How to Survive Your First Poop After Birth?

Postpartum bowel movements might be difficult owing to discomfort, medications, or the concern of damaging sutures. Drink lots of water, consume fibre-rich meals, and think about using stool softeners or laxatives. Soft stools and careful placement may aid those with sutures or haemorrhoids. If your symptoms continue, consult your doctor.

Pregatips
Once the baby is delivered, you'll want to soak in the delight of newborn cuddles—and, relax as much as you can while feeding, changing, and comforting the baby round the clock. At the same time, your body begins its postpartum recovery, which includes returning to its typical physical processes. That includes your first poop after delivery, a less-discussed but significant postpartum milestone. If you're worried about pooping after delivery, you're not alone.

When Is Your First Poop After Birth?

According to the reports, your first poop after birth may occur anywhere from a day to four days postpartum, with C-sections taking longer than vaginal deliveries.However, the timing of your first postpartum poop may vary depending on several circumstances, including the medication you take. You might even poop during labour, which is entirely normal.

Why Do You Have Trouble Pooping After Birth?

There are many reasons why you may have difficulty pooping after delivery. Following the birth of your baby, having a bowel movement can be challenging, painful, and frustrating. If you have had a C-section, the painkillers may cause constipation. With a vaginal birth, you may have concerns about sutures giving way.Following the delivery, it is not unusual to be concerned about painful poops, which may cause bowel movement problems.

How To Make Pooping Easier After Giving Birth?

It's not always easy to take your first postpartum poop. The following are some strategies for making defecation after delivery easier:
  • Drink lots of liquids: It is advisable to drink at least eight to ten glasses of water every day. Fruit juice, particularly pear or prune juice, might help control your initial bowel movement and relieve constipation. Drinking warm drinks in the morning may also help things move along.
  • Eat a lot of fibre: Choose fibre-rich foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. Fibre helps bring water into the intestines, softening the stool and allowing it to pass more easily.
  • Ask your doctor for a stool softener: Stool softeners, including Colace, moisten your stool and help it pass more easily.
  • Take a laxative as required: If hydration, eating fibre and taking stool softeners aren't effective, taking laxatives should bring success.
  • Remember, pooping is normal: Remember that bowel motions are healthy and natural. Try to embrace it. Your mentality influences how your body responds. Being optimistic decreases the likelihood of experiencing a scared body response. Sometimes just being aware of the issue is beneficial in enriching the experience.
  • Proper pooping posture makes all the difference: Practice proper pooping posture. This is so simple and necessary for healthy bowel movements after delivery that it should become a regular component of your toilet setup. A step stool beneath your feet will enhance the angle of the rectum for pooping. Your knees are higher than your hips in a squat stance.
Instead of holding your breath, exhale as you bear down to defecate. Exhale as if you were blowing out birthday candles to avoid holding your breath. Pooping should entail soft pushes rather than straining.

How To Poop After Giving Birth With Stitches?

If you cried during delivery, you may be concerned about pooping after receiving sutures. Stitches seldom rupture, and they are unlikely to be damaged by defecation. However, having soft stools—again, the techniques above should help, these techniques will make it much simpler to poop after delivery with sutures and lower the danger of exacerbating them. While sitting on the toilet, place your feet on a stool to lift your knees over your hips (this may assist whether or not you have stitches!). Also, be careful to prevent straining!

How To Poop After a C-section?

Use a cushion to provide pressure to the abdomen during Caesarean delivery. This helps in healing the incision made as you defecate. It also complements the abdominal wall muscles, which generally aid to manage pressure during pooping.

How To Poop With Haemorrhoids After Birth?

Postpartum haemorrhoids are too prevalent. All of the methods listed above, such as drinking enough fluids and using a stool softener, will help you defecate if you have haemorrhoids after delivery. A sitz bath (a basin filled with warm water), witch hazel, or sitting on a pressure-relieving cushion may all help alleviate haemorrhoids.

Breathe for Better Postpartum Pooping

Practice diaphragmatic breathing. You may do it on the first day of postpartum to reconnect with your core and minimise tension. Diaphragmatic breathing provides more oxygen to our tissues. Good blood flow is essential for muscle function and tissue repair.Diaphragmatic breathing reduces sympathetic nervous system activity linked with stress. Stress from additional obligations, discomfort, or infirmity might block the "rest and digest" signals, which include the signal to defecate. When we are calm, we are more likely to get a signal for bowel movements. So diaphragmatic breathing may help in this situation.Finally, diaphragmatic breathing helps to increase abdominal and pelvic floor movement. Breathwork may help relax and strengthen the abdominal and pelvic floor muscles.You may practice diaphragmatic breathing many times each day (for several minutes at a time). Do it both before and after using the toilet. This is how you do it:
  • Lay down or sit comfortably while being supported.
  • Allow the ribs and abdomen to expand with each inhalation (inhalation=INFLATE).
  • Allow the ribs and abdomen to spontaneously recoil (flatten) with each breath.
  • Try to breathe as slowly and deeply as possible without straining. You should notice that the longer you breathe, the slower and deeper you can breathe easily.

When To Consult Your Doctor?

If you are suffering from constipation after birth—essentially if you are unable to defecate for a few days after delivery—you should see your healthcare physician. Also, discuss any bleeding that isn't typical of postpartum lochia, such as blood in the stool. If you experience incontinence, consult your healthcare physician, who may prescribe physical therapy and additional assessment.

FAQs on How to Survive Your First Poop After Birth?

  1. Does it hurt to poop after birth?It depends on the sort of [vaginal tear] repair you had, the extent of the laceration, and the hardness of the poops. Again, drinking water, eating lots of fibre, and using a stool softener will help you have softer stools and prevent uncomfortable bowel movements.
  2. Is it painful to defecate after birth?It depends on the type of [vaginal tear] repair that you had, how extensive the laceration is, and how hard the poops are. Again, drinking water, eating lots of fibre, and using a stool softener will help you have softer stools and prevent uncomfortable poops.
Disclaimer: Medically approved by Dr Pooja C Thukral, Consultant, Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Cloudnine Group of Hospitals, Faridabad