Knee Pain After Pregnancy: Causes, Treatment, and Prevention
What causes knee pain after pregnancy. How to treat postpartum knee pain. When to see a doctor for knee pain after giving birth. Can pregnancy cause long-term knee problems. How to prevent knee pain during and after pregnancy.
Common Causes of Knee Pain After Pregnancy
Knee pain is a frequent complaint among new mothers in the postpartum period. While pregnancy itself doesn’t directly cause knee problems, several factors related to pregnancy and childbirth can contribute to knee discomfort. Understanding these causes is crucial for effective treatment and prevention.
Weight Gain and Joint Stress
One of the primary reasons for knee pain after pregnancy is the extra weight gained during gestation. Dr. Steven Stuchin, director of orthopedic surgery at NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, explains: “Even if a woman is only carrying 25 additional pounds for a few months late in her pregnancy, the extra pressure on the weight-bearing joints can cause fairly severe knee pain.” This added stress on the knee joints can persist for some time after delivery as the body adjusts back to its pre-pregnancy state.
Hormonal Changes and Ligament Laxity
Hormonal fluctuations during pregnancy and the postpartum period can also contribute to knee pain. In the third trimester, the body releases hormones that loosen pelvic ligaments and tendons in preparation for childbirth. However, these hormones affect ligaments throughout the body, including those around the knees. This increased laxity can lead to instability and pain in the knee joints.
Postural Changes
Pregnancy often causes changes in posture as the body adapts to carrying extra weight. These alterations in alignment can put additional stress on the knees, potentially leading to pain and discomfort that may persist after delivery.
Specific Knee Conditions Associated with Pregnancy
While general knee pain is common, some specific conditions are more likely to occur during or after pregnancy. Identifying these conditions can help in determining the most appropriate treatment approach.
Anserine Bursitis
Anserine bursitis is characterized by pain just below the knee on the inside of the leg. This condition involves inflammation of the bursa, a small fluid-filled sac that acts as a cushion between bones and tendons. The extra weight carried during pregnancy can contribute to its development. Pain from anserine bursitis is often more noticeable when walking up or down stairs.
Transient Osteoporosis
Although rare, transient osteoporosis of the hip or knee joint can occur as a result of pregnancy. This condition involves temporary loss of bone density, making the bones more susceptible to fractures. The exact cause of pregnancy-related osteoporosis is not fully understood, but it typically responds well to treatment with calcium, vitamin D, and medications called bisphosphonates.
Chondromalacia Patellae
Some young women may develop chondromalacia patellae, a form of early osteoarthritis affecting the underside of the kneecap. This condition causes deterioration of the cartilage and can result in pain behind the kneecap. While not exclusively related to pregnancy, the physical changes during this time can exacerbate or trigger symptoms.
Diagnosing Knee Pain After Pregnancy
Proper diagnosis is crucial for effective treatment of postpartum knee pain. If you’re experiencing persistent knee discomfort after giving birth, it’s important to consult with a healthcare professional.
When to See a Doctor
Consider seeking medical attention if:
- Pain persists for more than a few weeks after delivery
- Pain is severe or interferes with daily activities
- You experience swelling, redness, or warmth around the knee
- You have difficulty bearing weight on the affected leg
Diagnostic Procedures
To diagnose the cause of your knee pain, a doctor may:
- Conduct a physical examination
- Ask about your medical history, including details of your pregnancy and delivery
- Order imaging tests such as X-rays or MRI scans if necessary
- Perform blood tests to rule out certain conditions
Treatment Options for Postpartum Knee Pain
The treatment for knee pain after pregnancy depends on the underlying cause and severity of symptoms. In many cases, conservative measures can provide significant relief.
Rest and Activity Modification
Giving your knees a break from strenuous activities can help alleviate pain and promote healing. Avoiding activities that exacerbate symptoms, such as climbing stairs, can be beneficial. However, complete inactivity is not recommended, as it can lead to muscle weakness and joint stiffness.
Physical Therapy
A physical therapist can design a targeted exercise program to strengthen the muscles supporting your knees, improve flexibility, and enhance overall joint function. These exercises can help reduce pain and prevent future issues.
Pain Relief Medications
Over-the-counter pain relievers such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen can help manage pain and reduce inflammation. However, it’s important to consult with your healthcare provider before taking any medications, especially if you’re breastfeeding.
Supportive Devices
Knee braces or supportive sleeves can provide stability and alleviate pain during daily activities. Your doctor or physical therapist can recommend the most appropriate device for your specific condition.
Steroid Injections
In some cases, such as with anserine bursitis, a corticosteroid injection may be recommended to reduce inflammation and provide pain relief. This treatment should be administered by a healthcare professional and is typically used when other conservative measures have not been effective.
Preventing Knee Pain During and After Pregnancy
While not all cases of postpartum knee pain can be prevented, there are steps you can take to reduce your risk and maintain healthy knees throughout pregnancy and beyond.
Maintain a Healthy Weight
Managing weight gain during pregnancy and losing excess weight after delivery can significantly reduce stress on your knees. Follow your healthcare provider’s recommendations for appropriate weight gain during pregnancy and focus on a balanced diet and safe exercise postpartum.
Stay Active
Regular, low-impact exercise during and after pregnancy can help maintain muscle strength and joint flexibility. Activities such as swimming, walking, and prenatal yoga can be beneficial. Always consult with your healthcare provider before starting or continuing an exercise program during pregnancy.
Use Proper Body Mechanics
Be mindful of your posture and body mechanics, especially when lifting and carrying your baby. Bend at the knees and hips, not the waist, when picking up objects. Use supportive shoes and avoid high heels, which can put extra stress on your knees.
Nutrition for Joint Health
Ensure you’re getting adequate calcium and vitamin D to support bone health. These nutrients are particularly important during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Consult with your healthcare provider about appropriate supplementation if needed.
Long-Term Outlook for Postpartum Knee Pain
For most women, knee pain experienced during or after pregnancy is temporary and resolves with proper care and time. However, in some cases, underlying conditions may require ongoing management.
Recovery Timeline
The recovery time for postpartum knee pain varies depending on the cause and severity of the condition. Many women experience improvement within a few weeks to months after delivery, especially with appropriate treatment and self-care measures.
Potential for Chronic Issues
While rare, some women may develop chronic knee problems as a result of pregnancy-related changes. Conditions such as osteoarthritis may progress over time, requiring long-term management strategies.
Importance of Follow-Up Care
If you experience persistent knee pain after pregnancy, it’s crucial to maintain regular follow-up appointments with your healthcare provider. This allows for ongoing assessment and adjustment of your treatment plan as needed.
