Recovery from a C-section is similar to recovery from any abdominal surgery, with a delightful difference: Instead of losing an old gallbladder or appendix, you gain a brand-new baby.

Thought you’d felt the last of those contractions? Unfortunately, they don’t end immediately with delivery – and neither does the discomfort they cause. Those so-called afterpains are triggered by the  contractions of the utreus as it shrink (from about two and a one third pounds to just a couple of ounces) and makes its normal descent back [...]

Not only is your baby not starving, he isn’t even hungry yet. Babies aren’t born with a big appetite or with immediate nutritional needs. And by the time your baby begins to hunger for a breastful of milk (on the third or fourth day postpartum), you’ll undoubtedly be able to serve it up. Which isn’t [...]

Just when you thought your breasts couldn’t get any bigger, they do. That first milk delivery arrives, leaving your breasts swollen, painfully tender, throbbing, granite hard – and sometimes seriously, frighteningly gigantic. To make matters more uncomfortable and inconvenient, this engorgement (which can extend all the way  to the armpits) can make nursing painful for [...]

Your breasts are programmed to fill (or make that overfill) with milk around the third or fourth postpartum day, whether you plan to use that milk to feed your baby or not. This engorgement can be uncomfortable, even painful-but it’s only temporary. Milk is produced by your breasts only as needed. If the milk isn’t [...]

The passage of the first postpartum bowel movement is a milestone every newly delivered woman is anxious to put behind her (so to speak). And the longer it takes you to get past that milestone, the more anxious – and the more uncomfortable – you’re likely to become. Several physiological factors may interfere with the [...]

Few women feel their physical (or emotional) best after delivering a baby-that’s just par for postpartum. Especially in the first six weeks after delivery, experiencing a variety of aches, pains, and other uncomfortable (or unpleasant) symptoms is common. Fortunately, what isn’t common is having a serious complication. Still, it’s smart to be in the know. [...]

Grab a pile of pads, and relax. This discharge of leftover blood, mucus, and tissue from your uterus, known as lochia, is normally as heavy as (and often heavier than) a menstrual period for the first three to ten postpartum days. It may total up to 2 cups before it begins to taper off, and at times [...]