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headaches after childbirth

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Q: has anyone suffered with headaches after childbirth?
my son is 10 days old and i have pressure round my nose and under my eyes that never goes away. i didn’t have any drugs it was a natural birth

A: I did and I had a drug free birth as well, I was breast feeding and not drinking enough myself so was suffering from dehydration and the lack of sleep wasn’t helping much. Try drinking more water and take some paracetamol and if in a few days if it hasn’t helped give the dr a call.

Hope you feel better soon

Q: headaches after childbirth?
I had my daughter on 1/9/09. I am now getting severe headaches everyday for over a week. Has anyone else had this happen after having a baby? If so was it due to hormones or something else? This is my third child and nothing like this happened with my first two kids (with all 3 have had an epidural) . I plan to call my dr tomorrow just wondered if anyone else had experienced this before.

A: could be the cause of the epidural- sometimes this happens when you’ve lsot some spinal fluid. speak with your doc about it. it can also be hormones though

Q: headaches after childbirth please help!!!?
Ok,
Ever since i had my baby girl a month ago i have been having constant headaches… nothing severe and it comes and goes ( although these past few days ive been having a headache) at times it throbbs and its in the back of my head and at times i feel it in my neck and when i move my neck hurts…. lets just say from my head down to my neck it hurts… please tell me i am not the only one with this problem what could it be?? i am scared…

A: It could be from you being stressed out due to becoming a new Mum, and it’s quite natural to feel stressed out at times, but it’s also better for you and your health if you are able to try and slow down the stress levels abit.

Some things you can do, would be to see if your partner can look after your baby for an hour or two every few days so that you can go and have a relaxing bath or even if you would like to have a rest, do that. Also try to have a rest when your baby is resting, the house work isn’t that important right now, your health is. It’s hard work being a new Mum, I know only too well about this, as I have a 6year old daughter myself.

IF after trying some different things to relax your body abit for atleast a week or two, you find that you still are having these headaches then please do go and see your Doctor about them.

Q: why does an epidural cause a headache after childbirth?

A: an epidural causes pain because a drug is introduced into the area surrounding the spinal cord to numb the nerves of the pelvic floor, which therefore decreases the pain of labor. the problem is that when introducing something through the epidural sac (the sac surrounding the spinal cord containing cerebrospinal fliud (csf)–which helps protect the cord) it can affect the entire cord. because you are adding fluid to the sac this increases pressure within it, this increased pressure is sensed by the body and is (unfortunately for you) relayed as pain, which creates the headache since the spinal cord runs all the way up to the brain stem. the needle can also cause a leak in csf which also commonly causes the headaches.

many people say that a headache after an epidural (or similar procedures such as a spinal tap) is the worst they have ever experienced.

Q: What was your PMS like after childbirth?
I have only had 1 cycle since my baby was born in January. I found my PMS symptoms to be much more intense: moody/depressed and sweet cravings. However my period was surprisingly light. Right on schedule, I am experiencing it all over again this week, along with random headaches throughout the day. Are headaches part of PMS? Is it normal for the symptoms to change after childbirth? What has your experience been like?

Thanks!
I am breastfeeding.
I have not indulged my sweet craving =)

A: I had very heightened symptoms after my son was born. It was only until around the 5th month I started to get back to my old self. If you are breastfeeding, it would probably be longer yet. I had terrible mood swings, everything made me cry. I’m so glad I’m back to normal. Your headaches could be part of PMS, or a reaction to the extra sweets, or mood swings.

Q: First Real Period after Childbirth?
I just started my period after delivering May18th. For the couple days before I started and now, I have been feeling really bad. I feel feverish, nauseated, constant headaches, severe cramps and lower back ache. Its been too long for me to remember my first periods after my boys, can someone let me know if this is all normal? Also the blood so far is just a rusty color.

A: These symptoms do not sound normal with a first period after childbirth, but I would recommend checking with your doctor as well to see what they say.

Q: why worse menstrual cramps after childbirth?
had bad one’s while growing up. so bad i could not go to school during the first day ever. had the shakes, headaches, dizziness, so much pain i couldn’t even stand up

i had my first child over 7 yrs ago and amazingly, when i completed 2 yrs of nursing him in which i had no cycle at all, i no longer had the same type of menstrual problems going on when it did return. a few muscle aches a week before and then a light cycle- 3 days tops. never even needed to take an aspirin

this lasted for years up until my second child- now 18 mths old. i am back to where i was as a teen only worse. now my horrible regular muscle aches, headaches, sickness, and cramps are also joined in w/ butt cramps. i dread it all

what caused this change? is it the way the womb healed after the childbirths or something? i know it’s not my imagination

