WOMEN: CHILDBIRTH. AFTER THE EVENT
You may want to sleep for a while, but many women feel too excited to sleep. No one ever tells you about the elation you’ll feel after your first child is born, because it’s indescribable. I can remember feeling that I’d had the most wonderful experience in history: it took a while for me to realize that just about every other woman felt the same. And it happens with all the next pregnancies too; the only difference is that it’s not such a surprise.
If you’ve had an uncomplicated delivery, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be up and about within an hour or so. As I recently as the 1950s women were confined to bed for at least a week after delivery, bedpans and all. Thank heaven that’s gone out of style! If you’ve had a long or difficult delivery you may need to rest for a day or so. Tell the hospital staff how you feel and be guided by their advice.
Thirty years ago all new babies were kept in nurseries and brought to the mother for feeding at four-hourly intervals ion the dot from 6.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m. (and never during visiting hours) and were given supplements if they woke and cried during the night. Fathers could only view the baby through glass, and sisters and brothers under 12 years weren’t allowed to enter the building. How things have improved! All hospitals provide for the baby to be in the room with the mother and encourage feeding on demand, day and night: a much better way for you and your baby to get to know each other during that important first week. Husbands and grandparents can visit freely. Most hospitals welcome sisters and brothers (under adult supervision!).
These days most mothers stay in hospital for three to four days, but you can go home within hours of the birth if you’re well and if you want to. With your first baby it’s generally a good idea to stay until lactation is established and you’ve got the knack of breast-feeding. Some hospitals provide daily home visits by a midwife for the first week at home.
Most new mothers have an emotional ‘down’ three to five days after delivery when the hormones in your blood suddenly change. This can make you feel miserable, full of doubts and unaccountably weepy for 24 hours or so. This attack of the blues usually coincides with your milk ‘coming in’ and sore, tight breasts add to your woes. It helps if you and your partner expect these changes and know that they won’t last. If you’re still feeling down in the dumps when it’s time to leave the hospital, tell your doctor or the hospital staff. If the blues recur or continue during your first couple of weeks at home, contact your doctor or the hospital social worker.
Bringing home your first baby will change your lives as a couple in ways you can never anticipate until it happens. The first weeks can be hectic, and the next few months, and the next couple of decades! You’ll have to make adjustments to live with the next generation, but it’s a wonderful experience. Generation is what life’s all about, so enjoy it!
*175/31/5*
