i wasn't expecting postnatal recovery to be so tough and take so long. my midwife also said usually recovery isn't so tough. perhaps i just happen to fall outside of the normal distribution curve and my experiences aren't like the average person.
from what i gather, the statistics for the following are:
giving birth on the exact due date - ~5%
nuchal hand/compound presentation - ~1 in 238 to 1 in 1000 births
severe (3rd and 4th degree) perineal tears - ~3%
basically all these are considered rare/uncommon and it all happened to me. what are the odds?
and no epidural.
that's for the delivery.
I thought my pelvic pain was bad during pregnancy but somehow my pelvic instability got worse postnatally and i couldn't even walk without falling to one side (and that's with the oppo belt that physio recommended). i think i even felt bones moving across one another when i walked. or waddled. even whenever i shifted positions or laid down or tried to get out of bed it took me a while to settle into the new position. the exercises recommended by physio such as pelvic tilts were also super painful to do.
so the pelvic instability coupled with my 3rd degree tear made it very hard for me to get out of bed and move around. it was even harder to try to get Atty out of her bassinet, or lift her up or get her to the change table, or even walk to the kitchen to prepare her formula milk. it was super frustrating and i got very anxious whenever Atty started crying (because when she starts crying for milk it is relentless and inconsolable until she gets her milk). worse is, she would cry with no prior sign so everything is very sudden and there is no way to prepare in advance. so basically i could only hold onto Atty while i was flopping in bed and feed her and burp her with her sitting up or over my shoulder. anything else would need King's assistance.
basically out of the 6 ADLs i could only manage eating for a while postnatally. and i needed help with the rest. what terrible functional status.
because of the tear and stitches, i had a urinary catheter for 3 days. and after it was removed i had incontinence. not sure if it's because of the catheter or due to the delivery? so i had to use adult incontinence diapers for a while. and pooping was quite a scary thought, physio even said to support the perineum when pooping to prevent tearing the stitches. i was rather afraid the stitches would tear. and the pain. it wasn't helping that i was BNO for 3-4 days postnatally, and wondered if constipation would make the stools hard and dreading the time when i needed to open bowels. but thank goodness for stool softeners and laxatives, because when i finally pooped on the 4th day postnatally, the stools just slipped out (lol TMI). but overall peeing and pooping were still quite painful :(
because of the pelvic instability, i couldn't really mobilize or get dressed.. couldn't bend down/stand on one leg.
flopping when you are able is enjoyable.
flopping when you have no choice is actually quite depressing.
despite being quite lazy usually, i was actually rather upset that i couldn't do much postnatally.
by 4 weeks postnatally the pelvic instability finally started to get better, and so did the soreness from the stitches. my pain score went down 1-2 notches from the pain scale and i could walk a bit easier. when i thought that i was finally getting better... i woke up one morning with chills and bodyaches all over. my temperature was 37.7 deg C. my right breast had an area that was red.. so i suspected mastitis.
a visit to the GP confirmed it was mastitis and i was started on antibiotics - flucloxacillin.
then i developed an allergic reaction to flucloxacillin - got rashes all over both legs.
went to the GP again and antibiotics got changed to erythromycin.
took erythromycin for 4 days, no issue with the medication... but then realized that my left breast started to form a red patch that hurt -.- guess i got mastitis on my left breast too.
getting mastitis made me feel worse than ever. perhaps it was the fever/body aches? or perhaps it was the culminated physical woes that hit the threshold. the 2nd month postpartum was the worst for me, especially since i felt so weak and didn't have enough strength to hold Atty. because of the mastitis it also hurt too much for Atty to sleep on my chest. sadness, i loved to cuddle with her.
anyway, after the mastitis went away things started to get better.
at my 10th week check at the WCH, the Dr and physio said my 3rd degree tear had healed well, so that's a relief. there was still some pain, which was attributed to pulling pains from the healing.
my pelvic pain was much more persistent and i think it took me a good 6-7 months postpartum to feel alright again. but up till today at times my pelvis feels a bit off... like something didn't click into place correctly, hmm... weird.
from what i gather, the statistics for the following are:
giving birth on the exact due date - ~5%
nuchal hand/compound presentation - ~1 in 238 to 1 in 1000 births
severe (3rd and 4th degree) perineal tears - ~3%
basically all these are considered rare/uncommon and it all happened to me. what are the odds?
and no epidural.
that's for the delivery.
