A to-be mom would definitely love to imagine the bulging out belly, gorging the ice-cream tubs, going for random sprees, and many more adorable things but it is all the hay days only. Well quite not. It is difficult to fathom the postpartum bodily changes such as weight gain, hair fall, stretch marks, and most importantly vaginal changes
Here we are going to talk about how the baby finally makes it out of vagina.
It’s basically the pelvis, cervix, uterus, and structure surrounding them that hold up the baby during the gestation period and form the passage to push out the baby during delivery.
Pelvis: The pelvis forms the base and supports the growing uterus and baby and lays out a passage through which the baby emerges.
Uterus: The uterus surrounds the baby during the growth stage.
Cervix: Cervix is made up of different tissue. During pregnancy, the cervix is thick and contracted. As the pregnancy advances the cervix becomes thinner and opens this process is called dilation. Once the cervix is fully dilated, the contractions help to push the baby from the cervix to the vagina
Vagina: As the baby enters the vagina the skin and muscles stretch. Post this, the labia and perineum stretch to the maximum limit to push the baby out of the vagina.
5 Changes In Vagina after childbirth
Vaginal Dryness
After birthing a baby, the elevated estrogen levels in your body drop. Estrogen is a clear lubricant fluid that keeps your vagina moist. Thus, nursing mothers experience extreme vaginal dryness as the tissue in the vagina shrink due to low levels of estrogen. On the other side, Women who are not nursing may recover their estrogen levels to normal within a few days post birth. Besides this vaginal dryness can make sex difficult and painful. As a solution, one can use a prescribed lubricant to pacify the pain.
Vaginal Soreness
It’s not actually the vagina that bears the soreness post the baby birth but the poor little perineum that bears the brunt. The perineum is an area between the vagina and the anus. As the baby passes through the birth canal your skin and muscles stretch. The perineum also tears during vaginal birth. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Between 53 to 79 percent vaginal deliveries will cause some sort of tearing. Hence, It is not an issue of major concern.
Vaginal Discharge
You might often feel that you have peed your pants when you are postpartum however, this is actually the lochia that makes you feel so. Lochia is residual blood, mucus and tissue that comes from the vagina after childbirth. This discharge lasts for four to seven weeks changing colors from dark red, pink, and brown hue to eventually turning yellowish. The passing of a few blood clots in this discharge line is also normal.
Scar Tissue in Vagina
After childbirth it is normal to have scar tissue in the vagina. Such scar could be painful for some time however, it heals in due time. This might make sex a painful experience but one can use lube to reduce the friction.
Vagina gets wider after childbirth
Your vagina stretches beyond its normal shape during childbirth but doesn’t retain the exact pre-birth shape. Once it gets wider postpartum you may find it uneasy to use period products like tampons. It may be slid out slowly once you put it inside.
Some of these changes in your vagina may bother you to some extent. But you must know that these changes are not a matter of concern as such changes are pretty obvious post-delivery. Do not flinch from taking out any of your concerns with your doctor as they can help you better with any of these issues.
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