When to Seek Immediate Medical Attention
While most cases of postpartum knee pain are not emergencies, there are situations where prompt medical attention is necessary.
Red Flags for Serious Conditions
Seek immediate medical care if you experience:
- Sudden, severe knee pain
- Inability to bear weight on the affected leg
- Visible deformity of the knee joint
- Signs of infection, such as fever, redness, and warmth around the knee
- Symptoms of deep vein thrombosis, including swelling, warmth, and redness in the calf
These symptoms could indicate serious conditions that require urgent evaluation and treatment.
Understanding the causes, treatment options, and prevention strategies for knee pain after pregnancy can help new mothers navigate this common postpartum challenge. By working closely with healthcare providers and taking proactive steps to maintain knee health, most women can find relief and return to their normal activities. Remember that every individual’s experience is unique, and personalized care is key to addressing postpartum knee pain effectively.
Knee Pain After Pregnancy? – Knee Pain Center
Q.1 I gave birth four months ago. For the last month, I’ve had pain in both knees, mostly when walking up and down stairs and while bending. Could this pain be an after-effect of pregnancy? What might be another explanation?
I cannot diagnose you without a more complete history and a physical examination, but I can tell you about a few possibilities. If your pain is just below your knee in the inside, chances are it’s anserine bursitis.
A bursa is a small sac filled with fluid that acts as a cushion over bone surfaces or tendons. Pain from anserine bursitis is felt more when walking up or down steps, so that part of your history fits. If you can avoid that activity, it would help you heal. A steroid (cortisone-type) injection can also be helpful. Pregnancy would not directly cause anserine bursitis, but the extra weight carried during pregnancy could conceivably contribute to its development.
Another possibility is transient osteoporosis of the hip or knee joint, which can occur — although rarely — as a result of pregnancy. It can even cause a fracture. Osteoporosis is the loss of bone substance, which makes bone brittle and susceptible to fractures. It is common among postmenopausal women and in those who received several months of high-dose steroid treatment.
The cause of osteoporosis during pregnancy is not exactly known; still, this type of osteoporosis also responds to treatment with calcium, vitamin D, and bisphosphonates — medications such as alendronate (Fosamax) or risedronate (Actonel).
Rarely, young women develop an early osteoarthritis of the knee that affects the underside of the patella (the knee cap), causing deterioration of the cartilage. This type of osteoarthritis is known as chondromalacia patellae, literally meaning “softening of the cartilage of the patella.” The pain caused by chondromalacia is felt behind the knee cap. Treatment is similar to that of other types of osteoarthritis — analgesics such as acetaminophen (Tylenol), followed by NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and naproxen) or a coxib (celecoxib). Exercises to maintain mobility and muscle strength are an important part of treatment.
If your problem persists, you should consult a rheumatologist for a complete examination, and get X-rays if necessary, in order to get a correct diagnosis and proceed with treatment.
Q2. I’ve had a hysterectomy but I still have my ovaries. Is it possible for me to have eggs harvested and have a baby by a surrogate? What are my options if I want to have a baby?
— Julie, California
Yes, it is definitely possible to have a biological child (one that is genetically your own) post-hysterectomy if you still have your ovaries. There’s only one option, though: You must undergo drug treatment to stimulate egg production for one to two weeks, after which time the eggs can be harvested. The eggs are removed in a minor surgical procedure under anesthesia and then fertilized with your partner’s sperm in vitro (meaning outside the body, in the laboratory). The resulting embryo is then implanted in a surrogate.
Most states allow surrogacy, but it’s important to double-check with an experienced adoption and surrogacy lawyer first. Other options for having a baby include fertilizing donor eggs with your partner’s sperm (but such a baby is not biologically your own) or adoption.
Learn more in the Everyday Health Pregnancy Center.
Pregnancy and Knee Pain | Everyday Health
When Lyn Mettler suddenly began having knee pain during her seventh month of pregnancy, she said the pain was so bad that she couldn’t walk. The 34-year-old mom, who lives in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., says “I’d never had knee problems before. This came out of the blue and was very painful.” Knee pain is a common complaint during pregnancy and the postpartum period, and the pain can range from mild to annoying to debilitating. Fortunately, knee pain doesn’t have to make you immobile and miserable during and after your pregnancy.
Knee Pain During Pregnancy
It’s hardly surprising that pregnancy can cause knee pain, since it’s well-known that excessive weight contributes to knee problems. “Even if a woman is only carrying 25 additional pounds for a few months late in her pregnancy, the extra pressure on the weight-bearing joints can cause fairly severe knee pain,” says Steven Stuchin, MD, director of orthopedic surgery at NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases in New York City.
Hormonal changes during pregnancy also play a role in knee pain. During the third trimester, hormones are released to loosen up the pelvic ligaments and tendons in preparation for childbirth. But the hormones don’t just trigger looseness in the pelvic area — they can also cause other ligaments and tendons to loosen, including those around the knees, says Dr. Stuchin. “This can make things a little unstable.” As a result, the kneecap may not track exactly right, resulting in knee pain.
Knee Pain After Pregnancy
Knee pain typically goes away after pregnancy, but it may not happen right away. “The tendons and ligaments remain loose for a couple of months after giving birth,” says Stuchin. Plus, having your baby doesn’t guarantee that you’ll shed all the weight you gained during pregnancy — which means that knee pain may linger until you’re back in shape.
A bonus of breastfeeding is that the body burns calories to make breast milk during nursing, and breastfeeding releases hormones that help shrink the uterus, making weight loss somewhat easier to achieve, says Hilda Hutcherson, MD, clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City. Even so, it may take as long as three months for your weight, and knees, to get back to normal.
Managing Knee Pain for Pregnant Women
The good news is that you don’t have to live with knee pain during pregnancy and the postpartum period. There’s a lot you can do to help alleviate knee pain. Try the following strategies:
- Exercise. Low-impact exercise can help strengthen the quadriceps muscles that support the knees. “This will help compensate for the looseness of ligaments and tendons in the knees,” says Stuchin, who recommends straight-leg raises and moderate walking.
- Get off your feet. Take the weight off your knees by propping your feet up whenever possible. Not only will this ease knee pain, it may prevent pain from developing in the first place, says Stuchin.
- Wear well-cushioned shoes. Footwear with adequate padding and arch support can help absorb shock to the knees. You may want to stick with sneakers during your last trimester to give your knees a break.
- Avoid excessive weight gain. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that women who had a normal weight before pregnancy, should put on 25 to 35 pounds during pregnancy (women who were overweight should gain only 15 to 25 pounds). If you stick to these guidelines, it will be easier to chase away knee pain by quickly returning to your pre-pregnancy weight.
