What happens in the days after a vaginal birth?

Ok this is going to sound a bit goofy, but I'm wondering in the days after a vaginal birth when you're still in hospital do your bits get checked often? I'm finishing off packing my bag today & I thought my overalls would be great, but was wondering if it'd be too much hassle with people needing to check things. Is it a case of only needing checks if you have stitches?? With Zander they checked my c/s wound at least once a day, sometimes twice so it would have been a hassle. I wondered if it would be the same with checks every day?

You sometimes have checks depending on clotting, or how your uterus feels (external checking) and it also depends on how much lochia you have. Yes tearing can come into it, but I had a few checks in the first 24 hours due to the bloodloss and the size of the clots I had. I think I wore skirts, and trackies for the first few days.

Sarah, yep, they check if you have stiches - otherwise they just ask you to report any clots that you pass (I imagine that's the same for c/s anyway). I have to say that "after" a vaginal birth with no epidural, is so much better than after one with - you can get up straight away, there's no pain, you feel fantastic!

So sounds like the overalls might be best left til after I get home. Not a problem my trackies will get packed instead :) Thanks guys.

I had stitches after Livvy's birth and my stitches weren't checked as I was comfortable, my uterus checks were normal (external),my loss was okay and my stitches were comfortable. It is best to be prepared plus trackies will be more comfortable than overalls if you do end up with stitches.

I had stitches both times and never got checked. They never even asked me how they were :rolleyes:

I had stiches & no checks whilst in the hospital.

I remember them checking once or twice in the first 12 hours or so but not after that. I just had a small tear, didn't need stitching.

sarah you must be excited!

i didnt have any stitches, and no checks done. they often felt my uterus, but that was about it. i also remember them constantly asking if i needed any pain relief(this was in the days after i had given birth) i kept saying 'yes!!! please!! i have a horrible toothache!' but no pain or anything associated with having given birth.

I had stitches, and they were checked at least once a day until I left the hossy. I agree that trackies will be more comfy anyway!

LOL at the toothache Rach!

i lived in my trackies. I had stitches and they checked them 2 maybe 3 times. They checked just before i left to go home. I had an abscess that got really bad after i have birth and was making me sick and that took more effort to get looked at than stitches.

I'd recommend trackies too! I was lucky and didn't have stitches either time and was never checked. They asked numerous times a day (too numerous for my liking!) about blood loss etc but that was it. I actually asked a midwife to have a look at my bum after DD was born :redface: because I was pushing for over 2 hours with her and things were a bit...not right! LOL. Was just a bit of swelling which settled in a day or two (sorry, way TMI!) But that was it. I only stayed overnight with DS so didn't have time for any of that really.

i had a few checks a day due to swelling +++, stitches and a haemotoma!!! fun fun fun ,then again both times the dom's midwife came to my house for mum/bub checks

i would think overalls would be a bit awkward with bfing as well??

I never had any checks of my stitches etc until after I went home and the home visit midwife had a look. Then again I went home within 24 hours of having Yasin so they didn't have much time to check.

No one checked my bits after any of my (3) vaginal births. I never tore or had stitches though. They ask you about your blood loss, whether you have done much wee or passed your first bowel movement (this is one they seemed to focus on more than anything... I never expected to feel so nervous doing a poo before but it was kinda nerve wracking LOL). As a part of my discharge check-up they pressed my tummy quite firmly over my uterus area to see how well it had retracted (mine was always good so no further questions). I wore roomy Peter Alexander flannie drawstring PJ pants (dark red/orange/brown floral pattern good for hiding the odd stain) the day after birth and black trackies on departure. I lived in my PJ's when i got home for the first week. It was a conscious decision which served as a visual reminder that I was feeling fragile and that I was BABYMOONING ie "please don't ask me to get up and make you a cup of tea or pop a load of washing on... I need to REST".

ETA: On the whole I was always amazed at how well my bits returned to normal so quickly after birth :)

I had an episiotomy and stitches and mine werent checked while at hospital. A midwife who came to my house once i was home did check them only because i thought they were coming undone.

Don't forget that you don't have to consent to anything that you don't want to so if you feel fine and someone's checked recently you can tell them so :)

oh i forgot about them asking if you have been to the toilet.. one nurse told me i couldnt go home till i had opened my bowels.... i didnt, but ended up telling them i had, as i knew i wouldnt be able to go till i got home!

No checks here, they felt my uterus a few times and just before I went home they asked did I want to be checked but I said no.

I think trackies would be best anyway, much more comfy!!!

LOL tsk tsk Rach! :lol:

I wonder what the possible complications bowel-wise could be? It's so scary isn't it? Such a relief though when you are finally brave enough to do it though! (with each baby I kinda realised that it was a mental barrier as much as a physical one, maybe because I wasn't damaged, just scared)

I had a catheter afterwards as my bits were SO swollen that I physically couldnt get any urine out. So, while the catheter was in, I had to record how much urine was in it each time I emptied it and what time I had emptied it. Once the catheter was out (about 48 hours after birth) I still had to pee into a pan and measure and record how much. They also asked me each day if I had done a poo yet. I think twice, they came in and felt my uterus from the outside - once the day after birth and another time just before I went home. They only asked me about my blood loss once. They wanted to know what colour it was. They only looked at my stitches twice - one when I told them I didnt want the catheter anymore and once just before I went home. They didnt say I had to do a poo before going home. They just asked if I had, I said no, and so they gave me a laxative to take as I was leavng the hospital.

