dont get me one i should ask the hospital for a script before i leave after having bub!

So it is normal for these pains to be more painful than the first time? And what pain relief can I use for it?

Thank you in advance!

Justine

[Marlene]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but (in my experience) your friend is right. The pains do seem to get worse after each bub, I suppose it's because the uterus has more work to do each time to get back to it's original size.
After my 4th baby I felt like I was in labour again every time I fed him!!! OUCHIES!!!!

It's all worth it though

[Olive]

yep was worse! i used heatpacks in the hospital

[Pinny-mum]

Sorry but yes they were worse for me too!

[Lolli]

Agreed, worse the second time. I went with panadol, heat packs and rest. Mw advised me to keep my bladder as empty as possible, because the pain will be worse if you have a really full bladder and then empty it.

[beansbeans!]

Oh yay!!
Thank you all so much!
But why on earth dont they tell us this beforehand??? lol
Its not like we can do anything about it!

How long did the pain last for everyone?

Tah

Justine

[Tinks]

The after pains got worse for me after my 2nd and 3rd too. They only lasted about a week after my 2nd but they were way more intense lasted just on 2 weeks after my 3rd. I also used heat packs in the hospital.

[Spring Angel]

I had totally forgotten about afterpains but I'd have to agree, very bad with DS2. Worth looking into doing the breastcrawl, apparently it helps the uterus contract faster.

[2CheekyMonkeys]

i found they were worse with my FIRST labour. i had hardly any bleeding second time round, it wasnt heavy and it went away really quick. you know how they feel your uterus well they all said it was really small straight away which accounted for the small amount of bleeding. so i dont know if that had anything to do with the fact that i found the after pains fine. actually i dont even remember having after pains with second baby but i distinctly remember them with baby number one, especially when breastfeeding.. the pain and the gush of blood. so you just never know. :-)

[Epacris]

Yeah, my after-pains with #2 really took me by surprise too. I don't think you'll need to organise any scripts or anything like that before hand though? Won't your care providers be responsible for giving you whatever you need at the time?

I had ponstan, padedine forte and heat packs for a couple of days. I was fine by day 3.

[Lolli]

Mine lasted for a week with dd. They were worse on the third and fourth day than the first few days.

[Antheia]

My after pains with #2 were bad but with #3 they were horrendous. Especially when breastfeeding because the uterus contracts more then. They lasted around a week or so from memory.

[Pandora]

I was told to expect it to be worse, but in my case they were no where near as bad as the ones I had first time around.

[hj1981]

Oh my gosh - i dont think i had after pains - is that normal? my gosh i hope i wont cop it too bad 2nd time around!

[beansbeans!]

Oh my gosh - i dont think i had after pains - is that normal? my gosh i hope i wont cop it too bad 2nd time around!

thats my problem! I had no pains the first time round, so i am so not prepared for this one!!! haha

[~clover~]

They were worse each time for me too. DS was the worst.
I noticed them with DD1, but felt ok & didn't really notice the difference with DD2 til they offered me panadiene forte. The heat packs were great.
They are still bearable though & only really notice when feeding for the first few days.

[MrsFabuloso]

I didn't get after pains either. I was warned about them, but didn't get them after either of my births.

[hj1981]

Phew - im glad im not the only one! must remember to ask u how they were after u have bub! surely they can't be worse than actually giving birth? so im sure u will be fine!