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Crucial Confinement Phase – Delivery Care for Mothers

Post-delivery confinement is a practice followed in India for generations. The new mother and the baby have to stay at home for the first forty days after delivery.

But why? Mainly,

• To protect the mother and her baby from any kind of infection
• Help the mother to recover from post delivery fatigue.

The days of confinement are different in different parts of India… For Example,

North India – It mostly has a strict forty day rule.

North East India – A little shorter span, in fact they don’t practice this confinement religiously.

South India – Can go upto 60 days too.

What exactly happens in these crucial days i mean after delivery care for mothers- 

1. MASSAGE

Midwives (Japa maids or dais) are hired. They are trained to take care of the mother and the baby. The babies and mothers are given very gentle, tender massages to strengthen their muscles and keep the baby’s body warm. It helps to firm up the loose skin post-delivery.

Ladies, who had normal delivery can enjoy a full body massage, however, c-section moms can have a restricted one, everywhere other than the stomach.

Also, Read – Post Delivery Diet For Mothers

2. BATHING

The new mother needs assistance in bathing so that the stitches don’t hurt. The doctors mostly recommended taking a hot water bath and pouring in some betadine, which is an antiseptic, helps in healing the stitches fast and helps in avoiding infections. A few Japa maids or midwives also apply moong dal or chickpeas paste on the baby’s body after the oil massage. When the paste gets a little dry, it’s rubbed gently to remove the excess hair from the baby’s body.

3. DIET

The food needs to be rich in ingredients promoting lactation, digestion, and building the immune system.

• Warm, fresh, and oily(ghee laden food) is given to the mother
• Turmeric milk is important
• Broken wheat porridge is given to avoid constipation
• Moongdal khichadi is a good source of carbohydrates
• Ajwain, which is a superfood also believed to help clear the uterus, is given in the form of ajwain water or ajwain parathas which are even suitable for lactation.
• Fennel seeds also help in promoting lactation.
• Water boiled in Fenugreek seeds is given to ease back pain or any joint pain.
• Dry ginger or edible gum along with nuts and seeds in the form of ladoos are popular, post-delivery, food.

Also, ReadPregnancy Care Tips for First Time Moms

4. BELLY BINDING

It is done with a large cotton cloth. These days belts are also used for the same purpose. It helps to reposition the uterus, puts the stomach muscles back together, helps to strengthen the back and restore the muscles.

Diet is the key, why?

• provides strength
• Promotes breast milk
• Mood uplifter

5. Postpartum Periodic Observation

You need to be watchful about a few signs and if needed you need to go to the hospital immediately, when,

• Increased vaginal bleeding
• difficulty in breathing
• fever or feeling weak to get out of bed
• severe headache with blurred visions
• smelly vaginal discharge
• infection in the area around the wound (redness, swelling, pain or pus in the wound)
• swelling, red or tender breast or nipples.
• high blood pressure

The immunisation schedule of the baby is also an important point to be looked into.

6. Postpartum depression

Many new mothers, experience a sense of loneliness, mental disorder, basically, depression. They tend to hide this symptom. This needs to be treated or it can have a lifetime impact on the mothers and the family.

Symptoms like persistent sadness, fatigue, loss of appetite, or loss of interest in daily activities, are a sign of mild or moderate depression. More characteristics like irritability, inability to sleep are also a part of depression. These kinds of women, at this stage, needs emotional support, professional support, or support in the form of her partner or family, otherwise, it can affect the mother-infant interaction in the first year.

A HAPPY MOTHER MAKES A HAPPY CHILD
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