Congrats you had your baby, but no 1 told you that things might exist a trivial swollen and sore in your vagina or vulva – ok perchance a LOT sore.  Every few days you should find that the pain is slowly improving, but information technology may take several weeks to experience better.

Here are some suggestions on how to all-time assist you heal.

After a Vaginal Delivery

This can vary depending on the degree of tear you may have had or non had at all. Some have "rug burn" that needed no stitches, some accept 1 or 2 stiches, while others may have had several stitches or maybe an extensive degree of tearing that actually need a small-scale surgery to fix. Needless to say it can have several weeks to heal. It is of import to keep the area clean to prevent infection and encourage healing.  Lochia is the normal vaginal discharge that occurs subsequently having a baby; this tin sometimes be confused with aberrant bleeding or infection. Initially lochia is brilliant ruddy claret which changes to a brown then yellow and finally to either a white or clear mucous. If you are unsure if it is normal, ask your physician.

Some things you can practise to keep comfortable and aid the healing process include the following:

  • Find comfy seating; sometimes a padded pillow or band/donut pillow tin aid
  • Employ cold compresses (or a frozen bag of peas) in the first 24hrs. Please ensure that this is not skin to skin but separated from direct contact with skin by a barrier such as a towel.
  • Utilize the peri-canteen (little squirt bottle) they provided you in the hospital to clean the surface area with warm water while you go pee and after going to the washroom. Toilet paper is not necessary except for bowel movements (fifty-fifty then you tin use a cloth instead).
  • Utilise a clean pad or washcloth instead of toilet paper to pat the expanse dry out. Avoid rubbing or whatsoever move that causes discomfort. Some women observe putting the pad over the wound when begetting downward for a bowel motility is helpful.
  • Use either a sitz bathroom (small little tub that fits on the toilet) after every bowel motion or have a bath in warm water 1-2 times per day if possible. This is hard to do with the lack of sleep and constant feeding your newborn demands of your time, only effort every bit often as you can to squeeze information technology in equally it can speed up healing.
  • Accept pain medications as instructed. Oft acetaminophen and ibuprofen are prescribed together. They will not harm your babe if breastfeeding. In that location are a few cases when they are contraindicated. Ask your doctor if you have whatever concerns about the medications they take provided you.
  • Ensure your bowel movements are soft. There are several safe stool softeners you can take, but make sure you are eating a loftier fibre diet and drinking plenty water to help keep the stools soft as well.
  • Cold pads with witch hazel can provide some relief. You can buy special wipes that accept the witch hazel already in them or y'all can pre-soak some pads and put them in the fridge to employ as needed.
  • Do non use tampons as these can crusade an infection.
  • In the long term, women tin struggle with incontinence of urine due to weakness of the muscles in the pelvic floor. Elementary Kegel exercises washed several times per 24-hour interval (iii sets of 10 repetitions daily) can help build these muscles back up very well. You need to wait a few weeks before starting them. There are several nifty pelvic floor physiotherapists in Ottawa that can help ensure y'all are doing them correctly and offering other techniques to strengthen your pelvic flooring muscles.
  • Until your perineal pain has resolved (unremarkably nigh 4 to 6 weeks) information technology is best to avoid sex.

After a C-section

You might nonetheless have some vaginal discomfort if you lot were labouring or got to the pushing stage just hopefully no tears. If so, see above which also applies for discomfort. The staples/sutures on your breadbasket are often removed in the get-go 2-3 days. Piddling strips of tape are then applied. The edges of these strips will start to curl up and then eventually fall off. Information technology is important to keep the surface area of the wound clean with soap and water. Exercise not rub simply pat to dry out the area.

See your medico if any of the following occur:

  • Worse swelling, redness or heat of either the expanse of the tear or your abdominal wound
  • Increasing hurting in the wound area (abdomen or vagina/vulva)
  • Smelly or pus like vaginal belch
  • Bleeding increases and/or irresolute your pad more every 2 hours or having large blood clots
  • Unable to urinate or more frequent, painful urination
  • Difficulty or unable to accept bowel movements
  • Fever or feeling unwell
  • Your abdominal incision has pus, increasing redness or pain, or appears to be opening up.