Top 6 Secrets After Birth:
What to expect that no one prepares you for
Workout Tips to Stop Pee While Running
Solutions for experiencing stress incontinence while running.
Top 6 Secrets After Birth:
These 6 secrets and tips, including bladder incontinence, after giving birth as a window into what we wish we had known. If you’re pregnant, you’ve probably heard of the book What to Expect When You’re Expecting. But what about what to expect after giving birth? We, the founders of Nyssa, found ourselves studying all about pregnancy and birth….only to wind up with babes in our arms and zero idea about what was happening.
One of the reasons we started Nyssa was to help prevent the next wave of mothers and birthing people from having to navigate the confusion and disappointment we experienced. We do that by talking about the secrets after giving birth — the things you may expect to encounter in the weeks, months, and even years after childbirth. The Fourth Trimester is now being recognized by many midwives, doulas, and OB-GYNs as lasting a full year following birth.
Professionals vet this information, but please reach out to your doctor if you have any concerns. We wish you strength and solidarity as you #gofourth into this wild, challenging, and fantastic time of transformation. – Nyssa
Secret #1: Vaginal Tearing
Over 90% of people after giving birth vaginally for the first time will experience tearing (Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2014). We know that can be hard to hear if you are currently pregnant or planning to get pregnant. The majority of tearing is 1st or 2nd degree; 3rd and 4th-degree tears are more severe. Nyssa supporter and NYC-based photographer Frances F. Denny wrote an extremely honest and well-researched account of perineal tearing for Harper’s Bazaar and you can read more about vaginal tearing on the website for the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. We also dedicate a whole edition of our free deep-dive newsletter, Body of Knowledge, to vaginal tearing in childbirth. It features video interviews with a leading OB-GYN and birth trauma therapist on the physical and emotional impact tearing may have on someone recovering from childbirth.
What can I do? If you have a birth doula or midwife, speak to them about ways to possibly minimize your risk of tearing. Stay informed about the delivery interventions (such as forceps) that increase your risk of a more severe tear. Be sure to have a pair of FourthWear Postpartum Recovery Underwear on hand, along with a stash of Between Legs and Uterine Reusable Ice/Heat Packs. Ice therapy is proven to help ease the pain, discomfort, and recovery time of postpartum vaginal swelling. Read more from Nyssa’s cryotherapist, Dr. Susan Kwiecien here. We’d also recommend having our VieVision Between Legs Mirror on hand to stay on top of your swelling and stitch sitch, so you can be ready to inform your medical provider about any concerns.
Secret #2: Lochia
File under: things we’d wish we’d known before giving birth. Everyone bleeds pretty heavily, even if you’ve had a c-section. Lochia is a discharge of blood, mucus, and uterine tissue. This shedding is not totally unlike having your period because it’s made up of the same kind of blood and tissue. But lochia happens on a much larger scale because of how big the uterus grows during pregnancy. Usually, lochia lasts for about six to eight weeks, so as long as you’re within that window and your lochia is gradually decreasing in volume, it’s probably normal. If it’s getting stronger, you should call your doctor immediately. Here is a good guide on what to expect with lochia.
What can I do? Load-up on postpartum pads. We created our Organic Cotton Extra-Long Postpartum Pads especially to support postpartum bleeding. The perfect partner to our FourthWear Postpartum Recovery Underwear, they are designed to help with bleeding and leakage post-birth and feature an organic cotton top sheet to help keep you dry and comfortable as you heal.
Secret #3: ‘Bouncing Back’
Repeat after us: the idea of ‘bouncing back’ to your pre-birth figure is a load of nonsense. But self-love and body acceptance is complicated. The pregnancy and after birth experience transforms our bodies in incredible, yet sometimes uncomfortable, ways. Despite the immense pressure women feel to “bounce back” after pregnancy, there is little support and even less research exploring the scientific impact of pregnancy on body image.
What can I do? Honor and nurture ourselves in this amazing journey. We recommend following people who are keeping it real (we love @thebirdspapaya) muting anyone on social media that isn’t sending a positive message about recovery after giving birth. There is no bouncing back, only bounding forward.
Secret #4: Breastfeeding Can be HARD
We hear a lot about how wonderful breastfeeding is; the bonding; the feeling of confidence as you see your baby grow; the incredible simplicity of a baby falling asleep and resting against your breast. What we hear less about? Just how challenging breastfeeding or chestfeeding can be.
What can I do? Use data to inform your decisions. We highly recommended reading Brown economist Emily Oster’s book Cribsheet prior to giving birth, as it tackles the polarizing topic of breastfeeding with candor, pragmatism, and empathy (and check out our interview). If you feel strongly about trying to breastfeed and are having trouble, see a lactation consultant if you can. Most importantly, remember: the best decision you can make is the one that is right for your family and totally unique to you.
Secret #5: Matrescene
The birth of a child often represents motherhood. But when a child is born, so too is a mother. If you’ve never heard of the term “matrescence”—coined by the anthropologist Dana Raphael—it is defined as the process of becoming a mother. It’s a word used to describe the physical, psychological, and emotional changes people go through during the monumental transformation that is motherhood. Yet, despite the enormity of this change—and beyond some attention in anthropology as well as the fields of psychiatry and psychology—the process of becoming a mother has been largely unexplored in the medical community as the focus remains mostly on the baby.
It can be helpful to think of matrescene in relation to adolescence. The transition of adolescence into puberty is recognized as this bumpy, tumultuous time where your body changes and your attitude and hormones are raging. And thank God we get through it. Matrescene is the same thing about becoming a mother. We respect adolescence as a crazy time in life. Matrescene happens and we think of it as this beautiful, blissful, natural ‘thing’ that should happen to every woman: that it’s maternal destiny. NOPE. It’s like a nuclear bomb; it’s a big deal. The truth of the matter is that when a person becomes a mother, everything changes. And new mothers need support—arguably more so now than ever.
What can I do? In a well-known 2017 New York Times essay, reproductive psychiatrist Alexandra Sacks, M.D.—who regularly writes about and talks about matrescence—discusses some of the changes that often take place in the transition to motherhood. Being aware of the identity changes; changes in family dynamics (think: with a partner); feeling emotions like ambivalence, guilt, and shame; and even struggling with your preconception of motherhood (her TED Talk on the topic of matrescence has almost two million views) can help you better adjust to motherhood. After all, while you will experience incredibly beautiful moments with your baby, motherhood is the unfiltered stuff—and it’s not always accurately displayed.
Secret #6: Bladder Incontinence
Many of us spend so much thought, money, and energy preparing for the changing of our baby’s diaper and have no clue that the trauma of delivery leads to bladder incontinence after giving birth. Some women have bladder leaks immediately and with Kegel exercises it goes away. Others manage ok, but the pelvic weakness leads to increasing bladder leakage when you think you should be done with your recovery. This is very common. Bladder incontinence after giving birth occurs in 1 in 3 moms.
What Can I Do? If you can, practice your Kegel exercises even while you are pregnant, to prepare with stronger pelvic floor muscles. You may likely be recommended pelvic floor physical therapy which may be hard to go for weekly visits with a baby. So its best to learn to do them correctly before you deliver, but its never too late. Still, it is hard to do them correctly and consistently. If you need a little help Elitone is the only at-home treatment you can do that doesn’t take your time. Wear Elitone and let it do 100 Kegel contractions for speedy recovery, while you can focus on your newborn.
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