Why Do I Have Abdominal Pain After I Had My Baby?

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The time after birth is never going to be easy for women. Mothers would have to deal with a number of aches and pains in their bodies that could be serious as well as part of the healing process.

Abdominal pain is a very common problem experienced by women after delivery and pregnancy. While some of it may be due to serious problems like an infection or a ruptured stitch, most abdominal pain is not so serious and resolve after a certain period of time.

Whatever reason can be attributed to the pain, it is important for mothers to keep a close watch and report it to the doctor in order to make sure that the pain is not due to any complication.

Abdominal Pain After Normal Delivery

After a normal vaginal delivery, the abdominal muscles will be sore and painful due to the labour process involving pushing, expanding and contracting. Abdominal pain after a normal delivery would mean that the stomach muscles that are sore are in the healing process. This kind of pain will remain for about a week after which it will subside.

Abdominal Pain After a Caesarean

Any surgery will have pain and discomfort as an after effect. Caesarean is a major surgical procedure involving the cutting of the outer skin as well as the womb. Therefore, this procedure will present itself with severe abdominal pain for at least a week after the surgery. The pain can be controlled through pain medications. The pain subsides after that and might remain for a month of two after which it fades away. Severe abdominal pain that persists along with discharge and bleeding from the incision or from the vagina could be serious and must be reported to the doctor.

Pain During Breast Feeding

Most women experience severe pain in the abdomen during breast feeding, in the days following childbirth. This is due to the contraction of the uterus after the process of labour. Breast feeding initiates contraction of the uterine walls just at it happened during the labour process. This pain can be quite intense and can last until the uterus shrinks back to normal.

Infections

Sometimes a caesarean operation can pose the risk of the site of incision getting infected. In this case, there would be pus and discharge from the area and also increased abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding. The bleeding and pain can also be due to ruptured internal stitches which can be quite dangerous. Such symptoms must be reported to the doctor immediately to prevent complications and provide relief.

Abdominal pain is a normal condition experienced by all women. It is when the pain becomes unnatural and very severe that one has to take note and report the matter immediately. Normal pain can be masked with the help of pain medications prescribed by the doctor. For infections, antibiotics that are safe during breastfeeding might be prescribed by the doctor to protect the health of the baby and the mother. Mothers must always be vigilant about any abnormal symptoms that accompany pain and bleeding