A: Things change as we age, and sometimes ladies will notice cramps get worse. The uterus is really just a big muscle after all, and pregnancy does pretty well stretch it to capacity and beyond. Obviously it’s not going to snap back to the young girl pre-pregnancy size ever again. Each pregancy will leave it just a tad bit larger. That means it has to work a bit harder to shed the endometrium as well, translated into stronger cramps each month. Although childbirth generally gives you a break from the really severe cramps, fact is it doesn’t always work. There can also be other reasons for the severe cramps too, that have just begun to make problems. You may have endometriosis now, the position of the uterus may have changed. If you delivered those babies via c-section, you could also have adhesions formed that are the cause. Old abdominal surgery, like an appendectomy, could also have caused them to form. And now that you are older, well- gently put, things for ladies do just change. The best way to handle this is to see your gynecologist and find out if there is a physical explanation other than just bad cramps. Then you can also get recommendations on how to manage them as well. My personal favorite for dealing with the gut wrenching type is to take Naprosyn, aka naproxen sodium, sold as Aleve. Great stuff that, especially for the worst cramps. But there are other things as well, including hormones, if the source of the trouble is hormonal changes. It’s not in your imagination dear, and the doctor won’t think that either. They’ve actually come a long ways since the days they told ladies to exercise and drink water, and take Midol, or suffer.

Q: Is dizziness after child birth normal?
My baby is 6 weeks old. This past week I have been experiencing dizziness and headaches, along with fatigue (of course). I’ve also been having some hot flashes. I’m a little concerned about the dizziness seeing that it hasn’t really subsided for almost a week. It is worse at night when I am really tired though. I’m wondering if any of you have experienced these symptoms after childbirth. Hope you can help. Thanks.

A: This does not sound normal but I would recommend getting in touch with your doctor to let them know what’s going on.

Q: Nausea after childbirth?
I had my baby three weeks ago, and was feeling pretty good for the first two weeks. But for the past week I’ve been feeling extremely nauseous. I find myself gagging on everything I eat, and I just feel like I’m going to throw up constantly (but I haven’t). Has anyone else had this happen? Is it normal? I have no other symptoms- no headaches, no bleeding, nothing.
I have not had sex yet (dr. said I have to wait 6 weeks), and I am not taking any birth control or any other medications.

A: Did they put you on some form of hormonal birth control before you left the hospital? I had a really bad reaction to the Depo shot–the hospital insisted that I had to be on birth control for the first 3 months after my baby was born. I was EXTREMELY nauseated while on that shot.

It could be your hormones going back to their normal state, too.

Or, it could just be that you picked up some sort of a bug.

Q: My head feels so weird after childbirth?
My daughter is 6 weeks old today and I had a rough labour and had an epidural.
I also lost 1 and a half litres of blood at birth, but in the hospital I then got a blood transfusion where they put 1 litre back, they also put me on two iron tablets a day.

I’m really not sleeping all that well averaging 6 hours a night sometimes less..

I have my ups and downs some days I feel like normal but most of the time my head feels a little dizzy, I feel distant or like I’m lacking concentration. It’s a hard feeling to explain?
Could I be suffering from sleep deprivation????
Could it be stress???
Or hormones????
I really don’t know…..

I have headaches too, sometimes they just come and go other times it just feels like a pressure/tension headache.

I want to feel myself again…………help………

A: Talk to a nurse. It’s probably a combination of all the above. 6 hours of sleep a night is rough but that’s pretty normal when you have a newborn – I feel for ya! Plus remember your hormones are adjusting right now too.

Q: Sex after childbirth???
Ok so, my little girl will be 4 months this weekend and im still not interested in having sex with my partner, I had a c-section so its not due to healing or anything. The thought of sex or even head or hand makes me feel quite sick. I no he has needs but i just cant bring myself to do it. is this normal or should i see my gp?

Also, have had a headache, nausea, vomiting and loss of feeling in my legs for bout 3 weeks, gp dismissed my concerns. Should i be worried??

A: Ok, so the not wanting sex bit…hell we have all been there! You may not have had to push her out, but you still had the contractions and sweats/coldness that come with childbirth and the body does not easily forget that kind of thing! I went nearly 8 months without having sex, and even then it scared me silly, but I finally wanted to do it!

As for the other symptoms, you need to find yourself another doctor and get a second opinion…or what about asking a midwife or health visitor? Don’t leave things like that to chance.

Q: are women supposed to change after childbirth?
i dont get it, she used to be this superwoman who does everything with one hand while keeping everythin clean n tidy.
but the house was a wreck since she got this brand new baby. i mean, please, her baby sleeps all the time, why cant she clean instead of sleep when baby is sleeping? whats her problem? wtf is wrong with her? she cries her eyes out whenever i confront her. she never cries before!
and when she’s FINALLY in bed with me, she still uses the baby as an excuse of being tired, in pain, headache, etc, etc.

A: Supposed to, no.

Do they, yes, every single one of them.

It’s something that happens every time to everybody when you get somebody new and important in your life.

Something tells me that you’ve never really put much thought into becoming a parent.

‘Little’ things like ‘little babies’ make a big huge change in EVERYone’s life.

