Childbirth - like hard work, must pass some time, so that after them the woman's body came back to normal. It will take several months to restore the functioning of all organs and systems. The most time for recovery is the uterus, as she is injured most of all, in addition, constant monitoring of the obstetrician-gynecologist and proper care is necessary.
How quickly the uterus shrinks after childbirth
The cervix immediately after the completion of labor can be reduced quite poorly, only at the end of the postpartum period. As soon as the delivery has passed, the diameter of the entrance to the neck canal (uterine internal pharynx) is about 11-12 cm, so that if necessary, you can remove the remnants of the ulcer from the uterus by inserting a hand there. By the beginning of the second day, the uterine inner throat is significantly reduced (only two fingers can be inserted), and after three days the uterine pharynx becomes passable for only one finger. As for the external uterine throat, it closes a week and a half after the completion of labor.
Restoration of the uterus after childbirth is relatively fast. After giving birth, the length of the uterine cavity ranges from 15 to 20 cm, weight - about a kilogram, and the transverse dimension - 12-13 cm. After about 24 hours, the level of standing of the uterus bottom decreases, by the sixth day it reaches about half the distance from the pubis to the navel . Below the pubic level, the bottom of the uterus descends somewhere on the 10th day. A week after completion of labor, the weight of the uterus is reduced to 500 g, after two weeks - 300 g, and at the end of the period after birth, the uterus should weigh about 55-60 g.
Depending on the nature of the course of pregnancy and childbirth, the rate of recovery of the uterus may be different.
What happens to the uterus during the recovery period
When the muscles of the uterus contract, then the lymphatic and blood vessels are squeezed, as a result, some of them dry up. Cells that re-formed during pregnancy dissolve and die, and the remaining cells become smaller.
The internal uterine surface after the last birth is a wound extensive surface, with the greatest changes visible where the placenta was attached and now there is a large number of thrombosed vessels. The inner surface after childbirth is almost completely covered with blood clots and scraps of the fetal membrane.
If the period after childbirth is normal, the uterine cavity can remain sterile for 4-5 days. During this period, phagocytosis, as well as extracellular proteolysis, is of great importance for purifying the uterine cavity.
Uterine secretions are a wound secret and are called "fuckers". In the first days after the completion of labor, the uterine secretions go bloody, because of the large admixture of blood, from 4-5 days their character changes to serous-sacred and in them the level of leukocytes rises, and after the second and third week they become light and liquid. After the fifth week, the allocation stops.
The inner membrane (epithelium) of the uterus is restored after the remnants of the fetal membrane have been torn off, which could remain after the delivery. In most cases, this occurs at the end of the third week, and in the place where the placenta was attached - only to the very end of the postpartum period.
How to speed up the reduction of the uterus
The contraction of the uterus begins immediately after the birth. In this period, it is necessary that its bottom is dense, if it is not, then there may be a reduced contractile function of the uterus. In this case, massage of the uterus, carried out by the external path through the abdominal front wall, can help.
Reduction of the uterus is accompanied by painful sensations, which can intensify during lactation. To accelerate the process on the first day on the stomach, women put a cold water bottle and prescribe drugs that stimulate contraction. If the pain is too strong, it is permissible to use antispasmodic and analgesic drugs, but in many cases this is not necessary. To prevent possible postpartum complications, all the necessary hygiene rules should be observed.
After the third day, the woman gradually begins to move more, which helps to speed up the process of contraction of the uterus.