After Delivery Care for Mother : Well-Being through Essential Nutrition, Hygiene and Mental Health

After Delivery Care for mothers like you is as essential as caring about your baby’s health. It is an important aspect of postnatal care for recovering moms. After the birth of your baby, there will be many challenges while taking care of your little one, but this doesn’t mean that you stop taking care of yourself. As a mother, you need to take care of yourself while conquering the challenges of the postpartum period.

During the postpartum period, which is usually 6 weeks, as a mother, you go through a lot of emotions. You establish breastfeeding by trying different breastfeeding positions and the bonding between you and your baby, therefore, you both require care. Along with taking care of your physical health, your after delivery care should also include taking care of your mental health. Your body tries to get back to the pre-pregnancy stage both physically and mentally, so all-round support is a must.

This is also a time of vulnerability for you and your baby; therefore, care is a must, and this is referred to as after delivery care for mothers and babies, or postnatal care.

In this blog of ours, we will dive into the importance of after delivery care for mothers, the role of nutrition in after delivery care for Indian mothers, and the role of postnatal hygiene.

Importance of After Delivery Care for Mother

When you hear that postpartum care or post delivery care for mom is only limited to regular checkups or necessary medical examinations, you have a chance to doubt that. Obviously, these examinations are important, but such care is not limited to medical examinations. The period of postpartum care is also about proper diet and nutrition, mental health, postnatal hygiene, a healthy lifestyle, etc.

So, post-delivery care for Indian moms has become important and essential. You can learn about the importance of after-delivery care from various sources. A few of them are as follows:

1. Physical Recovery: After delivery care includes the physical recovery of the mother, like you, as your body undergoes various physical changes substantially. It tries to return to its pre-pregnancy stage quickly, and for this, your body needs rest. The duration of 6 to 8 weeks of the postnatal period may involve complications such as infections, excessive bleeding, and pain. Therefore, monitoring such complications is important.
2. Mental and Emotional Support : A postpartum period comes with a lot of challenges, and it includes mental challenges too. When we talk about after delivery care for mothers, the emotional well-being of new mothers is as important as their physical health. Counseling new moms, guiding them through postpartum challenges, etc. boosts a mother’s well-being.
3. Successful Breastfeeding Sessions: After delivery, care for mothers may also involve making new moms aware of breastfeeding techniques and their challenges. Such information will allow new moms to latch their babies in a comfortable position for lactation, which eventually will lead to successful breastfeeding sessions.
4. Professional Support: Postpartum care involves a team of healthcare professionals who can monitor physical health, guide on having successful sessions, and also provide emotional support. Such involvement of healthcare professionals ensures that any complications during the postnatal care duration can be detected and addressed promptly.
5. Family Support: After delivery care does not only involve the role of healthcare professionals; family and friends also play a major role in supporting mental and physical recovery post childbirth. With support in daily chores, baby care, etc., new mothers get proper time to rest and recover. This also allows for a stronger bond with the newborn.
6. Prevents Long Term Health Issues: Effective post delivery care for mom can prevent long term health issues. With proper care, the risk of problems such as pelvic floor disorders, urinary inconsistency, mental health issues, etc. can be minimized.
7. Education and Awareness: Many mothers are not aware of what actual after delivery care or postpartum care is or what it involves. Healthcare professionals do play their part in educating them, making them aware of the challenges, and then supporting them. Workshops, informational sessions, journals, etc. do help in educating and increasing awareness among new mothers about post delivery care.
8. Healthy Nutrition: There should be no doubt that having a good postpartum recovery means having a healthy, nutritious diet in your after delivery care routine. The consumption of a balanced postnatal diet is vital for recovery, both physically and mentally. Proper nutrition helps in healing, energy replenishment, and supporting breastfeeding.

Role of Nutrition in After Delivery Care for Mother

A balanced nutritious diet in after delivery care for mother is as crucial as breast milk for the newborn. Post delivery care is not only limited to medical care, for a healthy recovery and for fulfilling body’s nutrients needs a good diet is also required. Nutritious diet which are rich in vitamins, minerals, proteins etc. helps in healing and rejuvenating a mother post-childbirth. Nutrition in after delivery care for mothers is vital for postpartum recovery.

A few of the roles that nutrition plays are:

• Nutrients like vitamins, minerals, folic acid, antioxidants, iron, etc. help your body recover and rejuvenate postpartum.
• For breastfeeding mothers, eating a nutritious diet ensures that they have enough nutrients and energy to produce an adequate supply of milk for their little one.
• Galactagogue rich ingredients like fenugreek seeds, edible gum, etc. help boost lactation. Equisential Postpartum Care Laddu is made of such ingredients to support the postpartum recovery of the mother.
• The after delivery care period for mothers can be demanding physically, resulting in a loss of energy. Eating the required healthy diet during such times can help boost energy levels.
• A nutritious diet during postpartum care may aid new mothers in losing excess weight that was gained during pregnancy.

Importance of Postnatal Hygiene in Postpartum Care

For new mothers, maintaining postnatal hygiene plays a significant role in preventing infections post childbirth. This also helps in promoting overall health during the postpartum recovery period. The importance of postnatal hygiene in postpartum care is:

1. Proper hygiene helps in preventing various infections post childbirth such as urinary tract infections (UTIs), mastitis, breast tissue infections and wound infections if the delivery is through a C-section.
2. It is also advised to wash hands regularly, cleaning of breasts post-breastfeeding sessions; and cleanliness of the vaginal area are essential to prevent such infections during post delivery care.
3. Sterilization of breast pumps and other feeding equipment is essential to avoid any transmission of infection to the baby.
4. To prevent infections in the perineal area, change pads frequently and keep the area dry and clean.
5. Drinking plenty of fresh, clean water helps prevent bladder infections and dehydration.
6. Also, maintaining personal postnatal hygiene can also impact mental health by giving a sense of overall well-being.

In the End

After delivery care for mother and baby is a comprehensive process. As much as a baby requires attention in the postpartum period, a mother requires the same attention and care. After delivery care for mother addresses important aspects of motherhood, like the physical, nutritional, emotional and practical needs of new moms.

A proper post delivery care ensures that a mother has a healthier recovery, supports lactation, prevents after-childbirth complications, prevents common infections and helps in adjusting to the new role as a mother. It is a critical phase where it becomes important to navigate the challenges with full confidence and well-being, and medical care professionals as well as family and friends play a crucial role in doing so.

It becomes critical to focus on healthy after delivery care as it benefits not only the mother but also contributes to the healthy development of newborns. Furthermore, it is a way to lay a strong foundation for healthy times ahead for both the baby and the mother.