3rd Trimester

silly question for previous mommies :)

So I feel like a complete kid for wondering this, but its been on the back of my mind forever now. For a vaginal birth I know that the nurses will clean you up down there while your holding/ feeding the baby or while the baby is being tended to also. But I was wondering how long after birth did you wait/have to wait before showering? Also-which this sounds silly- but how much blood is there? I've read that its only about as heavy as a period, but prior to being pregnant my periods only lasted litterally one day and I'd only go through one or two regular sized tampons. But I know that after birth women arnt supposed to use tampons. Soo basically I'm wondering after showering do people bleed enough that it runs down their legs before their able to dry off and dress.. or what.  yes, yes.. this post sounds so ridiculous.... but come on you know when you were pregnant for the first time you had a 100 silly questions too. I just happened to ask one of them. :)

Re: silly question for previous mommies :)

  • I did skin to skin and immediate BF with LO. We did that for about an hour I guess. My midwife also brought me a cup of tea during that time.

    Then she encouraged me to get up and have a shower (the birthng room had an ensuite) and to try and pee while I was in there, although Lord knows I could not reconnect with those peeing muscles for anyone. 

    When you can shower probably depends on the protocols of the hospital, my hospital wanted me out the door as quickly as possible. As well as how much "repair work" you need and how well you feel/blood you lose etc. I needed two stitches.

    In terms of blood loss I was holding LO and I felt a big gush, and I asked DH if there was a lot of blood. He went to get the midwife so it must have looked bad, but midwife said it was all normal. They estimated I lost 200mLs.

    In terms of mopping up the blood, you pretty much bleed a lot, so I just dried myself and pulled on knickers with a pad in really quickly. Doubling up pads is your friend at this stage. My midwife gave me two pads, but I didn't understand why. She didn't explain to double the pads up so I leaked quite a bit.

    I'll be honest, there's nothing glamorous about the mechanics immediately post birth, but you're in such an adrenalin pumped glow that it doesn't matter, and you just work through it. 

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    Elizabeth 5yrs old Jane 3yrs old
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  • alright. I'm hoping i dont tear too bad and need alot of stitches.. which i suppose would make a difference. I have the 'What to Expect When Your Expecting' book which talks about afterbirth issues(such as contractions and breast pains) but it doesnt go into too much detail as far as blood loss goes. So thankyou for answering my questions. Being a first time mom, on top of being a young mom causes MANY questions to arise.
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  • imageKateLouise:

    I did skin to skin and immediate BF with LO. We did that for about an hour I guess. My midwife also brought me a cup of tea during that time.

    Then she encouraged me to get up and have a shower (the birthng room had an ensuite) and to try and pee while I was in there, although Lord knows I could not reconnect with those peeing muscles for anyone. 

    When you can shower probably depends on the protocols of the hospital, my hospital wanted me out the door as quickly as possible. As well as how much "repair work" you need and how well you feel/blood you lose etc. I needed two stitches.

    In terms of blood loss I was holding LO and I felt a big gush, and I asked DH if there was a lot of blood. He went to get the midwife so it must have looked bad, but midwife said it was all normal. They estimated I lost 200mLs.

    In terms of mopping up the blood, you pretty much bleed a lot, so I just dried myself and pulled on knickers with a pad in really quickly. Doubling up pads is your friend at this stage. My midwife gave me two pads, but I didn't understand why. She didn't explain to double the pads up so I leaked quite a bit.

    I'll be honest, there's nothing glamorous about the mechanics immediately post birth, but you're in such an adrenalin pumped glow that it doesn't matter, and you just work through it. 



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  • No problem. Everyone's experience is different of course.

    The two things that really took me by surprise post birth were

    1) Having zero stomach muscle ability. I had to organise myself just to roll over in bed. In hindsight all my stomach muscles were completely stretched out like a rubber band with no stretch left. I just never thought about it. 

    2) Getting serious swelling in my legs, having not had much swelling all through my pregnancy. Apparently very normal and common, but it freaked me out a bit, and was a bit uncomfortable. 

