For many women, the recovery from giving birth involves patience, sleep deprivation, and more face time with friends and family than doctors. Some of us, though, will experience postpartum symptoms and health issues that are usually rare, but could be life-threatening if left untreated.
?Childbirth is natural, but there are some bad things that can happen if we don?t pay attention,? says Robyn MacQuarrie, an OB-GYN with South Shore Women?s Health in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. ?For us, the balance is in not overanalyzing, but keeping women and their babies safe.?
With the help of three experts, we?ve put together a (slightly scary) list of postpartum conditions you ought to know about and watch out for in the days and weeks after delivery. 1. Postpartum hemorrhage
Warning signs and symptoms: An increase in heavy bleeding (soaking several pads per hour).
The lowdown: Postpartum hemorrhage is one of the five most common complications or conditions that put mothers at risk in the days and weeks after childbirth, says MacQuarrie. But it?s still pretty rare, affecting less than five per cent of women who give birth. It often occurs immediately after delivery, but it could occur up to about a month postpartum. Women who have C-sections, vacuum or forceps-assisted deliveries, a twin pregnancy or multiples, prolonged labours or who suffer from obesity or blood pressure disorders are at elevated risks for hemorrhaging. The condition is life-threatening if left untreated, meaning any...