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Postnatal prodding
One objective of antenatal care is to ensure that the mother is healthier at the end of pregnancy than at the beginning. A post-natal examination 6-12 weeks after confinement is offered to all women so that any abnormalities can be detected and corrected.
Ideally, this will be conducted jointly with the child welfare clinic so that both you and your baby can be seen. Advice on your infant’s care and answers to any questions you may have is another valuable feature of the examination. Contraceptive advice will also be offered if you request it.
You will certainly be asked about the character of your lochia (the material that is eliminated from your womb, through the vagina, after the completion of your labour). The first discharge consists largely of blood. A brownish mixture of blood and mucus follows this, then finally a yellowish or whitish discharge. Each of these stages may last for several days. You’ll be asked about the return of your menstruation, whether you have vaginal discharge, whether breast-feeding is continuing and if you have any pains or problems you want to discuss.
Next comes the examination. Your blood pressure will be taken to check that any abnormalities in the readings noted towards the end of your pregnancy have now disappeared. Your urine will also be tested again. It’s important that an inspection of the birth canal is made to establish the state of the vulva, vaginal walls, perineal muscles and the quality of any healing episiotomy wound. If the vaginal tissues are lax, you may need to do exercises which will increase the tone. These get you to contract your muscles in the pelvic region, and can be best described as ‘trying to draw in the anus to make it touch the chin without using the abdominal muscles’. If repeated about 100 times a day, these exercises will strengthen the vaginal muscles and its supports and reduce, or cure, stress incontinence (lack of bladder control on straining) if this is present.
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