Your Questions on Menstruation After Pregnancy Answered

Post pregnancy life or life after pregnancy brings so many questions; one of them is about menstruation care after pregnancy. You are constantly wondering as to when you will get your first period after pregnancy.

Many women mistake the bloody discharge after delivery for period. That discharge, however, is not your period, but all the additional fluid coming out of your uterus. This discharge can last from one to two months and women do need to wear pads to avoid staining their clothes.

The start of your menstrual cycle after pregnancy depends upon different factors, like your hormonal composition and breast-feeding. Women who do not breast-feed may get their first period after pregnancy as soon as one month.

On the other hand, women who breast-feed get their menstruation after pregnancy late, the reason being that, the prolactin present in your breast milk tends to suppress the menstruation after pregnancy.

Many women assume that they will not ovulate until the time they do not get their first period after pregnancy. You will be surprised to know that you might start ovulation within a few weeks of your delivery. Therefore, contraception plays an important role in life after pregnancy.

Facts About Menstruation After Pregnancy

Your period after pregnancy will be heavier and painful as compared to your experience before pregnancy.

You might still get PMS, when you resume menstruation after pregnancy.

While you are breast-feeding, be very careful of the birth control methods that you use. Consult your doctor before choosing any. Most doctors suggest barrier methods such as condoms, diaphragm etc.

Moms who are not breast-feeding can choose from a variety of options, like natural menstrual cycle, IUD insertion, contraceptive pills, or barrier methods.

Remember that menstruation after pregnancy is unpredictable. It will differ from woman to woman, and it changes monthly for a woman. It is all a game of hormones and how well your body copes with the changes. There might be women who might not experience any difference in menstruation before and after pregnancy. A cycle that appears normal to you might not be normal for another woman. Every woman has a different menstruation cycle. You need to understand your body very well, in order to understand your menstruation cycle. Do not be anxious about your first period after pregnancy, you will get them when your body is healed and uterus returns to its normal size and starts functioning normally.

Pregnancy brings many changes in you and your menstrual cycle is no exception. There are many changes that you would need to deal with apart from sitting and worrying about your menstruation after pregnancy. You just need to ensure that once you get your periods, then the menstruation care should be proper. Adjusting with the changes and enjoying life after pregnancy should be your motto. As everything else, your menstruation after pregnancy will also start falling in place with time.

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Troubles in the Post Pregnancy Life

When you are pregnant, it is natural to have a lot of questions and speculations about your pregnancy, your health, your baby’s health, and the delivery. While it is true that women do experience difficulties and pregnancy complications while delivering baby, as it is very painful, but some women get so traumatized by the whole process that it sometimes prove to be life threatening.

Post Pregnancy Response

Trauma out of delivering baby can have adverse affects on the mother as well as the child. It is very important for the new mother to be mentally and physically fit, as now she has another life dependent on her, to be taken care of. This particular condition in a woman is called Post Pregnancy Response or PTR. There can be a number of factors responsible for PTR, which results in mental as well as physical ailments and thereby resulting in less bonding between the mother and child and in some extreme cases, unsuccessful marriage.

Identifying PTR

Diagnosing PTR is very difficult, as the symptoms of it are more or less similar to those of post traumatic stress disorder, like nightmares, depression, and anxiety and in some cases, mayhem sexual relationships. Therefore, in order to identify PTR in a woman, the doctor is required to ask the right questions, as otherwise, it might be confused with posttraumatic stress disorder, which might have adverse outcomes. The general questions that a doctor must ask a woman who might be suffering from PTR are:

Do you feel insecure or has the insecurity level risen post pregnancy?
Do you avoid discussing topics like childbirth?
Has the shock response increased in you, post childbirth?
Do you experience symptoms like nightmares, depression, and anxiety?

If the answer to even one of the questions above is “yes”, then there are chances that you are suffering from Post Pregnancy Response (PTR).

It is not unusual to have this problem, and it can result from a number of factors, like changed hormones, or sudden increase in the thyroid level post pregnancy. However, it should not be taken lightly. If you encounter any of the symptoms mentioned above, you should immediately consult a professional for help. Sometimes, talk therapy works wonder in the treatment of PTR. If you feel the need, you can also consult a psychiatrist as PTR is more of mental rather than physical problem and a psychiatrist can help in getting you out of this situation.

Pregnancy is the most beautiful phase of a woman’s life. Therefore, it should be enjoyed to the fullest. Have a happy pregnancy!