- Take small doses of acetaminophen. The safest over-the-counter pain reliever during pregnancy is acetaminophen (Tylenol), says Dr. Hutcherson. Take the minimum dosage needed to relieve your knee pain, and avoid aspirin and ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil). “Aspirin thins the blood, which could potentially lead to problems with a baby’s development,” says Hutcherson. “And some studies show that ibuprofen may increase the risk of birth defects or premature labor.” It’s best to call your doctor before taking over-the-counter medication during pregnancy.
- Consider wearing a knee brace. An elastic, doughnut-hole knee brace can help relieve knee pain by supporting loose ligaments and tendons around the knee, says Stuchin. Knee braces are relatively inexpensive — around $15 — and sold in most drugstores.
Knee pain is just one of the many changes that may happen to your body during pregnancy. But with these simple strategies, you should be able to make it though your pregnancy and postpartum period with minimal knee pain.
Does Your Knee Hurt Because You’re Pregnant?
Knee pain is a common complaint during pregnancy and the postpartum period, this pain can range from mild to annoying to debilitating.
Knee Pain During Pregnancy
It’s hardly surprising that pregnancy can cause knee pain since it’s well-known that excessive weight contributes to knee problems.
There are different reasons for different types of knee pain.
- Hormonal changes: In your third trimester, the secretion of relaxin hormone loosens up the pelvic ligaments. This will also loosen the ligaments and tendons of the knees.
- Weight gain: The gradual increase in weight during pregnancy will lead to knee pain.
- Exercises: Too much exercise will also weaken the knees.
- Walking or standing: Knee pain will also develop due to the extended periods of walking or standing when the knees are forced to carry excess weight for longer.
- Deficiency of calcium: The need for calcium increases during pregnancy, and might result in a deficiency if the body does not take the right amounts. It, therefore, raises the risk of knee pains.
Knee Pain After Pregnancy
Knee pain typically goes away after pregnancy, but it may not happen right away. having your baby doesn’t guarantee that you’ll shed all the weight you gained during pregnancy, which means that knee pain may continue until you’re back in shape.
A bonus of breastfeeding is that the body burns calories to make breast milk while you’re nursing, and breastfeeding releases hormones that help shrink the uterus, making weight loss somewhat easier to achieve.
Managing Knee Pain for Pregnant Women
The good news is that you don’t have to live with knee pain during pregnancy and the postpartum period. There’s a lot you can do to help alleviate knee pain. Try the following tips:
- Exercise. Low-impact exercise can help strengthen the muscles that support the knees.
- Get off your feet. Take the weight off your knees by propping your feet up whenever possible. Not only will this ease knee pain, but it may also prevent pain from developing in the first place.
- Wear well-cushioned shoes. Footwear with adequate padding and arch support can help absorb shock to the knees.
- Avoid excessive weight gain. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that women who had a normal weight before pregnancy should put on 25 to 35 pounds during pregnancy (women who were overweight should gain 15 to 25 pounds).
- Take small doses of acetaminophen. The safest over-the-counter pain reliever during pregnancy is acetaminophen (Tylenol). Take the minimum dosage needed to relieve your knee pain, and avoid aspirin and ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil)
- Consider wearing a knee brace. An elastic, doughnut-hole knee brace can help relieve knee pain by supporting loose ligaments and tendons around the knee.
Orthopedic Corner | Leon Mead MD Orthopedic Doctor | 730 Goodlette Road North, Suite 201 Naples Florida 34102 | Phone: (239) 262-1119
Why do my knees hurt after pregnancy?
We know that pregnancy and new motherhood can take a serious toll on the body. Cracked nipples, back pain, tummy separations and urinary incontinence are just some of lovely things we do our best to avoid! Something many new mums don’t expect to experience however is knee pain. Despite this, it is one of the most common pain complaints I see as a physio who treats post-natal women. As with many things that are ‘common’, post-natal knee pain is not something you need to just put up with! So I will do my best to explain what it is, why it happens and what you can do to help…
Why do my knees hurt?
The most common type of knee pain in new mums is caused by a condition known as patello-femoral pain sydrome, which basically means ‘pain under the knee cap’. PFPS is felt mostly at the front of the knee – usually under or around the sides of the kneecap. In new mums, knee pain is usually caused by a combination of three main factors:
The changes your body goes through during pregnancy
- The hormones released during pregnancy cause your ligaments to soften and pelvis to widen to make room for the baby
- Your abdominals are stretched during pregnancy & gradually weaken
- Your posture will usually change to include an increased curve in your lower back or a ‘sway back’ which puts your abdominals and gluteals in a poor position to work
The muscle imbalances that often occur as a result of pregnancy
- Weaker abdominals (transversus, rectus abdominis and obliques)
- Weaker hip abductors & extensors (gluteals)
- Tighter lateral thigh muscles like iliotibial band and lateral quadriceps
The types of activities you do as a mum places a lot of excess load through the patello-femoral joint
- Sitting to feed / nurse involves your knees being in flexion for a long period of time
- Rocking and bouncing to settle your baby usually involves lots of weight shit and mini-squats
- Squatting to the floor and kneeling to pick bub up and down off the floor / bouncer places a lot of load through your knee joints and challenges the length of your quadriceps
- Lifting capsules and pushing prams (especially uphill/stairs) increases the load through the knee joints by a significant amount compared to just moving your own body weight.
So what should I avoid doing if I have knee pain?
Now realistically, there are many things as new mums you simply can’t avoid (like most of the things on the list above!) But it’s important to remember that knee pain after pregnancy is unlikely to get better if you ignore it or if just ‘push through’ it! Some of the main activities that you should keep an eye on are:
- squats or lunges, especially with weight (dumbbells or baby!)
- walking up / down hills or stairs, especially with the pram
- excessive kneeling
If you notice an association between how much you do these things and your knee pain, it is worth modifying / minimising these activities for a while to see if the pain improves.
What can I do to help improve my knee pain?
Minimising aggravating movements is a really good start, but it is not usually sufficient to get rid of your pain altogether. You should try to:
Get help
To address the main issues contributing to your pain you must first identity them! A good physiotherapist who has experience working with post-natal women will be able to help you. The factors that are contributing to your knee pain might be quite different to those contributing to your friend’s knee pain…
Improve any muscle imbalance
I usually give my mums with knee pain a few exercises to help address their own individual imbalances. These might include stretches or muscle release techniques for ‘tight’ muscles, and strengthening exercises for weak muscles. Here is a short video of a few exercises I commonly prescribe for post-partum knee pain:
Change up your technique
As your muscles get stronger you should notice your pain beginning to improve, however certain exercises can still aggravate your knees. If you get pain on squats for example, try putting a ball between your knees and squeezing as you squat to engage some of your pelvic stability muscles. Or have another look at your knee position and try changing up your alignment to see if that helps:
Wear good shoes
Shoes that have adequate cushioning and arch support will help to keep your knees in good alignment. This can be a ‘quick fix’ for some women, so if you spend a lot of time barefoot or in thongs, try wearing your runners a bit more and see if this reduces your pain!
