What is Post-Natal Care?
Postnatal care means is defined as care of newborn mother and the newborn. The main objectives of postnatal care are: –
- To prevent complications of post-partum period
- To provide care for rapid restoration of mother’s health.
- To check the adequacy of breastfeeding
- To provide family planning services.
- To provide health education to new mothers and their families for effective treatment of the newborn and the mother.
In postnatal care, the health check-up is determined in stages. The check-up is done twice a day for the first three days and then at the end of 6 weeks to check the involution of the uterus. In the case of institutional delivery, there are 6 visits. There are various calories and supplementation that are required during lactation while postnatal care. During the first month, the amount of calories required is 600 kcal per day and for the following 6- 12 months, it’s 520 kcal/day.
Physiotherapy and postnatal care:-
Depending upon the fact that you may have a vaginal delivery or a C-section, you need to put your focus on different muscles. After the vaginal delivery, you must allow your muscles to rest and recover well. The physiotherapist will introduce you to various exercises based on certain principles that would involve rest and compression exercises. Resting is one of the most important components and you should do it whenever you get a chance. In the early days, you are going to spend a lot of time feeding your baby and hence, very often you will be in a sitting position. This can create extra pressure on the muscle and stitches down below.
Make sure that in the initial days, whenever you are not feeding lie down. This will help you relax the swelling. At the same time, it can be very helpful to use ice packs to reduce inflammation and pain. Your physiotherapist may suggest you wrap it in a cloth and place it on the pelvic muscle. This gives the muscle a chance to rest and recover and the muscles become a little more comfortable. For compression, use proper maternity pads suggested by the physiotherapists and follow the suitable exercises suggested.
