Postpartum lacerations: how to cure them

How to heal postpartum wounds

During the delivery, precisely during the expulsive period, the skin of the vulva and the vaginal mucosa may tear spontaneously or an episiotomy may have been performed. These wounds are very annoying for the woman, the area has undergone great transformations during childbirth and is subject to the pressure of the weight of the whole body when the woman sits down. Even common daily actions can present problems: the effort to go to the toilet to discharge can cause fear of the pain that is felt, not to forget that the wounds can come into contact with urine and cause burning.

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In the first few days after the baby is born, hygiene is very important. The woman has to wash the area often - almost every time she goes to the bathroom - and try to leave the vulva dry. It is recommended to use the soap only once a day for the rest only water or at most washings with calendula, which helps the healing and it is also antiseptic.

The recommended soaps are intimate ones and to dry women often prefer the use of a paper towel, it is resistant, dries well and is thrown into the bin.

In addition to washing often, it is also useful to change theabsorbent to ensure that those that are too wet do not remain in contact with the injured part.

After washing it is not necessary to disinfect the area, if you want one or more times a day you can use a solution of water and calendula or calendula oil or St. John's wort which help healing and for their antiseptic qualities protect against infections.

The stitches are made with a special thread that melts after at least 7 days, some even last 2 weeks or so, and with the passage of time they fall out. The vulva just after childbirth has a different shape from the one it had before the birth of the baby and in the days after the birth it settles slowly, this can lead to points to pull. The woman may feel discomfort or itching, if it is too annoying, a visit to the gynecologist is recommended to assess whether it is appropriate to remove the stitches. If the discomfort is slight and lessens with the application of almond oil, St. John's wort or calendula, there are no problems and just wait for the stitches to come off by themselves.

If the woman feels burning while urinating, she can try urinating in front of the bidet jet so the urine will not touch the wound directly or use a plastic bottle to throw water on the vulva.

Not all women have this problem, it depends on the location of the wounds, the composition of the urine and the state of healing. Also in this case, calendula has proved to be very useful in helping against the burning caused by urine.

Read also: How to recover from childbirth

Often after childbirth the woman has afraid to go to the bathroom lest the points "jump", they are actually quite resistant. The more the disastrous they stay inside the large intestine the firmer they become and going to the bathroom can be difficult.

To soften the stool it is recommended to drink a lot of water, eat more fiber, fruit and vegetables and if all this is not effective you can try using a glycerin and calendula microperette found in pharmacies or the classic suppositories of glycerin.

Once the woman is home there is no need to check points unless you have particular pain, strange swelling or bad smell. If this happens, one is recommended check-up visit by a midwife or gynecologist.