So, whilst knee pain in new mums is really common, it is not normal and shouldn’t be put up with.
If you’re struggling with post-partum knee pain, get in touch! My aim is to help you to make big improvements with a few small changes so that you can get on with life!
Pain After Pregnancy – Edison, NJ & Clifton, NJ: Garden State Pain Control
Pregnancy is a very tender time for your body as it goes through an enormous transformation. After growing and housing your new child for nine full months it is no wonder you experience a plethora of symptoms following delivery. From soreness to hair loss, your body experiences a rollercoaster of discomforts after birth. The following are to be expected postpartum and can be experienced for days or weeks afterward.
Body Aches
Considering you housed a tiny person in your abdominal area for nine months and just pushed it out it is obvious to expect pain around your midsection. Aching and throbbing of your abdomen, back soreness, even aching in your ribs are all perfectly natural. Even if you underwent a C-section surgery, you should expect post-surgical pain in your abdominal area.
Cramps
As a woman, it seems there is not a single life stage free of cramps. Much like your regular menstrual cycle (remember those?) it is possible to experience cramps following labor as your uterus adjusts and contracts to go back what it once was.This should last no longer than one week following delivery.
Breast Soreness & Enlargement
Following pregnancy, your body produces milk to feed your infant. Slowly, your breasts engorge with the newly produced breast milk leading to large and sore breasts. A good way to deal with the engorgement is to make sure your baby completely drains the milk in your breasts. The soreness can be alleviated with a cold pack.
Vaginal Soreness
If you delivered vaginally, you can expect much of the pain and discomfort following the delivery to come from this area. Soreness and aching are normal symptoms; any tears between the vagina and perineum can take weeks to heal. If it is uncomfortable to sit, try sitting on a pillow to offset the pain. You may also talk to your doctor about pain killers and stool softeners to alleviate some of the discomforts of going to the bathroom.
C-Section Itches
For those women who choose to deliver by cesarean, you may have bypassed some of the discomforts of vaginal delivery like episiotomy stitches and hemorrhoids, but you are still left with a big scar across your abdomen. C-sections are major surgeries and are accompanied by fatigue and nausea, and you may experience numbness, tingling, and itching around your incision. If you feel feverish or any kind of oozing, it’s a sign of infection.
For pain that lasts longer than a few weeks, you need the touch of a chronic pain expert. Schedule an appointment with your New Jersey pain specialists today.
Causes And Tips To Manage
Arthritis refers to joint pains that are usually associated with swelling, stiffness, and reduced range of motion. Sometimes, the joints and muscles could be affected by the physical changes in pregnancy and may continue for weeks or months after pregnancy. If you have chronic arthritis, consulting your doctor and start taking your medications as directed would be helpful.
Read this MomJunction post to learn more about postpartum joint pain or arthritis and ways to manage it.
Is Arthritis Common After Pregnancy?
Arthritis is common in people of all ages. It may aggravate after pregnancy and a few women are likely to experience arthritis flare-ups for some time after delivery (1). They may have postpartum joint pains in their wrists, hands, ankles, and feet.
Causes Of Arthritis After Delivery
New mothers may have postpartum joint pains or arthritis for the following reasons.
- During pregnancy, most autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis, go into remission because of the vigorous antibody and cell-mediated immune responses. The symptoms may again flare up after pregnancy (2).
- The immune system usually becomes stronger after pregnancy. The overactive immune system may lead to pre-existing allergies or autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), lupus, or psoriatic arthritis (3).
- Age, genetics, obesity, physical inactivity, smoking, infections, occupation, and diet deficiencies may also lead to arthritis flare-ups during the postpartum period (4).
What Should You Do If You Have Postpartum Joint Pain or Arthritis?
Some measures that might help in managing and treating postpartum joint pain or arthritis are:
- See a doctor: Seek medical help if you already have arthritis. The doctor may give treatment to minimize pain, reduce joint damage, and improve the quality of life. You could only achieve them through regular follow-ups and by following the recommended treatment.
- Have a balanced diet: Work out a healthy diet plan with your nutritionist. Include low-calorie, low-fat foods, and plan your meals and snacks in a way that you are having a balanced diet.
- Manage your weight: Losing the excess weight and maintaining a healthy weight could be helpful if you have arthritis. It can lower the stress on joints, especially the hips and knees. Being overweight may also increase the risk of having arthritis.
- Stay active: Being physically active could relieve you from pain and improve your mood. It also decreases your chances of developing chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease.
- Improve your self-management skills: You may join a self-management education program to learn skills to manage arthritis. It could help you gain control over your health, manage pain and its symptoms, reduce stress levels, improve mood, and communicate better with your doctor (5).
- Wear correct size comfortable footwear: Avoid high heels. Ensure the sole is soft and gives adequate cushioning.
Can You Get Rheumatoid Arthritis After Pregnancy?
There is a risk of developing autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis after pregnancy. Although there is no substantial evidence to support this claim, there is a belief that complex hormonal and immune-related shifts occur during and after pregnancy. This could be a plausible reason for an increase in the rate of rheumatoid arthritis after pregnancy (6). However, pregnancy alone need not be a reason for getting RA, as other factors such as genetics play a more important role.
Does Breastfeeding Make Rheumatoid Arthritis Worse?
Breastfeeding may not worsen rheumatoid arthritis. But some mothers with RA may have severe pain while holding the baby for breastfeeding.
Does Postpartum Arthritis Go Away?
Unfortunately, there is no cure for arthritis. However, early treatment and a healthy lifestyle could help you manage the condition (7).And lead a near normal life.
If you have a history of arthritis or if it is genetic, then talk to a rheumatologist about its management during and after pregnancy. While postpartum joint pain or arthritis cannot be cured, you may take measures to manage it while following a healthy life style and taking a balanced diet.
