During pregnancy, your body's fluid volume increased by 50 percent. If you had an epidural or IV during labor and delivery, even more fluids were pushed into your system. Then, after your baby was born, your body wanted to gradually get rid of all those extra fluids. For you, this may mean increased sweating, especially at night. The sweating can seem excessive — you may wake up in soaking-wet sheets — but it is normal and will usually decrease by the end of the first week postpartum, though it may not go away entirely for a month or more. Hormonal fluctuations can also contribute to increased sweating. Try wearing all-cotton clothing at night and sleeping with a towel under your body. One hundred percent cotton sheets and mattress pads may also help make your bed a more comfortable place to sweat it out. Ask your husband or partner to strip and wash your sheets daily so that you go to bed in a comfortable, clean place every night.

Persistent sweating, very dry skin, rashes, and excessive hair loss can all be caused by thyroid dysfunction, a condition marked by an over- or under-functioning thyroid. Thyroid dysfunction afflicts up to 10 percent of postpartum women. Other symptoms of postpartum thyroiditis may include extreme fatigue, anxiety, or irritability, and excessive weight loss or the inability to lose weight. Talk to your doctor or midwife if you have these symptoms.