I thought my pelvic pain was bad during pregnancy but somehow my pelvic instability got worse postnatally and i couldn't even walk without falling to one side (and that's with the oppo belt that physio recommended). i think i even felt bones moving across one another when i walked. or waddled. even whenever i shifted positions or laid down or tried to get out of bed it took me a while to settle into the new position. the exercises recommended by physio such as pelvic tilts were also super painful to do.
so the pelvic instability coupled with my 3rd degree tear made it very hard for me to get out of bed and move around. it was even harder to try to get Atty out of her bassinet, or lift her up or get her to the change table, or even walk to the kitchen to prepare her formula milk. it was super frustrating and i got very anxious whenever Atty started crying (because when she starts crying for milk it is relentless and inconsolable until she gets her milk). worse is, she would cry with no prior sign so everything is very sudden and there is no way to prepare in advance. so basically i could only hold onto Atty while i was flopping in bed and feed her and burp her with her sitting up or over my shoulder. anything else would need King's assistance.
basically out of the 6 ADLs i could only manage eating for a while postnatally. and i needed help with the rest. what terrible functional status.
because of the tear and stitches, i had a urinary catheter for 3 days. and after it was removed i had incontinence. not sure if it's because of the catheter or due to the delivery? so i had to use adult incontinence diapers for a while. and pooping was quite a scary thought, physio even said to support the perineum when pooping to prevent tearing the stitches. i was rather afraid the stitches would tear. and the pain. it wasn't helping that i was BNO for 3-4 days postnatally, and wondered if constipation would make the stools hard and dreading the time when i needed to open bowels. but thank goodness for stool softeners and laxatives, because when i finally pooped on the 4th day postnatally, the stools just slipped out (lol TMI). but overall peeing and pooping were still quite painful :(
because of the pelvic instability, i couldn't really mobilize or get dressed.. couldn't bend down/stand on one leg.
flopping when you are able is enjoyable.
flopping when you have no choice is actually quite depressing.
by 4 weeks postnatally the pelvic instability finally started to get better, and so did the soreness from the stitches. my pain score went down 1-2 notches from the pain scale and i could walk a bit easier. when i thought that i was finally getting better... i woke up one morning with chills and bodyaches all over. my temperature was 37.7 deg C. my right breast had an area that was red.. so i suspected mastitis.
a visit to the GP confirmed it was mastitis and i was started on antibiotics - flucloxacillin.
then i developed an allergic reaction to flucloxacillin - got rashes all over both legs.
went to the GP again and antibiotics got changed to erythromycin.
took erythromycin for 4 days, no issue with the medication... but then realized that my left breast started to form a red patch that hurt -.- guess i got mastitis on my left breast too.
getting mastitis made me feel worse than ever. perhaps it was the fever/body aches? or perhaps it was the culminated physical woes that hit the threshold. the 2nd month postpartum was the worst for me, especially since i felt so weak and didn't have enough strength to hold Atty. because of the mastitis it also hurt too much for Atty to sleep on my chest. sadness, i loved to cuddle with her.
anyway, after the mastitis went away things started to get better.
at my 10th week check at the WCH, the Dr and physio said my 3rd degree tear had healed well, so that's a relief. there was still some pain, which was attributed to pulling pains from the healing.
my pelvic pain was much more persistent and i think it took me a good 6-7 months postpartum to feel alright again. but up till today at times my pelvis feels a bit off... like something didn't click into place correctly, hmm... weird.
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