References:
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The following two tabs change content below.Dr. Sangeeta Agrawal worked in Royal London, St. Bartholomew’s, North Middlesex and Barnet General hospitals in London. Currently, she runs her own clinic in Mumbai. She is also attached to Bhatia Hospital, Breach Candy Hospital, Wockhardt Hospital, and Global Hospital. Her areas of expertise include obstetrics and gynecology, involving teenage care, antenatal, intrapartum, post-natal care, painless labor, fertility control, menopause… moreRebecca is a pregnancy writer and editor with a passion for delivering research-based and engaging content in areas of fertility, pregnancy, birth, and post-pregnancy. She has been into health and wellness writing since 2010. She received her graduate degree in Biotechnology and Genetics from Loyola Academy, Osmania University and obtained a certification in ‘Nutrition and Lifestyle in Pregnancy’ from Ludwig… more
3 Reasons You May Have SI Joint Pain After Pregnancy
SI joint pain is a common complaint during pregnancy but often persists after delivery for a variety of reasons. If this sounds like you, let’s look at some of the reasons you may be having SI joint pain after your baby is born.
Additionally, I’ll cover some of the best strategies for relieving pain in the SI joint after pregnancy it that is something you’re experiencing.
SI Joint Pain After Pregnancy: 3 Reasons Why.
- You’ve been carrying extra weight in your lower abdominal region and it has changed your spine. After 9 months of your body working hard to grow a baby and a good portion of those months carrying weight in your lower abdomen, the posture of your spine actually changes. Pregnancy weight shifts your center of gravity forward. In response to this, your lower back (lumbar) curve increases thus changing how you distribute the load. The joints in the back of your spine and especially the SI joints can become fixated, compressed, inflamed and painful.
- The ligaments that surround and support the SI joint are loose thanks to the pregnancy hormone relaxin. Relaxin hormone does exactly what it sounds like, it relaxes the ligaments around the SI joint and allows the pelvis to expand. Normally, SI joints keep the joint capsule tight and supportive – something that’s not compatible with a growing baby. As your relaxin hormone increases, peaking in the first trimester, the SI joint is no longer tight but instead becomes much more moveable. After pregnancy, the baby is no longer occupying this space but the SI joints can still maintain that excess motion that’s no longer necessary.
This image shows some of the ligaments around your SI joint. Look how large some of them are and imagine how much they change during pregnancy!
3. In some cases, the surfaces of the iliac bone or bones may undergo permanent boney changes, a condition called osteitis condensans illi. This occurs in roughly 1-3 % of the population and is more common in woman who’ve had a baby. It’s characterized by a boney build up around the SI joint called sclerosis. Unfortunately, this boney build up is there to stay and is thought to be a consequence of the SI joints being overloaded during pregnancy. This results in a permanently changed SI joint that can be inflamed, painful, and dysfunction.
Wondering how common it is to have SI joint pain after pregnancy? It’s more common than you think –> See this study that found 26% of postpartum women have SI joint dysfunction.
Strategies For Relieving SI Joint Pain After Pregnancy
Relieving SI joint after pregnancy can be achieved with a few strategies. The good news is that for the most part relief is rehab and therapy focused and doesn’t involve procedures like surgery. Let’s take a look at some rehab strategies for relieving SI joint pain.
- Chiropractic adjustments also called spinal manipulative therapy. Adjusting or manipulating the SI joint is an excellent evidence-based treatment used as part of the rehab strategy. In the case of SI joint pain after pregnancy, chiropractic adjustments serve primarily as a pain relief treatment and affect the joint receptors that communicate with the brain. See some of my content on this treatment strategy here –> Chiropractic Adjustments For SI Joint Pain
- Core activation and strengthening exercises. During pregnancy, you’re going to lose strength in your core muscles which include the transverse abdominis (abs) and gluteal muscles (but). Your chiropractor can progress you through a rehab exercise program that gets you using these muscles again, builds strength in them, and increases your muscular endurance.
- Acupuncture and dry needling. Acupuncture can help relieve SI joint pain after pregnancy and dry needling can address trigger points that are skewing normal motion and muscle balance of the pelvis. Read more about this treatment strategy in my content here –> Dry Needling For SI Joint Pain
Make sure you find a skilled healthcare professional who can pinpoint whether the SI joint is the cause of your pain. Lumbar spine issues can be similar and some sometimes mimic SI joint pain, so finding an expert who’s familiar in this area is important. Dr. Brianna Williams DC at our Cary NC office is experienced and passionate about treating pregnancy-related complaints including post-pregnancy SI Joint Pain.
Dr. Brianna Williams DC is a chiropractic physician practicing at AccessHealth Chiropractic in Cary, NC. She treats neuromusculoskeletal pain and injuries using chiropractic manipulation, Graston Technique, and rehab exercise strategies. She holds a PSP certification from the University of Pittsburgh and is the only one with this honor in the Raleigh, Cary, and Apex areas. She’s also experienced in treating pregnant women, especially those who’re exercising and want to stay moving during their pregnancy.
90,000 Knees hurt after childbirth – when bending and squatting
It seems to every expectant mother that after giving birth her condition will noticeably improve, it will be easier to walk, the body will immediately begin to return to its prenatal form. But, unfortunately, some women show pathologies that they could not even think of before. Their quality of life is deteriorating. One such condition is knee pain. Why does it arise? What should a woman do to relieve her?
About the causes of pain
It is worth noting that the legs can hurt both before and after childbirth.In the last weeks of pregnancy, knees bother women because their body weight increases. The load makes itself felt by pain in the knees, ankles. Therefore, it is difficult for a woman to walk.
After the birth of a baby, the following factors may cause severe discomfort:
- Strenuous work of muscles during childbirth. They stretch a lot, so soreness occurs in the first days after childbirth.
- Abrupt movements during delivery. Such actions sometimes cause involuntary dislocation of the joint.
- Diseases of the musculoskeletal system, which the mother suffered from even before the birth. Anesthesia can aggravate them, so the woman will feel severe pain in the knee joints when bending.
- Liquid accumulation. Childbirth can provoke congestion in the joint capsules. That is, synovial fluid can accumulate in the joints, which a woman feels pain, especially when squatting, bending the lower extremities.
A young mother should know: if joint pains appeared during the gestation of a baby and does not disappear for a long time after his birth, then, most likely, joint ailments are progressing. They may or may not be related to pregnancy. Sometimes a woman may have severe neck pain after childbirth, lower back, wrist. If this discomfort does not go away within a month, then it is necessary to undergo an examination and find out the cause of the problem.
How to relieve knee pain
So, what should be done to relieve the condition? Experts advise to adhere to the following recommendations:
- Watch your posture. The back should be kept straight, the shoulders should be pulled back, the stomach and buttocks should be strained.
- Do not make sudden movements, especially when lifting heavy objects. Bend your knees when lowering the baby to the bed, placing it in the stroller. Don’t do this with straight legs. Likewise, raise the child.
