Sitz baths (warm, shallow baths), regular baths, and showers are safe after vaginal delivery and can help with discomfort.
There is no longer a placenta to maintain blood sugar levels. If you bathe a baby too soon after birth, they run the risk of emitting too many stress hormones which will cause their blood sugar to drop making them tired and less likely to breastfeed. In some cases, this fatigue can result in neurological injury.
Recovery and sleep after giving birth
Your baby may not eat much at each feeding during the hospital stay. At some point, you will need to use the bathroom, and you'll want to shower. If you have an epidural, you'll need to wait for it to wear off enough that you feel comfortable walking.
After 48 hours, surgical wounds can get wet without increasing the risk of infection. After this time, you can get your stitches wet briefly with a light spray (such as in the shower), but they should not be soaked (for example, in the bath). Make sure you pat the area dry afterwards.
But for most families, bathing the baby two to three times a week is plenty after the first couple of weeks of life. In fact, we recommend delaying your newborn's first full bath for at least two weeks. Newborns shed about three layers of skin within their first week, which often surprises new parents.
Don't drink alcohol, use street drugs or use harmful drugs. All of these can affect your mood and make you feel worse. And they can make it hard for you to take care of your baby. Ask for help from your partner, family and friends.
If your baby was delivered vaginally, you should be able to have a bath in the days after giving birth (best to check with your doctor first) — much sooner than if you've had a C-section. If you have stitches after tearing your perineum, don't fret, it's fine to have a bath.
Limit your activity to caring for yourself and your baby. If you had an exercise routine during pregnancy, ask your health care provider when you can begin again. You can start the gentle postpartum exercise routine described below the day after you give birth.
Try taking a warm bath in a clean bathtub, unless your health care provider tells you otherwise. Sitting in a shallow bath with warm water can help soothe, clean and heal your perineum. You can do this twice a day for up to 20 minutes at a time. Use clean, warm water with no soaps, oils or bubble bath.
Driving after having a baby
There is no rule or legal requirement about when you can start driving again after giving birth vaginally. But it is best to wait until any medication is out of your system, you're not in pain and you feel comfortable and confident before you get behind the wheel.
In some cultures, women stay in the house with their new baby for a month or more. But it is also fine to take your baby outside as soon as you feel ready. It is a good idea to go out when your baby is calm and happy. After a feed and a nappy change is a good time.
Usually, it is safe to begin exercising a few days after giving birth—or as soon as you feel ready. If you had a cesarean birth or complications, ask your ob-gyn when it is safe to begin exercising again.
Baby showers are typically held four to six weeks before the baby's due date—late enough that the pregnancy is well along, but likely early enough to avoid the baby arriving beforehand and disrupting the party plans. However, some people prefer to have a shower after the delivery. That way the baby can attend, as well.
Most women will stop bleeding between four and six weeks after giving birth. Some women may bleed for longer or shorter than this.
Prepare for the 5-5-5 rule: 5 days in the bed, 5 days on the bed, 5 days near the bed. This gives you a solid two weeks of focused intentional rest. It also helps to get your priorities in order when it comes to those eager visitors. They will get to see the baby, but they don't get to make the rules.
You can get pregnant as little as 3 weeks after the birth of a baby, even if you're breastfeeding and your periods haven't started again. Unless you want to get pregnant again, it's important to use some kind of contraception every time you have sex after giving birth, including the first time.
Say no to straining.
It's uncomfortable for one, and if a stitch were to possibly pop, intense straining is how it might happen. Straining can cause or worsen hemorrhoids too. Having to push hard or force are signs that your body isn't ready yet, so don't force it.
Eat plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, salad, wholegrain cereals and wholemeal bread, and drink plenty of water. This should make pooing easier and less painful. Try not to push or strain – this will make the piles worse. Let your midwife know if you feel very uncomfortable.
After having a baby - especially after a vaginal delivery - many women develop hemorrhoids. Symptoms include pain, rectal itching, bleeding after having a bowel movement, or a swollen area around the anus. How to treat: You can use a sitz bath (a basin filled with warm water) or a bath to soak yourself in warm water.
You can wear postpartum jeans within the first few weeks after giving birth as long as it feels comfortable. You'll likely have to hold off on wearing “regular” jeans until you're at least six weeks postpartum since these generally have a tighter fit with less give in them.
The cervix generally doesn't close fully for around six weeks, so up until that point, there's the risk of introducing bacteria into the uterus and ending up with an infection, Pari Ghodsi, M.D., a board-certified ob/gyn based in Los Angeles, tells SELF.
As soon as you want. Itching for a drink? The good news is you can have one right after baby is born, if you really wanted to.