Anita Bellante, MD: The biggest thing is to give yourself a break. It is really hard to be up all night breastfeeding a baby, taking care of someone and doing everything . For them.

Caitlin Whyte: After months of anticipation, meeting your baby for the first time will be one of the most memorable experiences of your life. However, adjusting to becoming a parent while also encountering a new set of physical and emotional symptoms can send any new mom into overdrive. So joining us today to talk about life after delivery is Dr. Anita Bellante, a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist on the medical staff at Southwest General.

This is Southwest General Health Talk. I'm Caitlin Whyte. All right, so to start us off, doctor, what can I expect after delivery?

Anita Bellante, MD: So after delivery, your body goes through a series of changes. The uterus shrinks back down. You'll tend to have some bleeding that kind of comes and goes. Sometimes it'll be a little heavier and sometimes a little bit lighter and obviously your milk production will start. The other thing that everybody expects is you'll be up intermittently throughout the night taking care of your newborn. So I think that's the biggest adjustment postpartum.

Caitlin Whyte: Let's talk about breastfeeding adventures. What should we expect there?

Anita Bellante, MD: In an ideal world, babies will come out and just know how to latch and will breastfeed, you know, every two to three hours, you know, for 15 to 20 minutes and everything goes really smoothly. However, that doesn't always happen. Sometimes it takes a little bit of work teaching the baby how to latch. And in that process, often women will experience significant amount of nipple soreness. Sometimes they'll have even sores on their nipples. We recommend that you have some sort of cream to put on your nipples after breastfeeding in order to help protect them because they can get quite uncomfortable.

Caitlin Whyte: Now, what are some signs or symptoms I should be looking out for when it comes to postpartum?

Anita Bellante, MD: So things that concern us postpartum would be bleeding. So if you're starting to bleed where you're soaking through more than a pad in an hour or passing clots larger than the size of an egg, those would be things you'd want to give your physician a call about. The other concerns would be a severe headache. That can be a sign of preeclampsia. Chest pain or shortness of breath can sometimes be a sign of preeclampsia, but sometimes they're the sign of a blood clot. So those would all be things that you would immediately want to call your physician if you're experiencing.

Caitlin Whyte: So when can I ease back into doing stuff like working out?

Anita Bellante, MD: Whenever you're ready is probably the best answer. If you had a C-section, we will tell you not to do anything that requires your abs for 6 to 12 weeks, because we don't want you to get a hernia. But if you have a vaginal delivery, walking, doing your normal exercise routine is fine whenever you feel up to it. But most people don't have the time as they're taking care of their baby.

Caitlin Whyte: You know, a lot of moms want to get right back into those bodies they had before getting pregnant. So how can we be easier on ourselves about our post-baby bodies?

Anita Bellante, MD: That's a good question. I don't think your body ever goes back to the way it was before you had kids no matter how much exercise you do. I think women need to give themselves a break, especially if you're breastfeeding. You're putting a lot of calories into that breast milk. So a good reason to breastfeed because it does help you to lose some of that baby weight a little bit faster.

And I also think you need to give yourself some time. So no one expects you to be back to your pre-pregnancy weight six weeks postpartum. We expect that it's going to take some time. And there's a lot of things that are beyond our control. You know, your uterus obviously is big. It needs to shrink back down, that takes time. There's a lot of shifts that happen during pregnancy. So you have extra fluid, which then tends to lead to more swelling immediately postpartum, that takes sometimes days or weeks to get rid of. So I would advise you not to get on the scale and not to try and put on your pre-pregnancy clothes for at least four to six weeks.

Caitlin Whyte: And so once I've been cleared by a medical professional and my partner wants to have sex again, but I'm a little scared. I mean, how do I ease back into being intimate again?

Anita Bellante, MD: So the first few times after you've had a delivery, especially if it's a vaginal delivery are certainly anxiety-producing, which often makes sex more uncomfortable because you need to be relaxed in order for it to be comfortable. I always recommend to have some sort of extra lubrication available. So that when you do try, it will help to make it a little bit more comfortable. Usually, we recommend not trying to have intercourse until you're six weeks postpartum, so that the tissue, especially if you tear, has a chance to heal properly.

Caitlin Whyte: And wrapping up here, once I'm home, if I need assistance, or I have questions like these, who or where can I reach out?

Anita Bellante, MD: So the hospital generally calls everyone a few days after they're home to check in and see how they're doing. So that's kind of a helpful starting off point. Your provider's always available. Obviously, if it's during office hours, we have staff that can help us to call you back if we cannot get to the phone. But if you're having any issues at all, certainly the physicians are available 24/7 on call, so you can always call.

The other thing that's available is the patient portal. So that is an electronic email system, which will allow you to send messages. So maybe something's not pressing, but you're like, "Gosh, I just wonder if this is okay to do or take," it's an easy way for you to send a message when it's fresh on your mind. Even at three o'clock in the morning, and then it will be sent to the provider in the morning so that he can address it. Certainly not something we want people to use to get in touch with us urgently, but it is a way for patients to communicate with us without having to call the office, especially for some of those more embarrassing things that people question.

Caitlin Whyte: Wonderful. Well, doctor some great tips here. Is there anything else you'd like to share when we're talking about life after delivery?

Anita Bellante, MD: The biggest thing is to give yourself a break. It is really hard to be up all night breastfeeding a baby, taking care of someone and doing everything for them. I think there are a lot of demands on us women and I think we need to recognize that it is hard to have a baby and it is hard to be sleep-deprived. So to not only have a baby and be sleep-deprived is especially hard. I think people need to ask for help and accept help when it's offered.

Caitlin Whyte: Well doctor, thanks for being with us today. So much great information for new moms.

To learn more about Southwest General's maternity services, visit SWgeneral.com or call (440) 816-5050. That's (440) 816-5050. And this has been Southwest General Health Talk. I'm Caitlin White. We'll see you next time.