- Take time to lie on your back 1-2 times a day with your limbs raised up. Literally 7-10 minutes in this position will ease the condition of the back, knees and relieve muscle tension.
- Avoid personal injury. Knees can also be injured when turning the wheelchair, at the moment of turning the body, when the feet remain in place. Then a heavy load falls on the knee joints.
- Massage your feet. You can do this yourself using foot creams, or entrust the procedure to a massage therapist.
- Do morning exercises and stretching 8-10 days after giving birth. They will eliminate spasms, lengthen muscles, and ease the load on them.
- Delegate household chores to relatives, husband. Get more rest if knee pain starts in the evening. This is a sure sign of fatigue and overwork.
- Use warm foot baths. You can use infusions of lavender, chamomile, lemon balm for this. Such procedures will relieve tension from the feet, relax the calves.
- Try alcohol compresses. Such manipulations can be carried out at any time convenient for a woman. Gauze is moistened in alcohol or propolis tincture, comfrey root, horseradish, applied to the joints.Next, the knees are wrapped in cellophane, insulated. The minimum duration of the procedure is 30 minutes. Listen to how you feel after compresses.
- Take calcium supplements. They will not interfere with any woman after childbirth, because the child in the process of intrauterine development simply took this mineral from the mother. Almost all women after childbirth experience its deficiency, which can also be manifested by pain in the knee joints.
If these measures do not help the woman, the problem does not disappear – do not delay the diagnostic procedures.See a specialist. You may need to undergo a serious outpatient course of treatment.
90,000 How husbands bully their wives after childbirth
After childbirth, the body changes and women can often feel discomfort because of this. Someone manages to return to the previous state, but on someone’s body traces of a person’s birth remain forever. We recorded stories of women whose husbands bullied them during pregnancy and after childbirth because their appearance was not the same as before.
“Pregnancy went under the comments that my belly became fat” “
Alena, 27 years old
This was my first marriage and pregnancy. I was 23 years old, and my husband 30. As soon as my belly began to grow, he perceived it as fat and said that I had gained weight. I explained that the child grows up, and because of this, the belly appears. It just didn’t occur to me how a 30-year-old man doesn’t understand this.The entire pregnancy took place under his comments that “my thighs, ass, my stomach became fat and hanging”.
At the same time, I prepared him from the very beginning: I shared books, websites, groups in social networks, showed what exactly awaits us after giving birth and how I will change. He saw everything perfectly and knew when it was possible to lose weight and for how much it would be possible to do it. But in the end it was all in vain.
The bullying began back in the hospital – I was lying in the ward, feeding the child, and he came up and grabbed my stomach with the words: “What is it, why do you still have it?” At that time, after giving birth, two days had passed, the stomach, as expected, stretched out, I could not do anything about it.
I didn’t gain that much – 8 kilograms. After leaving the hospital, I went home in shorts and a short T-shirt so that it was convenient to feed my son. My husband constantly came up and grabbed my stomach so hard that there were fingerprints and bruises on my body. A week after giving birth, he began lecturing me: “Do you understand that you are swimming with fat? It’s time for you to go on a diet. ” I am breastfeeding, what is the diet? I could not even go in for sports, because the child was constantly in my arms, holding him with one hand, and making dinner with the other.Earlier in films I saw a picture of how my husband drinks beer, and his wife nurses two and cooks borscht – we had the same situation.
Because of his daily comments acting on my brain, I started trying to lose weight a month after giving birth, and this led to the baby gaining only 100 grams (and should have been about 500) and my milk was gone. Because of this, his parents began to humiliate me, they took the child to them to feed them with formula, and I was considered the most finished person in the world. But this did not stop me, and I ran for two months, did push-ups, pumped the press, sat on diets – there was no sense at all, I didn’t even lose a pound.The stable weight of 63 kg did not move up or down.
Topic details
Is there sex after childbirth? And what to do to make it? We answer together with experts
Is there sex after childbirth? And what to do to make it? We answer together with experts
Once every two weeks we went to visit his parents, they had scales, and each time he dragged me to be weighed.I already understood that if we go there, then there will be weight control. She said that I didn’t want to, I was not interested in knowing that. He only replied that I could not watch, and he would check it himself. If I refused, he threatened: “Do you want to get it?” I understood how it would end, and went on. She turned away, he looked at the scales and said: “Yes, we have to do something. ”
When we were walking on the street, he looked at passers-by and said: “See, the girl has passed, see how thin she is? Why can’t you do that? ” All this plus postpartum depression led to the fact that I cheated myself and thought that something was wrong with me, since I did not look like these girls on the street.Although I tried to show him that his words were indifferent to me, inwardly I did not love myself and did not respect. Soon I began to wear only robes. I haven’t owned a single dress in my two years of marriage, just jeans, oversized T-shirts, and wide-leg sweatpants. There were thoughts that I am not worthy to live, that people like me should not be on the planet, because we look “not aesthetically pleasing”.
I began to hide, stopped taking care of myself, painted and decided not to stand out. It seemed to me that everything on my “fat” face would look bad.So that no one else saw or offended me, I constantly sat at home, went out with the child only at certain hours and went far to the park on the outskirts, where there was no one. And the route itself to the park through the city center was so stressful that I sat on a bench and cried for two hours, thinking: “Everyone was looking at me, and even turning around, probably. God, what a nightmare. ” The wraps were terrible. I was afraid to relax, go out in short shorts, I was even afraid to go to the doctor-surgeon, because there I would have to take off my T-shirt.It seemed to me that I was the worst thing that the doctor had seen.
The husband’s catchphrase was: “Why are you taking a life preserver with you?” The first time I didn’t understand what he meant, and then my husband grabbed his stomach, saying it’s my lifeline. He also often said: “It’s time to cut such people, but you are still walking.” At home, he always verbally abused me, and in public he deliberately tried to shame me.
Sometimes we sat down at a table at a party, and he would take my plate of food and give me one cucumber, saying that this is my whole dinner.
Once we were in nature with a large company of twenty people, and he said to me in front of everyone: “Can you put on a T-shirt? Otherwise, you cover the whole sun with your fat. ” At that moment, all the guys laughed, and only girls supported me. After that, I stopped going to the sea, because I understood that I would have to undress there, but I would not be able to do it.
