Do you remember the time when you found out that you were pregnant and realized your life was going to change forever? Bringing your new baby home comes with lots of changes in you and your personal life. From having a new routine to setting new priorities and following each and everyone, a woman’s body can display many physical changes.
But less well known was the fact that "being a mother changes you." They are not kidding anymore. After childbirth, a woman’s body looks forward to some changes like gaining weight, bigger breasts, swollen ankles, and many others, because at no other time would you be growing a whole new organ, forcing your heart to pump more blood, and many others.
From finding little differences to some major ones, like bigger feet or diabetes, there are several body changes that occur after childbirth. Dr. Elsa, the Best Consultant of Obstetrician in Dubai, shares some of the common changes noticed in women during pregnancy.
You give birth and you lose your belly bulge right away. Not that fast. Even though you are no longer carrying your baby, your uterus is still enlarged and looks the same. After giving birth, a lot of women expect to shed the belly bulge as soon as possible, but in reality, it does take around 6–8 weeks before the uterus is back to its pre-pregnancy size. Even though the uterus is back to its own size, your stomach may not be completely flattened. In order to do so, you need to perform core exercises focusing on the belly to get toning and reduce the bulge.
It may sound a bit weird when you hear that there is a change in the shoe size of pregnant women after childbirth. But in reality, when a woman is pregnant, swelling in her feet is a common thing to notice, which leads to the flattening of the arch of the foot, resulting in an increase in the shoe size. On the darker side, the shoe size surprise occurs when a woman carries additional weight or due to sudden changes in hormones, whereas on the bright side, it is a nice excuse to go shopping.
If you are not in the mood, do not worry. You are not alone. As per the reports, after a woman gives birth to a child, many new mothers see a drop in their sex drive. The situation is said to be caused by sheer fatigue from caring for a newborn, breastfeeding, changes in the estrogen (the female sex hormone) level, and many other causes. In general, it takes around a year to return the drive to its normal pace.
Post-pregnancy or after childbirth, due to all the pushing and contortions of labor, women often feel low on energy. With severe body aches, back pains, and constant discomforts like uterine contractions, abdominal aches, flutters, menstrual cramps, and others, it is natural to feel washed out, tired, and achy. Treating the body ache and getting back to normal needs a few days and can also be treated with a prescription and over-the-counter painkillers.
For different reasons, urinary incontinence is considered a common change that a woman goes through. At the end of pregnancy, the weight of the baby puts strain on the pelvic floor muscles that provide support to bladder control due to which the muscles are weakened. Changes in the muscles cause you to leak a bit of urine when coughing, lifting something heavy, or sneezing. To control it, you can indulge in kegel exercises that can help strengthen the muscles and help prevent leaks.
During pregnancy, the breasts are those body parts that go through a major transformation as a whole. As per the reports, breasts during pregnancy can grow up to two cup sizes larger, and can be flushed, swollen, sore, and engorged with milk for a few days after birth. Apart from this, whether you are breastfeeding or not, you may also experience milk leakage, and after breastfeeding, the breasts may look smaller and saggy.
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Suffering from major changes that a woman’s body goes through generally lasts from 4 to 6 weeks. If you are constantly experiencing one or the other changes, even after 6 weeks, then call a doctor and discuss your concerns. You can fix an appointment or visit the New Concept Clinic, a Pregnancy Care clinic in Dubai.
The other major symptoms to look after are:
Chills
Heavy bleeding
Nausea and vomiting
Constipation
Headaches and vision changes
Swelling of different body parts
Difficulty in breathing
Heavy vaginal discharge
