Dealing with Afterpains
If this is not your first baby, you may experience uterine cramping or afterpains. These pains may continue through much of the first week postpartum. Mothers sometimes complain that afterpains are actually worse than labor contractions, and they may seem to go on for a much longer time with no predictable pattern. It seems especially unfair that they're so painful considering that you've already done all the work of labor and birth. Don't worry; there are several things you can do to lessen the discomfort of these contractions:
Prevention: Be sure to urinate frequently. A full bladder can make afterpains happen more frequently and be much more painful.
Pressure: Lying on your belly or wrapping your abdomen with an Ace bandage, sling, or support garment made specifically for postpartum abdominal and pelvic support can help keep everything in place and make afterpains less intense.
Heat: Placing a heating pad, a warm rice sock, a hot water bottle, or your nice warm baby on your belly is a great way to relieve uterine cramps. Try lying on your stomach, with the heating pad underneath your belly — the combination of heat and pressure can make even the most severe afterpains bearable.
Relaxation exercises: If you learned breathing techniques for labor or practiced birth hypnosis, you can use those methods to help you through postpartum uterine contractions. If you didn't learn any special breathing techniques, try taking slow, deep breaths when you feel an afterpain coming, and try to relax your muscles. If that doesn't work, you can try taking a deep breath in, then panting on your exhale. Ask your husband or partner to massage your shoulders during afterpains, since massage can release endorphins into your blood stream and help reduce your perception of pain.
If none of these measures is working for you, you still have one more option: pain medication. Talk to your doctor or midwife about taking pain medication to take the edge off the contractions. Also, read the next section, which covers medical pain relief in greater detail.