    Good luck with your upcoming birth. I had a great birth experience and, for lack of a better word really enjoying giving birth. The post birth discomforts are a bit of a blur of tiredness and feeding, so obviously not a big enough of a deal to remember.

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    Elizabeth 5yrs old Jane 3yrs old
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  • I'm a first time mom also and I just want to say you aren't the only one wondering these things.  Don't feel silly!
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  • How soon you're able to get up also depends on whether or not you had an epidural. Recovery time is a bit faster without medication.

    As for the bleeding, yeah, you'll bleed. My friend brought her own pads with her because she didn't like the (REALLY) thick hospital grade ones, but then she realized how much she was going to bleed and used theirs. The bleeding doesn't always happen in a constant flow, though, so you may not be standing in the shower with blood constantly gushing down your legs.

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  • I'm a FTM at 32 and have the same questions...My hospital lets you up within two hours of a vaginal birth and 24 hours with a c-section to shower.  I can tell you I'm already looking forward to it!! 

  • I asked this same question the last time I was pregnant!  So don't worry, you are not the first to wonder this!  

    The best advice I got regarding cleaning off after a shower was to have a pair of undies with a pad in it ready to put on as soon as you get out of the shower.  

    I would dry off my bum as quickly as possible and get those undies on.

    As for showering after the birth, I was in the delivery room for about 2 hours after birth waiting for my epi to wear off.  I didn't really sweat or anything during delivery so other than my lady bits I wasn't really gross.  I think I showered later that day, DD was born as 7:30am, I showered probably around 3pm.  Before that I was too exhausted and in too much discomfort to shower.  

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  • They had to take DS to the nursery right away so I was in the shower within 2 hours.  I had a med-free delivery too. 

    I'm sure it varies person to person, but there is a lot of blood those first few days, way more than a period.  It got everywhere when I went to the bathroom.  I've actually heard several people describe it as a crime scene.  I think I had my fresh underwear and pad ready to put on in the bathroom right after I got out of the shower.  It's not that bad for long though.  I only needed the giant pads for the first 2 days and then regular ones worked fine.

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  • Don't feel silly - I'm glad you posted this! When I read this, you unearthed all these questions I didn't know I even had! Not gonna lie - being a FTM is making me very anxious!
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  • I showered the next morning, and it was amazing!!! I felt so clean and refreshed afterwards. As far as blood goes, after I got up to pee after having DD1, there was blood all over the room. And, the toliet was full of it when I peed (was NOT expecting that). I had to change pads pretty often during the first few days, but it eased up pretty quickly for me. After the first week, I just had light spotting/bleeding for the next 3 or so weeks and that's it.
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  • Since you never know how the birth will go, I will give you the c section side of it. I was not allowed to walk until my catheter was out. I think I was at least a day after her birth before I was made to get up. My ob made me take a laxative (yikes, was that a horrible experience!). I have to be honest, I didn't have it in me to shower for a while. I had DD on Monday, and I showered before I left on Thursday. I lost a lot of blood during the c section, so getting up involved not just the pain of walking but dizziness and nausea. The nurses clean you up and help you not to be gross. Just trust that they are there for you, and don't be embarassed. They have seen it all. You bleed a lot more than a period, and I get mine for about 5-6 days. I bled for about 6 weeks, but there could have been a period in there somewhere I didn't realize because I thought it was just part of the post partum bleeding. You are going to need lots of pads, and there will be accidents along the way, so don't wear anything important. But just keep in mind, you just had a baby and its all part and parcel of that. The blood is nothing compared to the diapers and baby spew you will encounter with LO, so don't sweat it.
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  • Something that isn't really discussed around here from people who have been through the birth process is the "gush" of fluids you might have when you first stand up.  I was warned by a couple friends IRL not to wear socks when I first stood up because they'll be destroyed.  So I felt like I was prepared for what might happen. 

    When I first stood up it was to use the restroom, the nurse wanted me to pee into what looked like a big measuring cup that fit on the toilet.  I quickly got up and ran for the bathroom that was in the birthing room.  Nothing happened, but I peed about 10 gallons due to all the fluid they dump in you through the IV.