I had an episiotomy. My stitches were checked once or twice while in hospital. I also had an epidural and I was able to get up and have a shower straight after I was stitched up but that could be because they'd let the epidural wear almost completely off.

I only stayed a day and they asked if I wanted my stitches checked but I left it a few days and one of the midwives checked at home. I had my uterus and abdominal seperation checked before leaving.

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i would think overalls would be a bit awkward with bfing as well??

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FJ I was going to say the same thing too. Esp with a newborn baby when you need most of your boob out.

Sort of OT, but I really second Bath's suggestion of living in your trackies when getting home. It really does enforce a babymoon, and if you wear good ol' flanny pjs like I did ;), it makes BFing very easy :D Don't ask me how long I lived in my pjs for :redface: although I did occasionally get dressed into a tracky if I knew someone was coming. But if people turned up unannounced they got to see my pjs LOL. That's if we didn't have the "rack off" sign on the door. Do I sound unfriendly? :D

The only thing that shocked me and I still remember chasing the midwife down the corridor in a panic. Was blood clots, not all women get them but they are quite normal, I never new about them and had a rather large one I hit panic about.

I was lucky with no tearing but my daughter grazed me, I would recommend to take Ural with you to the take the acidity out of your urine, otherwise like me you'll end up in tears. (Some hospitals provide this but not all)

Track pants are a must, anything loose and comfy!

I also went Hypo, after birth (Natural no drugs), but I was bouncing around from excitement I think!

Best of Luck for your upcoming Birth!!!!!!!:hug:

I left within 8 hours of having Oliver. My midwife checked the next day at my home visit because I had a small haemotoma they were concerned about. The three stitches were for minor grazing (three locations) and they weren't worried about those. She also felt my tummy for seperation and to check my uterus.

I too like KRYSTAL BALL was often asked if I needed pain relief tablets for a headache, etc... which I luckily never needed ;)

I had a small tear, no stitches BUT lots of grazes which I took URAL satchets (otherwise peeing could burn like hell :()... and was never checked :rolleyes:

Rach- I did the same thing!!!! I was also told that when I showerd before they took me upstairs for after care that they wanted me to wee whilst in the shower, I didnt wee till that night when I couldnt hold on anymore and damn it burned!!!

With regards to needing to wee after you have bub, my midwife told me to wee in the shower and hold the shower hose there to let the water run over my stitches so that it didn't sting. Worked a treat.

For a hospital or a homebirth we are always given a squirt bottle to fill with warm water to gently spray over the perineum during/after peeing. Helps a great deal for the stinging! My homebirth midwives also gave me a herbal "tea" to bathe in and put in the squirt bottle which really helped heal everything up quickly. I'll have to re-check and see what was in it, but it was wonderful stuff! My "scrapes" healed within a day!
Anyways, what to expect post-vaginal birth - if you have tears or stitches or haemorrhoids, they SHOULD check you regularly. (at least ask, and tell you what to watch out for.)
The "rule" about having a pee and BM before being discharged is to make sure that your bladder/urethra weren't too bruised during delivery, which I think can interfere with peeing, and a lot of women are so afraid of breaking their stitches or popping something open, or hurting their already sore haemorrhoids after birth that they hold the BM until they are badly constipated and in trouble. The nurses just like to make sure that you know everything works!

When I was a nursing student, we were told to check breasts, uterus, bladder, bowels, lochia, episiotomy, Homan's sign (for deep vein thrombosis - not too common) and emotional state, during every shift.

re breastfeeding, I would think if the overalls unclasp easily they should be ok. But I second/third/fourth?? the trackies suggestion. Have a couple of pairs of black trackies (in case of blood leakage). Comfy & easy to remove if necessary.

The nurses regularly checked my uterus (on my bare belly) and asked about bloodloss.

One thing I learnt this time is they have a time limit for emptying your bladder after birth! They 'threatened' a catheter if I hadn't peed (can't remember how long they gave me tho). They did ask about opening bowels, but didn't seem too concerned. (I pooed in labour LOL so I didn't have anything left for a day or so! LMAO) Oh yeah - and they always asked if I had pains in my legs re DVT.

I was asked if I wanted pain relief for afterbirth pains, but I was fine.

Gosh - it's so close Sarah!!

Oh - the other reason for the concern about bladder emptying - a very full bladder will displace the uterus and make it more difficult for it to contract and clamp down on the placenta "wound". You are at risk for more bleeding with a very full bladder.

I peed before I even had a shower - It didn't even occour to me it might hurt at the time. It stung a little but wasn't too bad. I leant forward instintually but the midwife said she would have suggested it anyway, to direct the stream away. All I remember is the wet wipes being blissfully cool.

I didn't have a BM until 3 days later but I'm notoriusly irregular so I wasn't concerned, I knew it would happen eventually. Even though I had a massive 'roid it wasn't as bad as I expected. The midwife was threatening me with her fibre stuff if I hadn't gone when I did.