What causes labor pain? How to take care of yourself after childbirth?

Many people may feel very painful when they hear about childbirth. What is the reason for labor pain?

What causes labor pain?

1. Excessive uterine contractions

Excessive uterine contractions can be divided into two situations: one is too coordinated, and the other is too uncoordinated.

Coordinated uterine contraction is too strong, which means that the uterine contraction force is too strong. If the birth canal resistance is not strong, the cervix will open quickly in a short time, resulting in a total delivery process of no more than 3 hours. This is what we usually call precipitous delivery.

Uncoordinated and excessive uterine contractions are caused by external factors that cause obstruction of labor after delivery, such as inappropriate use of oxytocin or placental abruption, which cause tonic spasmodic contractions of the uterine muscle layer.

2. Expectant mothers are in poor mental condition

The psychology of expectant mothers during childbirth is very complicated. On the one hand, they have to endure pain that they have never experienced before, and on the other hand, they worry about the baby and themselves. First-time mothers will inevitably experience negative emotions such as anxiety and fear during childbirth.

Excessive tension will increase the pain of pregnant mothers during childbirth, causing a series of neuroendocrine reactions in mothers, resulting in increased oxygen consumption, increased cardiac load, and reduced blood flow.

3. Lack of knowledge about childbirth

If the expectant mother and father are completely unprepared for childbirth knowledge and do not understand the entire process, the expectant mother will not be able to cope with the negative emotions caused by ignorance. At the same time, they will not use the corresponding methods to relieve pain during childbirth.

4. Excessive tension will increase pain

In many cases, the fear of unknown pain is also the reason for the increased pain. Most expectant mothers' fear of pain during normal childbirth also comes from their own psychological suggestion that it will be very painful, thus causing abnormal fear of childbirth. In addition, some expectant mothers are usually very sensitive to pain. After believing the exaggerated descriptions of some experienced mothers, they imagine how painful it is to give birth. These factors are bound to cause great psychological pressure.

How to reduce the pain of childbirth

1. Don't push too hard at the beginning. It has to be said that giving birth is very painful for women, which is hard to describe. Generally, when contractions come, people can't help but push hard, but remember not to push hard. Use breathing to relieve pain, breathe according to the strength of contractions, relax, and don't grab and command to push hard. If you push hard in the first process, it will not only slow down the opening of the cervix, but also make you exhausted.

2. You must eat well. Giving birth is a physically demanding process and it takes a long time, sometimes even one or two days. So you must eat well. If you don’t eat, you won’t be able to hold on to the end and end up not having the energy to give birth, which would be a waste of effort.

3. Don’t shout or scream during the delivery process, unlike what is shown on TV. Screaming or screaming will not only waste your energy but may also cause bloating and discomfort, which will continue even after delivery.

4. If your water breaks during childbirth, you will have to use adult diapers and you cannot go to the toilet to pee. You can only lie in bed to solve all problems. At this time, you must relax and pee naturally in the diaper, otherwise you will need the assistance of a catheter, which increases the risk of urinary tract infection.

5. Be sure to take a good bath and wash your hair before giving birth, because you will be very tired after giving birth and it is impossible to wash immediately, and your body will be very dirty.

Wound care after vaginal delivery

A vaginal birth may cause vaginal tearing or even wounds, but vaginal birth has fewer complications and recovery is faster. Generally, the pain can be relieved or disappear in 1-2 weeks. However, the wound of a vaginal birth is located at the intersection of the urethra, vagina, and anus, so it must be carefully cared for to prevent infection in order for the wound to heal quickly.

1. Clean the perineum. Rinse the perineum with warm water every day, and wipe the vulva with sterilized cotton after defecation. Be careful to wipe from front to back and prevent the incision from cracking.

2. Change the sanitary pad every day. Avoid getting it completely wet. A wet and dirty sanitary pad will make it difficult for the wound to heal.

3. Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. Increase the intake of fruits and vegetables, and drink more pig's trotter soup and fish soup. Avoid eating spicy food to prevent affecting normal bowel movements.

4. Laxative. If you are constipated, try not to strain, and it is best to use enema to help with bowel movements.

5. Avoid using too much force. Do not squat after removing the stitches. When going to the toilet, you should first tighten the perineum and buttocks before sitting down. Do not use excessive force to cause the perineum wound to crack again.

6. Prevent wound rupture. Avoid falling or stretching your thighs too far outward to prevent wound rupture.

Taboos of postpartum care

Avoid fatigue

After giving birth, the mother may suffer from perineal lacerations, and the best way to recover is to keep the legs together and rest more. Modern doctors will first cut the perineum for the new mother during childbirth, and then sew it up, so new mothers now should also "confinement". Although it does not mean lying in bed completely motionless, they should still rest as much as possible, avoid climbing stairs, and avoid overexertion.

Avoid eating too much MSG

In order to prevent zinc deficiency in infants, mothers should avoid excessive consumption of MSG. Generally speaking, it is beneficial and harmless for adults to eat MSG, but it is not good for infants, especially those under 12 weeks old, if the mothers during breastfeeding consume excessive MSG while taking a high-protein diet. This is because the sodium glutamate in MSG will enter the baby's body through breast milk. Excessive sodium glutamate has a serious impact on the development of infants, especially those under 12 weeks old. It can specifically bind to the zinc in the baby's blood to produce glutamate that cannot be absorbed by the body, while the zinc is excreted in the urine, resulting in zinc deficiency in the baby. In this way, the baby is not only prone to poor taste and anorexia, but also mental retardation, growth retardation and other adverse consequences.

Avoid taking ginseng in a hurry

It is harmful to rush to use ginseng to nourish the body. New mothers who have just given birth have consumed a lot of energy and physical strength and need to stay in bed to rest. If they take ginseng at this time, they will find it difficult to sleep due to excitement, which will affect the recovery of energy.

Avoid eating too many eggs

Medical research shows that it is best not to eat eggs within a few hours after childbirth. This is because during childbirth, the mother consumes a lot of energy, sweats a lot, and has insufficient body fluids, which reduces her digestive ability. If you eat eggs immediately after childbirth, it will be difficult to digest, increase the gastrointestinal burden, and even easily cause stomach problems.