What is quarantine for women who have just become mothers?
At PregDream we tell you what quarantine is, those 40 days that pass since our baby is born, and what we can and cannot do at that time.
Quarantine is the colloquial way of calling the postpartum period of the puerperium, which lasts approximately between six and eight weeks, depending on each woman. After motherhood, this process is of vital importance for the woman’s body, as it has undergone numerous changes, both physical and psychological as a mother, and it takes a reasonable time for everything to return to normal. Especially the body prepares to return to the state in which it was before becoming a mother as it has undergone endless changes that are physically and psychologically damaging in the postpartum period .
It is not necessary to be alarmed, the puerperium or quarantine is not a stage in which the woman cannot do anything or as many urban legends say, the woman is ill, nothing is further from reality. This postpartum period is a recovery from a situation of change, but the woman has not suffered any illness. It is true that during the puerperium the woman will have some physical and psychological limitations, but they recover during the quarantine and these limitations will depend on the state in which each woman is and on how she has lived the pregnancy, delivery and if the recovery period postpartum it is better or worse. We tell you what are these changes that occur during motherhood.
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PHYSICAL CHANGES IN THE PUERPERIUM
Physical changes are the most significant during pregnancy, as the woman’s body prepares to become a mother and this includes a difficult process for the body to adapt to this period of motherhood . The first significant change is internal, the uterus goes from measuring 6.5 cm in its natural state to approximately 32 cm and weighing about 60 grams to about 1000. For this reason, uterine involution (going from measuring the cm mentioned above during pregnancy to its normal measurements of every woman) is the first change that occurs in the forty-one of the most important to return the body to normal.
Another change that for women is of utmost importance is to have vaginal discharge again (to have menstruation, vaginal discharge …) called more technically expulsion of lochia. This means that the woman can resume her sexual life normally, can become pregnant again and her body generates the necessary vaginal discharge to avoid infections and internal discomforts. All with exceptions. About having sex is very relative. The body of the woman allows to have sexual relations after the postpartum, in a prudent period since the vagina has suffered a lot and in many cases they spend periods of the puerperium with stitches .
But the fact of being in quarantine does not force them not to have sexual relations, these can begin to be maintained once the woman’s body is strong for it and that will be determined by herself. But it is true that when you do not have vaginal discharge, the vagina is too dry and prevents you from having satisfactory sexual relations and even makes penetration difficult. That is why this process is important for sex in the couple. Regarding getting pregnant, it is true that postpartum and during quarantine it is very unlikely that the woman will become pregnant again but it is not impossible, so precautions must continue to be taken if you do not want a new maternity. The reason it is less likely is simple: the woman’s body secretes a hormone called prolactin that allows the woman to have milk in the breasts.
THE VAGINA MAY HAVE SUFFERED A LOT
The quarantine in this case will last between 24 and 72 hours until both the urethra and the bladder return to normal. In addition, in this period, a pronounced constipation occurs in many cases caused by hemorrhoids that many pregnant women suffer after excessive efforts of childbirth. These mishaps are not of vital importance, as they are processes of changes that even women can live in their day to day without being pregnant and return to normal without using any medication (in the case of hemorrhoids with a specific cream It’d be enough).
PSYCHOLOGICAL CHANGES
It is true that postpartum we always pay more attention to the physical changes that are the most significant, but the psychological changes are of vital importance for the good recovery of the woman and to return to normalcy as soon as possible. The first changes to take into account and for which quarantine helps a lot , is to accept that your life takes a back seat and that you have a very small person who depends completely on you . Adapting to little sleep, having to eat healthy, being excessively tired due to the great workload that motherhood entails … All this, once you get the hang of it, will be much easier. In addition, the happiness that being a mother brings is the best remedy to accept any effort that it requires.
Some new moms feel sad after childbirth, the physical and psychological changes are very strong and not all women assimilate it easily. In this case, you have to be aware of it because the woman can suffer postpartum depression and in this case she should go to a professional to help her see the advantages of being a mother , to feel like a woman again and to help her plan for her new life.
Dr. Tabriella Perivolaris, Sara's mother and fan of fashion, beauty, motherhood, among others, about the female universe. Since 2018 she has been working as a copywriter, always bringing to her articles a little of her experience and experience as a mother and woman.