He did not threaten that he would leave, find himself another, or change. He simply said, “Either you are losing weight, or I will ***** [everything].Now I will wrap a towel around my hand and cheat you so that no one will know that I beat you. ” Sometimes I thought that I littered the walls with myself when we fought. The last straw came when he beat me in front of a child. My son and I were returning from my parents, I called him and asked to meet us. He said: “Wait, I’ll finish the game“ Tanks ”and go out.” I took the child in an armful and went home myself. There I told him that, in fact, we are a family, to which he replied that family is a loud saying. I asked: “How do we live together then?” He replied that he did not know, most likely as friends.
After these words, I asked him to pack up his things and leave. He gave me such a slap on the head right in front of his son that I fell to my knees. The child is crying, and he beats me and says: “Who the hell needs you, if I leave, you will swim with fat and crush the child.” I called his father and asked to pick up my husband, to which he replied that these were not his problems, but I needed to be able to close my mouth in time . I endured for another two months until my uncle returned to the city. I asked him, with the help of a friend from the police, to expel my husband.When three people in uniform came, it took him fifteen minutes to pack up and leave.
After our parting, his ex came up to me and said: I am a fine fellow for breaking up with him. I asked why they broke up, and she told how before the wedding she gained 8 kilograms from stress and he left her, saying that he didn’t need fat. I’m sorry for his current girlfriend. She called me somehow and cried: he beat her and threw some things out of the window, while others covered them with sunflower oil. I asked why.“For the fact that after a long walk at twelve o’clock in the morning I fried nuggets and ate. He approached, and then these nuggets flew all over the kitchen with me, ”- her answer. I advised her only one thing – to leave. Even when he came to his son, he showed me her photographs and said: “Look, what a mini-pig I got myself.”
Everything is broken, this is a huge trauma. To some extent, self-hatred remained. I am trying to ask why I don’t love myself now, and I don’t find an answer. When we parted company, I began to look at myself in the mirror without clothes more often and realized that everything was not so bad, I did not look terrible.I began to look more closely at my feelings – whether it is convenient for me, whether it is comfortable. Now I value and respect myself – if I don’t do this, then the people around me are even more so. We hardly see my ex-husband, although he loudly talks about how he loves the child and wants to see him. At the same time, there are zero initiatives from him, he almost never calls and does not come.
“He called me a bedside table, icebreaker” Lenin “”
Olga Pestereva, 42 years old
My first husband and I started living together when I was in my second year of art college.After we moved in, he had a fix idea: he kept repeating that I should give him a son. Five months later, we applied to the registry office, and soon I became pregnant.
Before pregnancy, he did not find fault with my appearance, and there was nothing to find fault with: I was a thin and poor student, living practically from hand to mouth. At the same time, I had large breasts, which did not sag before giving birth. I seemed to myself a beauty. And he was a slender, tall, blue-eyed blond.
As soon as my belly started to grow a little, we lost sex .He announced that he would no longer sleep with me. I don’t know why, but my appearance deteriorated greatly during pregnancy. Stretch marks appeared all over my body, which constantly itched, I gained weight, my kidney failed, and I began to swell.
My husband demonstratively began to look after everyone, even invited a witness from our wedding to a date. He treated me like something nasty, as if a helpless, terrible old woman was imposed on him and forced to marry her. I felt sick and dirty, he was constantly fucking, and it was obvious that my appearance disgusted him.For example, I complained that the stretch marks on my chest were very itchy, showed him, and he replied: “Ugh, what disgusting.” He called me a bedside table, an icebreaker “Lenin”. If he went for a walk, he told me to stay at home, because “where will I go like this.”
He became irritable, he didn’t like everything. He said: “You don’t have to go to bed with me,” and I, pregnant, laid it on the floor, so that he would not get angry: I was afraid for the child.
It got to the point of absurdity: when we went somewhere, he said: “This is your bag, and this is mine, I am not going to carry your things.”And I dragged everything myself.
He did not work and made me look for a job. Then he got a job somewhere, started drinking, and two months later he was fired. After that, he sat at home and declared to me: “You will have a child from me, you will not go anywhere, the more you are terrible, so now you will support me.”
Before giving birth, I tried not to enter into conflicts with him, because I knew that he was aggressive and could hit. For some reason I thought that when I give birth, his behavior will change, he really wanted a son so much, but it only got worse. I got into conservation and gave birth ahead of schedule. Due to childbirth, I had a terrible external rupture right up to the priests, it was painful to sit and go to the toilet. From endless pumping, the breast turned into two shapeless sagging pouches, hair climbed, skin and nails deteriorated, teeth crumbled and gums became inflamed. My self-esteem dropped dramatically, I no longer considered myself to be either beautiful or desirable, or a woman in general.
Topic details
“You already ate candy today”: what and how Russian husbands forbid their wives
“You already ate candy today”: what and how Russian husbands forbid their wives
After giving birth, we began to live with my parents, and they were against our divorce.They said, “If you kick him out, you will follow.” He hit me on the head when I was breastfeeding, that is, he caught the moments until I could answer. I have never cried so much in my life as I did then. Mom said: “I got married, now shake snot on your fist – you can’t go anywhere.” My husband said that if I leave him, I will be considered a slut – how is it, first lived with one, and then left for another?
Once he did not come for several nights in a row, and when he returned, I told him to go where he had spent the night.He rushed at me and touched the baby, the son sobbed. This I could not stand it anymore. She brought a baby to her parents, who was screaming in pain, and shouted: “Do what you want, I will die on the street with my son, but I can no longer live with him.”
When he was leaving, I told him: “Go at least say goodbye to your son,” he went into the room, looked at the child, but did not even touch him. He turned with a sad look – I hoped that his conscience had awakened, and at least now he would say something normal, but he gave: “Borrow money for me in a taxi.”
We got divorced very hard. He constantly called, said: “Who needs you, who will look at you.” In general, he convinced me that I was the ugliest woman in the world. He threatened me on the phone that he would kill me if I filed for alimony, said that his friends would rape me. While the divorce was being filed, I came to the session, and we met by chance at the institute, as he studied there. A fight broke out between us, they separated us and said that both would be expelled. Later, someone told me that he and the boys would be waiting for me at the institute after classes, I had to urgently ask for leave.I went to the police and to the traumatology department to film the beatings. We came to the institute with a policeman, however, he was not there. But the police found him anyway and threatened to jail him if he touched me or the child again. After that, the ex-husband disappeared, we were finally divorced.
I remember the feeling when I kicked him out: I wanted to fly, sing and dance. I felt so good that I am now alone.
He was expelled for that fight.About six months later, he came to the university to see his friends, we collided in the corridor, and he said: “Wow, this is a figure who fucks you so well?” I answered: “Did you think I would always walk pregnant?” I lost weight, the stretch marks are gone. My hair has grown back, because during pregnancy it fell out and I shaved almost baldly. True, for a very long time I was ashamed of my breasts, because it sagged and changed shape, during sex I closed it. Now all the complexes are gone, I am dating a man who says he is crazy about my figure.And I’m not ashamed, for example, to walk naked in front of him, which I have never done before.
