Your body after birth

After delivery, your tummy will probably still be a lot bigger than before pregnancy. This is partly because your muscles have stretched. You may feel quite painful period-like cramps while you're breastfeeding because it makes your womb contract. 

If you've had a caesarean-section, your tummy will feel tender and sore for several weeks and there will be some activities that you will need to avoid initially. 

You should not use tampons until you've had your six-week postnatal check. This is because you'll still have a wound where the placenta joined with the wall of your womb, and you may also have tears or cuts in or around your vagina. 

Using internal period products like tampons and menstrual cups before this wound has healed could increase your chance of getting an infection. 

Use maternity or period pads during this time while your body is still healing. 

It's hard to be exact about when your periods will start again, as everyone is different. 

If you bottle feed your baby, or combine bottle feeding with breastfeeding, your first period could start as soon as five to six weeks after you give birth. 

If you fully breastfeed (including at night) without any bottle feeding, your periods may not start again until you start to reduce breastfeeding. 

Your pelvic floor will not be very strong initially after childbirth. It's quite common to leak a bit of pee if you laugh, cough or move suddenly. You may also feel that you have difficulties working with your pelvic floor and that you have little sensation. Both usually improve with time, but the more you can exercise your pelvic floor, the quicker the recovery will be. 

You may find that you have trouble controlling your bladder and if you have this problem, you may need to see a physiotherapist to help you strengthen your pelvic floor. 

Pelvic floor exercises can help with this but tell the GP at your postnatal check if they aren't. They may refer you to a physiotherapist. 

Find out more about your post-pregnancy body, including how to do pelvic floor exercise. 

These videos provide more information about stress incontinence and urgency:  

Spotlight On Stress Urinary Incontinence | Kent WEPP 

Managing Urinary Urgency | Kent WEPP 

Piles (haemorrhoids) are very common after birth but usually disappear within a few days or weeks. 

Eat plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, salad, wholegrain cereals and wholemeal bread, and drink plenty of water. This should make pooing easier and less painful. 

Try not to push or strain - this will make the piles worse.  

Take a warm bath to ease itching and pain, and take paracetamol if piles hurt.  

Talk to a midwife or pharmacist if you feel very uncomfortable. They can recommend creams and ointments that soothe piles. 

At first, the thought of peeing can be a bit frightening - because of the soreness. Drinking lots of water dilutes your urine, which may make it sting less. 

Tell your midwife if: 

Keep the cut and the surrounding area clean to prevent infection. After going to the toilet, pour warm water over your vaginal area to rinse it. Pouring warm water over the outer area of your vagina as you pee may also help ease the discomfort. You may find squatting over the toilet, rather than sitting on it, reduces the stinging sensation when peeing. 

You probably won't have a poo for a few days after the birth, but it's important not to let yourself get constipated. Eat plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, salad, wholegrain cereals and wholemeal bread, and drink plenty of water. 

If you've had stitches, it's very unlikely you'll break them, or open the cut or tear again. It might feel better if you hold a pad of clean tissue over the stitches when pooing. When wiping your bottom, make sure you wipe gently from front to back. This will help prevent bacteria in your anus infecting the cut and surrounding tissue. To make it easier to poo, try resting your feet on a low stool while going to the toilet. If possible, raise your knees above your hips. Try not to strain. Talk to your midwife or GP if you have constipation that won't go away. A gentle laxative may help. 

If you have any problems controlling your bowels, for instance you struggle to make it to the toilet or control wind, contact a health professional urgently, as it may be a sign of a missed tear that will need treatment. 

It's important to remember that a caesarean is considered major surgery and while it's important to get out of bed and move around as soon as possible, recovery will take time. Be kind to yourself in the period after birth, and make sure you lean on those around you to help care for you and the baby. You should make sure you have regular painkillers to take at home for as long as you need them, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen. This video provides a helpful overview of how to look after yourself after an abdominal birth. 

Recovery Following a Caesarean Birth | Kent WEPP 

Keep the incision area clean with plain warm water in a shower rather than bath, and dry using a clean cloth or kitchen towel, making sure the area is completely dry before getting dressed. 

Look out for signs of infection, including redness, oozing, or smell from the incision area, or if you are feeling generally unwell. Talk to a healthcare professional as soon as possible. 

