After the birth: care and danger signs
Patient education
What it is
The weeks after a birth are when a mother is most likely to become seriously ill, and most of that happens in the first few days. Postnatal care is the set of checks on the mother and the baby through that time. It is the part of maternity care people most often skip, because the baby has arrived and everything feels finished.
When to seek urgent care
Bleeding soaks more than one pad an hour, or gets heavier instead of lighter; the blood smells bad, or there is a fever; there is a severe headache, blurred vision, or swelling of the face and hands; there is a fit; there is severe belly pain; a breast is red, hot and painful with fever; a wound opens, smells or leaks; one leg is painful, red or swollen; there is chest pain or difficulty breathing; or there are thoughts of harming yourself or the baby.
How it shows
The WHO recommends at least four checks in the first six weeks: one in the first day, one around the third day, one in the second week, and one at six weeks. Each looks at the bleeding, the blood pressure, the womb, the breasts, any wound, how feeding is going, and how the mother feels in herself.
What to do
Keep the checks even when you feel completely well, because the things they look for do not announce themselves. Take any supplements you were given. Eat and sleep whenever the baby allows it. Ask about family planning at these visits: a pregnancy that follows too quickly is harder on both the mother and the baby, and the method that suits a breastfeeding mother is not always the one she used before.
Postnatal care for the mother and the newborn is given at public health centres and is often free or subsidised - ask rather than staying away because of the cost. Feeling low, frightened or hopeless after a birth is common, it is not a failure, and it is treatable. Say so at the visit; nobody will take your baby for saying it.