The reason she’s crying so much now is that she, too, had no idea that having a baby would make such a major change in her life, and she thinks that because of the baby she’s losing whatever love she ever perceived to be coming from you.

That’s also why she’s spending so much time, effort, and energy avoiding in-bed intimacy with you, is the fact that if one little baby could make such a tremendously huge impact on her life and yours, then another little bitty baby is sure to make just that much more of a mess of her relationship with you.

If you’d only step back and contemplate it for a bit, you’d see that she’s TRYING to show you that if she has to choose between you and another baby, it’s you she wants.

Instead of asking “why can’t she clean instead of sleep when baby is sleeping” why don’t you ask yourself “Why don’t I spend the amount of intimate bedtime that I no longer get doing the cleaning that she can’t seem to find a way to do?

But, you should also know that there is such a thing as “Post Partum Depression” meaning that there are a LOT of women who become inexplicably depressed after giving birth, and what you depict fits the symptoms pretty darn well.

Post Partum Depression can become dangerous, but can be treated both medicinally and therapeutically.

It might be a good idea for you to share all this info with her MD sometime before her next visit, but sometime soon. Don’t expect him to respond to you in any way about it, in most places he’d be breaking laws by contacting you about it, but share it with him, in a letter, in person, over the phone, something.

Q: can a woman give me some clue on this please?!?
i started having these symptoms after childbirth (2 1/2 years ago)and having my appendix out: cold sores, headaches, eyes hurt, burning scalp, dizzy, hot/cold feet and hands, shortness of breath, tired all the time, chills, sweats, can’t regulate body temperature, angry, often wakeful, swollen glands, phleghm.

and the big problem is when i pee, i dont feel like i empty my bladder at all, it still feels full, i went to a urology doctor and he said that nothing’s wrong when i know there is.. its not a shy bladder, i’ve never had any problem before. AND IT DOESNT HURT. ITS NOT A UTI OR YEAST INFECTION.

has anyone else experienced this
i do kegals all the time, and all of my blood/urine tests have come back NORMAL, so whats up with that????

A: Have you had your thyroid levels checked? Most of your symptoms sound like thyroid. And it often peters out after a pregnancy (mine did.) I don’t know about the bladder thing tho except do kegels and lean forward a litle bit when you pee.

I would definitley see your OBGYN or IM. Good luck.

Q: How many women plan on attempting this?
I was just wondering,what is the amount of women that are going to try to go through childbirth without an epidural? I know I am,as I had one with my daughter,and it only worked for a period of time,and then wore off quickly,so I went through most of it naturally anyways. I’m going to attempt to do it this time without one,because it was hell getting one. I know they had a hard time getting it in,which was agonizing,and it didn’t work to the extent it does for a lot of people. How many women are at least going to attempt to do it (give birth) without an epidural,and anyone that has,share experience to make it easier? The hell I went through with it when I had my daughter,it wasn’t worth it. I ended up having her naturally,it stopped my labor,I had horrible headaches after,threw up,etc.
Thanks so far guys,like I said,I’m keeping my mind open to that it could possibly not work out the way I want it to,I just know the trouble the epi gave me when I had my daughter,and I don’t know how it’s going to be if I attempt it with this one,and I ended up birthing my daughter naturally anyways.
I’m due August 7,with a little boy :)

A: I am going to try everything possible to have my baby with out an epi…I have heard a lot of bad stories about them as well my sister had a horrible expeience with it and I would like to go for it……don’t get me wrong though I am keeing my options open for drugs if I can’t take the pain :) ….But I would love see how far I can get withot any drugs and hopefully I can go all the way :)
Good luck to you hun I hope you can do it!!!!

Q: A question for those who have had a natural childbirth?
I am planning on having a natural childbirth with absolutely no painkillers at all. In fact, I am due in a week so this is coming up pretty quickly. If you experienced natural birthers could help me out I would appreciate it:

Pertaining to childbirth only, and using a pain scale of 1 – 10 please.
How bad was the pain when you first got contractions? When did the pain reach a 10 and for how long? How would you rate the pain after throughout birth and immediately after? How was the pain the next day?

I know it will be difficult – but use the 1 – 10 rating PLEASE!!! I know it is painful, but just consider the scale in the childbirth situation, not other pain experienced in life. I know you can’t compare contractions to a bad headache!

Thanks for your help.

A: I applaud your efforts…but you need to be physically fit…I will just assume that your are…it’s not so much the pain but the stamina involved. If you don’t plan to have an IV, drink plenty of fluids during labor and eat if you feel like it!

To answer your questions: (I’m averaging my two births)

First Contractions: 1
Pain Reach 10: Never..only hit 8 during transition when it hurt not to push.
Throughout Labor: About 4-5
Next Day: 2

First birth labor lasted 6 hours (anterior presentation), Second birth labor lasted 13 hours (posterior presentation).
TIP: Squatting opens the pelvis by 10% to make the pushing stage go faster.

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