The puerperium is the period after the birth during which the changes that occurred during pregnancy and childbirth are reversed in the woman's body. It begins with the birth of a complete afterbirth and most of the changes take place within 6 weeks.
We can divide the postpartum period into 3 periods:
- very early puerperium (early postpartum period), which lasts 2 hours after a physiological birth and 4 hours after a surgical birth,
- early postpartum, which lasts up to 2 weeks after the birth,
- late postpartum, from 2 weeks to up to 6 months after birth.
During this period, the mother's body undergoes a reversal of both reproductive organ and systemic changes that were caused by pregnancy and childbirth.
During the puerperium, four processes take place simultaneously:
- regression of pregnancy and birth lesions,
- the healing of birth wounds,
- the onset and maintenance of lactation,
- resumption of ovarian function.
Postnatal changes in the female body include:
- changes in blood composition and the circulatory system,
- restoration of the body's hormonal balance, which is largely linked to the resumption of ovarian function,
- reduction of body weight,
- stabilisation of the urinary system, the dilated urinary tract returning to its pre-pregnancy state within 2 weeks.
- disappearance of pregnancy skin changes.
- significant restoration of tension in the abdominal integuments,
- reversal of flaccidity and return of tissue tension in the genital areas; vagina, cervix, fallopian tubes,
- involutionary changes of the uterus (after childbirth the weight of the uterus is 1000g and in the puerperium it returns to its initial weight of 80g,
- initiation and maintenance of lactation.
Postpartum changes affect the whole organism of the woman, so proper care is very important during this period. Proper observation and knowledge of the physiology of this period will protect you from unwanted complications.
