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When to Call a Doctor After Delivery

Marcie Jones 1 Comment

Signpost along the road to recovery.Is your postpartum recovery not going well, and you’re wondering how to tell the regular ravages of birth from symptoms that you should be worried about? Here’s a quick rundown on when and if you need to call after you get home from the hospital:

Call your health-care provider or the nurse on duty in the maternity ward where you delivered right away if you develop a fever or blurred vision, problems urinating or having a bowel movement, you pass blood clots larger than a quarter, or your bleeding increases or soaks more than a pad an hour.

Also call your health-care provider if your breasts develop red streaks or lumps or you develop sore spots: these could be the signs of infection or a plugged or infected milk duct. Nipple pain at the start of breastfeeding is normal, but call your health-care provider about any nipple pain that persists beyond a week postpartum. And call if you develop:

  • Pain in your calves, which can be a sign of a blood clot or inflamed vein
  • Breathlessness; swelling in your face or fingers
  • Unpleasant-smelling vaginal discharge
  • An inflamed incision
  • Abdominal pain that doesn’t go away
  • Feeling lightheaded. Your blood volume, which increased 20 percent during pregnancy, will return to its normal levels within a week after birth. You may feel lightheaded if you sit up or stand quickly in the days after birth. Lightheadedness can also be a sign of anemia, so let your health-care provider know if you feel lightheaded more than once or twice.
  • A severe headache in the first week after birth may be a dangerous symptom of preeclampsia, especially when it’s accompanied by blurred or double vision, so call your health-care provider right away if you experience severe pain or vision disturbances.

 

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Filed Under: Parenting (general and dads) Tagged With: postpartum recovery, postpartum

Comments

  1. Celine Jones says

    August 14, 2015 at 1:41 am

    August 14, 2015 at 1:20 am
    I have my period July 30 Thusday I had sex on that day in my period stop in three day seen that all the weekend me my husband had sex after the three it stop I been feeling tire hurny sleep be smell think I’m pregnant for my husband

    Reply

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