This video demonstrates some simple exercises you can do to support recovery after a c-section: Exercises Following a Caesarean Birth | Kent WEPP 

More advice can be found at Caesarean section - Recovery - NHS 

You will bleed from your vagina after birth. Initially, it will be quite heavy bleeding (more than you would expect during your period), and you'll need super-absorbent pads - some women choose to wear specific maternity pads or pants. Change them regularly, washing your hands before and afterwards. The bleeding usually stops by the time your baby is 12 weeks old. 

You should avoid using tampons until after your six-week postnatal check because they could increase your chance of getting an infection.  

You may notice the bleeding is redder and heavier when you breastfeed. This happens because breastfeeding makes your womb contract. You may also feel cramps like period pains.  

Over time, it will gradually turn a brownish colour and decrease until it finally stops. 

If you're losing blood in large clots, tell your midwife. You may need some treatment. 

There are no rules about when to start having sex again after you've given birth. It all depends on what kind of birth you had and how well your body is recovering. You also need to be emotionally ready and do what feels right for you.  

Remember, during the weeks after the birth you will be going through a lot physically, many women feel sore as well as tired. Your breastmilk will come in, and you will have vaginal bleeding (this will last for about six weeks and will happen if you had a vaginal delivery or a caesarean section). You're likely to feel very emotional. 

These may all make sex less of a priority for you. You may, for example, want to wait until the bleeding has stopped before having sex again. You may also have other symptoms that put you off sex, such as incontinence, or haemorrhoids (piles).  If you've had a tear or an episiotomy, pain during sex is very common in the first few months. 

Do not rush into it. If sex hurts, it will not be pleasurable. 

If penetration is painful, say so. If you pretend everything is OK when it is not, you may start to see sex as a nuisance rather than a pleasure, which will not help you or your partner.  

Pain can sometimes be linked to vaginal dryness. You can try using a water-based lubricant available from pharmacies to help. Do not use an oil-based lubricant, such as Vaseline or moisturising lotion, as this can irritate the vagina and damage latex condoms or diaphragms.  

Pain during intercourse can also be contributed to a pelvic floor that holds too much tension, which is sometimes referred to as pelvic floor overactivity. Overactivity of the pelvic floor means those muscles are working harder than they need to, and this can cause typical symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction such as urinary incontinence, difficulties emptying your bladder or bowel and difficulties with sex. It is as important to know how to relax your pelvic floor muscles effectively, as well as having good technique and strength, as both factors contribute to a pelvic floor that works well. 

To relax your pelvic floor, you want to be in a comfortable position and as stress-free environment as possible. Gently become aware of what your breathing is doing, allowing it to become regular and steady (not taking shallow or deep breaths) and then imagine letting your tummy relax, making sure you're not holding any tension in your abdomen either. Then start thinking about pelvic area - imagine your pelvis is made of ice or chocolate and imagine that it's melting away, or imagine that your pelvis is like a flower, and you want to let the flower bloom slowly and gently. You should not be pushing or straining to do this, and you will not feel much movement. 

Other techniques that are often helpful are deep breathing exercises, 'belly' or 'diaphragmatic' breathing exercises or whole-body relaxation to support an overall reduction in stress and anxiety.  

Your pelvic health physiotherapist can support you with your pelvic floor rehabilitation, for strength training and relaxation programmes, and will be able to signpost you to other support resources that may be useful. 

Following any injury, the body will heal and often leave a scar. This is the same for C-Section incisions and perineal tears following the birth of your baby, even if healing has been uncomplicated. Scar tissue can sometimes cause reduced sensation, increased sensitivity or sometimes pain in or around the area of the original wound. In most cases the tissue heals without any residual concerns. 

However, if you do experience bothersome symptoms from your scar, you can support your recovery by managing the scar tissue appropriately through desensitisation and/ or scar tissue massage. This SHOULD NOT be started until your wound has fully healed. 

Desensitisation can be used if the tissue is more sensitive or painful than normal, by: 

Scar tissue massage may also help once the tissue is less sensitive and you can tolerate more pressure over the scar itself . This can be done by: 

You can get pregnant again just three weeks after the birth of your baby, even if you're breastfeeding and your periods have not started again yet. 

Use some kind of contraception every time you have sex after giving birth, including the first time (unless you want to get pregnant again). You'll usually have an opportunity to discuss your contraceptive options before you leave hospital (if you've had your baby in hospital) and at the postnatal check. You can also talk to a GP, midwife or health visitor, or go to a contraception clinic at any time. 

Find sexual health services near you. 

Find out more about choosing a method of contraception. 

Tell your midwife, health visitor or GP straight away if you get any of these symptoms: