It is pleasant to take a warm bath and this is a necessary condition for hygiene. Bath helps relieve stress, relax, improve mood and relieve swelling. If before a warm bath was categorically prohibited for newly mummies, now doctors are not so categorical. So when can you take a bath after giving birth?
Is it true that you can not swim after childbirth?
The society has strengthened the stereotype that a woman who has given birth should not take a bath until the discharge from the birth canal ceases, and this is 6-8 weeks after the birth of the baby.
Most of the gynecologists, when answering this question, say that you can not completely immerse yourself in water until the lochia stops.
The basis of this opinion is the risk that pathogenic bacteria penetrate the genital tract and provoke endometritis or other ailment. Many doctors insist that sutures and small ruptures of the vagina are favorable conditions for the development of infections. For this reason, young mothers were recommended to take only a shower and abandon the bath until 1.5-2 months have passed since the birth.
According to recent studies, the risk of infection from water in the bathroom is extremely low. But warm water really reduces swelling, relieves nervous tension and pain when sutures are applied. And when taking a bath, the surface of the genital organs is better cleaned than under a shower.
If the birth was natural
For women who give birth in a natural way, doctors do not impose restrictions on taking a bath - in their opinion, this will not harm women's health. Nevertheless, there is one important nuance: the complete closure of the cervix and the restoration of its barrier function occurs only after 1.5-2 months after the birth of a child. This means that you need to take a bath and swim in the first 40 days after childbirth. At this time, you should not make the water too hot and be in it for a long time.
It also takes time to restore the body's defenses, so a woman may experience dizziness and even faint from steam and temperature changes. So in each case it is necessary to take into account the state of health after childbirth.
If they did cesarean
With cesarean section, the uterus is affected only superficially, but there are no ruptures or any changes from the side of the vagina, and an open wound does not form at the birth site. When deciding whether to take a bath or not, the condition of the suture should be assessed - whether it has completely healed, whether a non-healing, wet wound appears. If everything is in order with the suture after cesarean, it heals normally, then you can swim in warm water, but only for a short time.
How to take a bath to a young mother?
When planning to take a bath for the first time after childbirth, a woman should consider a number of recommendations:
- The bath needs to be washed well so that there are definitely no pathogenic bacteria left in it.
- Water should not be made very hot - optimally 36-37 degrees, and more than 40 degrees is unacceptable (because, due to blood flow to the pelvic organs, bleeding can occur).
- Do not add salt, foam or any flavoring.
- You should climb into the bath with caution - if there is still postpartum weakness and fatigue, you may feel dizzy. It is better to ask for help from loved ones.
- The optimal time for taking a bath is 15-20 minutes, but it is better to start with 10 minutes. If everything is in order, next time you can swim longer.
- You can not lower the breast into the water - this is fraught with a rush of milk and its stagnation.
- It is useful to add decoctions from a string of sages, chamomiles in which a child bathes to the bath. These are natural antiseptics that also accelerate wound healing.
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What women say
- Women who have gone through childbirth also have different opinions about this. Some claim that they took a bath on the first day after discharge and nothing bad happened.
- Others say that before the water procedures you need to insert a tampon and then you can not be afraid of anything. However, doctors claim that this personal hygiene product should also not be used several months after birth.
- Still others say that they did not take a bath after giving birth for a very long time. The thing is that they simply did not have time for this.
Complex births, the presence of gaps and sutures are not absolute contraindications for a warm relaxing bath. Nevertheless, when it can be taken after the birth of a child, you need to consult a doctor so that you do not inadvertently harm your health.
P.S. The ideal situation is when, before taking water procedures, the mother will visit a gynecologist, who after the examination will give her permission.
I was discharged from the hospital, they didn’t even say that you should not take a bath. My mother told me that you can’t take her, I didn’t listen, everything was fine. I think that if you can’t take a bath, the doctor will say so.