Postpartum care

By Mayo Clinic Staff

You've waited for months. You've been through labor and delivery. Now you're caring for your new baby. But you also need to take care of yourself.

Postpartum care means getting enough rest. It also might involve dealing with vaginal tears or a C-section wound. You may have sore breasts, leaking milk, bloody discharge from the vagina, and hair loss and skin changes.

And postpartum care isn't just about physical health. It also includes your mental well-being. You may have mood swings. You might be cranky, sad and anxious. These feelings are common.

Some people get postpartum depression after giving birth. You might have trouble eating, sleeping, and caring for yourself and your baby. Postpartum depression is a serious condition that needs treatment.

To help you recover after giving birth, ask for help. Share your worries. Talk to your healthcare professional. Let your loved ones know how you feel.

Look to your healthcare professional and your loved ones for support. They can help you get through this time and adjust to life with a newborn.

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Oct. 26, 2023

See also

  1. Breastfeeding and medications
  2. Breastfeeding nutrition: Tips for moms
  3. Can vaginal tears during childbirth be prevented?
  4. C-section recovery
  5. Eating the placenta
  6. Episiotomy
  7. Exercise after pregnancy
  8. Fetal presentation before birth
  9. High-risk pregnancy
  10. Home birth
  11. Inducing labor
  12. Kegel exercises
  13. Labor pain medications
  14. Labor positions
  15. Medicine concerns while breastfeeding
  16. Placenta
  17. Postpartum care: After a vaginal delivery
  18. Postpartum complications
  19. Postpartum depression
  20. Pregnancy and breastfeeding when you have psoriasis
  21. Repeat C-sections
  22. Sex after pregnancy: Set your own timeline
  23. Signs of labor
  24. Stages of labor and birth
  25. Tailbone pain
  26. Vaginal tears in childbirth
  27. Considering VBAC
  28. The epidural block
  29. Water breaking