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After Your Delivery (the Postpartum Period): Care Instructions

Overview

Congratulations on the birth of your baby. Like pregnancy, the newborn period can be a time of excitement, joy, and exhaustion. You may look at your wondrous little baby and feel happy. You may also be overwhelmed by your new sleep hours and new responsibilities.

At first, babies often sleep during the days and are awake at night. They do not have a pattern or routine. They may make sudden gasps, jerk themselves awake, or look like they have crossed eyes. These are all normal, and they may even make you smile.

In these first weeks after delivery, try to take good care of yourself. It may take 4 to 6 weeks to feel like yourself again, and possibly longer if you had a caesarean birth. You will likely feel very tired for several weeks. Your days will be full of ups and downs, but lots of joy as well.

Follow-up care is a key part of your treatment and safety. Be sure to make and go to all appointments, and call your doctor or nurse advice line (811 in most provinces and territories) if you are having problems. It's also a good idea to know your test results and keep a list of the medicines you take.

How can you care for yourself at home?

Take care of your body after delivery

Use pads instead of tampons for the bloody flow that may last as long as 2 weeks.
Ease cramps with ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin).
Ease soreness of hemorrhoids and the area between your vagina and rectum with ice compresses or witch hazel pads.
Ease constipation by drinking lots of fluid and eating high-fibre foods. Ask your doctor or midwife about over-the-counter stool softeners.
Cleanse yourself with a gentle squeeze of warm water from a bottle instead of wiping with toilet paper.
Take a sitz bath in warm water several times a day.
Wear a good nursing bra. Ease sore and swollen breasts with warm, wet face cloths.
If you aren't breastfeeding, use ice rather than heat for breast soreness.
Your period may not start for several months if you are breastfeeding. You may bleed more, and longer at first, than you did before you got pregnant.
Wait until you are healed (about 4 to 6 weeks) before you have sex. Ask your or midwife when it is okay for you to have sex.
Try not to travel with your baby for 5 or 6 weeks. If you take a long car trip, make frequent stops to walk around and stretch.

Avoid exhaustion

Rest every day. Try to nap when your baby naps.
Ask another adult to be with you for a few days after delivery.
Plan for child care if you have other children.
Stay flexible so you can eat at odd hours and sleep when you need to. Both you and your baby are making new schedules.
Plan small trips to get out of the house. Change can make you feel less tired.
Ask for help with housework, cooking, and shopping. Remind yourself that your job is to care for your baby.

Know about help for postpartum depression

"Baby blues" are common for the first 1 to 2 weeks after birth. You may cry or feel sad or irritable for no reason.
Rest whenever you can. Being tired makes it harder to handle your emotions.
Go for walks with your baby.
Talk to your partner, friends, and family about your feelings.
If your symptoms last for more than a few weeks, or if you feel very depressed, ask your doctor or midwife for help.
Postpartum depression can be treated. Support groups and counselling can help. Sometimes medicine can also help.

Stay healthy

Eat healthy foods so you have more energy.
If you breastfeed, avoid drugs. If you quit smoking during pregnancy, try to stay smoke-free. If you choose to have a drink now and then, have only one drink, and limit the number of occasions that you have a drink. Wait to breastfeed at least 2 hours after you have a drink to reduce the amount of alcohol the baby may get in the milk.
Start daily exercise after 4 to 6 weeks, but rest when you feel tired.
Learn exercises to tone your belly. Try Kegel exercises to regain strength in your pelvic muscles. You can do these exercises while you stand or sit. (If doing these exercises causes pain, stop doing them and talk with your doctor.)
- Squeeze your muscles as if you were trying not to pass gas. Or squeeze your muscles as if you were stopping the flow of urine. Your belly, legs, and buttocks shouldn't move.
- Hold the squeeze for 3 seconds, then relax for 5 to 10 seconds.
- Start with 3 seconds, then add 1 second each week until you are able to squeeze for 10 seconds.
- Repeat the exercise 10 times a session. Do 3 to 8 sessions a day.

Find a class for you and your baby that has an exercise time.
If you had a caesarean birth, give yourself a bit more time before you exercise, and be careful.

When should you call for help?

Share this information with your partner, family, or a friend. They can help you watch for warning signs.

Call 911 anytime you think you may need emergency care. For example, call if:

You have thoughts of harming yourself, your baby, or another person.
You passed out (lost consciousness).
You have chest pain, are short of breath, or cough up blood.
You have a seizure.

Where to get help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

If you or someone you know talks about suicide, self-harm, a mental health crisis, a substance use crisis, or any other kind of emotional distress, get help right away.

Call or text Canada's suicide and crisis hotline at 988.
Call Talk Suicide Canada: 1-833-456-4566 or text 45645 (4 p.m. to midnight ET).
Go to the Talk Suicide Canada website at https://talksuicide.ca for more information.

Consider saving these numbers in your phone.

Call your doctor, midwife, or nurse advice line now or seek immediate medical care if:

You have signs of hemorrhage (too much bleeding), such as:
- Heavy vaginal bleeding. This means that you are soaking through one or more pads in an hour. Or you pass blood clots bigger than an egg.
- Feeling dizzy or light-headed, or you feel like you may faint.
- Feeling so tired or weak that you cannot do your usual activities.
- A fast or irregular heartbeat.
- New or worse belly pain.
You have signs of infection, such as:
- A fever.
- Frequent or painful urination or blood in your urine.
- Vaginal discharge that smells bad.
- New or worse belly pain.
You have symptoms of a blood clot in your leg (called a deep vein thrombosis), such as:
- Pain in the calf, back of the knee, thigh, or groin.
- Swelling in the leg or groin.
- A colour change on the leg or groin. The skin may be reddish or purplish, depending on your usual skin colour.
You have signs of preeclampsia, such as:
- Sudden swelling of your face, hands, or feet.
- New vision problems (such as dimness, blurring, or seeing spots).
- A severe headache.
You have signs of heart failure, such as:
- New or increased shortness of breath.
- New or worse swelling in your legs, ankles, or feet.
- Sudden weight gain, such as more than 1 to 1.3 kilograms (2 to 3 pounds) in a day or 2.3 kilograms (5 pounds) in a week.
- Feeling so tired or weak that you cannot do your usual activities.
You had spinal or epidural pain relief and have:
- New or worse back pain.
- Increased pain, swelling, warmth, or redness at the injection site.
- Tingling, weakness, or numbness in your legs or groin.

Watch closely for changes in your health, and be sure to contact your doctor, midwife, or nurse advice line if:

Your vaginal bleeding isn't decreasing.
You feel sad, anxious, or hopeless for more than a few days.
You are having problems with your breasts or breastfeeding.

Where can you learn more?

Go to https://www.healthwise.net/patientEd

Enter A461 in the search box to learn more about "After Your Delivery (the Postpartum Period): Care Instructions".

Adapted with permission from copyrighted materials from Healthwise, Incorporated (Healthwise). This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise disclaims any warranty and is not responsible or liable for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.