    About 2 hours later I was sitting on the bed  with my husband in the recovery suite while my family was there meeting the baby.  I was wearing one of those monster hospital pads and felt a slight trickle going on.  I decided to get up and walk to the bathroom to check things out, I immediately noticed a small blood stain on the bed's comforter...'oh shlt' I thought, that's sort of embarrassing to have to deal with me bleeding on the bed in front of my IL's.  I started to walk to the bathroom when I felt a huge rush of fluids, I completely overflowed the pad and blood came running down my leg.  I ran faster and stood above the bathroom's little waste basket as blood and clumps of what looked like raw liver went down my leg, on the floor, in the garbage can...it was awful.  I yelled for my husband to get the nurse because I was pretty much stuck straddling the waste basket.

    The nurse came in and wasn't shocked at all, sort of a "oops!" and an "uh-oh, let me go get you a new gown and help clean you up" kind of thing.

    I bled heavily for the remainder of my time in the hospital.  At one point they gave me a shot of something in the hip to help stop the bleeding and I often had nurses come in to massage my abdomen  to help shrink my uterus down. I managed to take out another two hospital gowns and needed another linen change when I rolled off the absorbent pad and bled on the sheets.

    I didn't get a shower until the next day and had two showers total while I was in the hospital.  I recommend bringing your own towels because what they give you is a glorified hand towel, barely large enough to wrap around yourself.  Oh and leave the OTC pads at home, wear the hospital pads while you're there.  I also advise that you try and bring as many home as possible plus a few extra pairs of mesh underwear.

  • I'm sure your nurses will tell you, but when I had my first 2 kids they had me massage my stomach (uterus) to help it shrink back down to size.  When you do this you feel gushes of blood, which is good it helps prevent clots.  I bleed for about 2 weeks with my first and 4 weeks with my second (so it veries with every birth) but it was only heavy the first week or so. As far as in the shower I agree with the PP have everything ready to put on as soon as you get out just incase.
  • With my second, they wouldn't let me shower til afternoon on Sunday.  My son was born in the morning on Saturday.  I felt disgusting!  They wanted me to keep my IV in just in case I needed meds or something.  I hated it.  Finally I was like, take this out, I need to shower!  With DD, they encouraged me to shower right away.  I had her at 4:43 in the morning, I slept a little and they woke me around 10:00 and then helped me shower.  That first shower after birth is like the best shower ever in life.

    I bled for a couple weeks after both births.  It is very heavy the first few days.  I don't ever remember it running down my legs, but I know my towel would be bloody after drying off (tmi).  It wasn't like soaked in blood or anything, but it was there. 

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  • I had a med-free birth so I was up and moving pretty quickly after the delivery. I'd say within an hour or so. DH, my family, and some nurses took DD to the mother's wing and the nurse helped me in the bathroom. She pushed on my stomach a bit and a lot of clots and gushes came out (into the toilet).

    I showered a few hours later. There were still some clots and bleeding coming out, but not like the initial gushes. Over the next week or 2 the bleeding slowed down and then stopped- it was like a pretty heavy period.

    S- March 09 E- Feb 12 L- May 15


  • I had LO at 11:30 a.m. but didn't feel up to showering til the next morning. I did have an epidural. When I did finally take a shower it was an exhausting process, almost like when you are sick with the flu and take a shower. I have light periods and I would say my PP bleeding was like an extremely heavy period for the first day. After that it went to more regular period bleeding for about 5-6 days and then very light bleeding for another 2 weeks.
  • Yes the nurses clean you up and then they give you a peri squirt bottle to use when you go to the bathroom that you wash yourself down with each time. You can take a shower right away if you want, but I didn't in the hospital.  It looked like it hadnt been cleaned after the previous few people and I just couldn't do it (I was so grossed out).  I was able to get myself clean down there though and knew I wasn't staying too long. 

    The bleeding is heavier than the heaviest period you have had and yes it drips after a shower.  They give you diaper sized pads in the hospital with mesh underwear, so it keeps it all contained well.  After a few days it slows down a bit, but stays heavy for a few weeks. I bleed 5 weeks in total with my first.

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