I started to accept myself when I started dating men. I remember that I was walking through the city in a long white silk skirt, heels, with long hair, and I felt flying, thin and beautiful. At the institute, they began to offer me to pose for pictures, men constantly complimented me.
A year and a half after the divorce, I was going to college and suddenly saw my ex-husband. Everything inside me clenched, I was still afraid of him.And he looked me over and went on. I then thought: “I guess I really changed, since the person with whom we were married did not recognize me.”
After the divorce, at that time I was about 20, I had no serious relationship for six and a half years. And then I got married again. The second husband was more likely my friend and like-minded person, caring and reliable, never abandoned or betrayed. I gave birth to a son from him, we lived together for fourteen years. But he did not make compliments, I did not feel like a beautiful and desirable woman, I lacked tenderness and warmth.Over time, we parted in ambitions and desires and divorced, but he still communicates with me and with the children, we have a good relationship.
I don’t know where the first husband is now, we saw each other once, when it was necessary to sign an agreement to take my son abroad, he was 13-14 years old at that time. I was terribly afraid to see my ex. He came drunk, and the notaries did not trust him to sign anything. He took me to a cafe, we were not served for a long time, and he shouted to the waiter: “Why aren’t you bringing my wife an order?” I reasoned that we could live all these years together.Couldn’t. More than twenty years have passed, and I still cannot understand or forgive him.
Now I know that if a person really loves, he will accept you any and never turn away. If a man tells you that you are fat, ugly, do not think that when you lose weight, he will love you again. You will endlessly chase after his ideals and never catch up.
You have to accept yourself as you are – with scars, stretch marks, bruises, whatever.Anything in life can happen. We are not our body, we are much larger and deeper.
“He made me go to the gym even when I had health problems”
Natalia (name changed at the request of the heroine), 34 years old
We met my future husband in ICQ, at that time I was 17-18 years old. We talked there, met, were friends for a long time, then the relationship began. Three years later, I offered to start a family, he agreed.Then I asked if he wanted a child, he said that he didn’t mind and always dreamed of a big family. He was caring, kind, gave gifts, he could come even in the middle of the night if I wanted to see him. Before the birth of the child, he did not find fault with my appearance: I was tall, thin, weighed 47 kilograms.
During two pregnancies, he flew over me like over a flower, put on my shoes when I could not bend, always bought what I wanted, hugged and kissed. After the first birth, I recovered – after six months I returned to my previous form.But after the second, after three years, I gained 8-10 kilograms. My breasts have grown from the second to the fourth size. Then my husband said that it was bad, the girl’s breast size should be the first, maximum the second, and my breasts are ugly .
Several months after the birth of their second child, he asked: “When will you go to the gym? You have recovered, your butt has become big, ugly. ” I said that I go there anyway, slowly losing weight. At some point I stopped studying because of health problems, and he made me: “So what? Go anyway, you must be beautiful and fit. “Moreover, I went to the gym of my own free will, I wanted support from him, not indignation that I had a child for a month, but I just could not lose weight. I didn’t excite him. I had a bunch of beautiful underwear, came to my husband, hugged, kissed, but he said that he didn’t want me and he didn’t like my body.
He talked about his girls at work, who allegedly gave birth to 10-15 children and all thin and beautiful. And I constantly emphasized this word – “thin”. He compared me with 18-19-year-old female colleagues and did not want to hear that after childbirth, recovery was needed.Intimate life is gone completely – at most once a year, and sometimes less often. When the second child was 2 years old, he began to cheat on me. A neighbor came to visit and said that she had seen my husband embracing some girl. Then there were other women.
I felt anger and irritation, but I was worried about everything inside myself: almost all my relatives were in the cemetery, I didn’t have too many friends at that time either. I was close to committing suicide , but the thought of young children stopped me.My self-esteem really dropped, I became indifferent to my appearance: I stopped doing manicure, plucking eyebrows, extending eyelashes, and did not go to the hairdresser.
Topic details
Bad hostess, wife, mother: how to react to the claims of society
Bad hostess, wife, mother: how to react to the claims of society
I had an unstable job, and I had to raise two children, so I continued to live with him.Over the course of these six or seven years, he often said to me something insulting about the figure, sometimes we did not communicate for weeks. Gradually, I didn’t care: he came home, took out the trash, walked with the children, earned money – and okay. Sometimes we slept in separate rooms, sometimes together, but each one under his own blanket.
Then I got a high-paying job, where experience and knowledge were valued, not appearance. My self-esteem improved, I began to value myself primarily as a person. Well, along with this, nails, hair, and eyelashes returned.I’m not full, but I’m not thin either: with an increase of 172 centimeters, I weigh 75 kilograms. I am comfortable in my weight, and four years ago I found a man who likes the way I am. We started dating, then he proposed to me. I said that I was still married and I had to divorce first.
I came home and told my husband everything, added that it was somehow not very beautiful when I had two men. She asked me to leave my apartment. He quietly packed his things and went out in silence. At the moment we are in the process of filing a divorce.We talk about children – they live with him, then with me. Moreover, in relation to children, he is a wonderful father: he takes them on a fishing trip, walks, buys clothes, toys. I don’t want more children, because I love my job and don’t want to stay at home for a year.
I thought that the person loves something else in me besides the appearance, because someday I will grow old, and so will he. His teeth will fall out, his hair will turn gray, he will get fat – and I was ready for this. And he was not ready for my changes. If a man insults you after giving birth, point him to the door and find the person who likes you.
Daria Utkina
Clinical psychologist, doula, co-founder of the project on the mental health of mothers “Take care of yourself”
Unfortunately, it is still common for a man to shame a woman after giving birth. The classic “stoned”, “does not take care of herself”, “got fat”. It so happens that before giving birth, a man treated a woman well, and after that he changed and began to insult. Especially [this is often the case] in relationships, where there were previously manifestations of violent communication. The problem with abuse is that it rarely starts with . This process usually unfolds over months, and sometimes years. And here there is no woman’s fault, she cannot take responsibility for the actions of another adult, albeit a very close person.
A strong reaction to bodily changes after childbirth can be a manifestation of the father’s postpartum depression, and his own fear of all the changes that happened so quickly and inevitably. It’s great when a man has the courage to look his fears in the eye and realize what he is really worried about when he is afraid that the body of his beloved will never be the same again.
After giving birth, women find themselves in a more vulnerable position, often depend on a partner financially, emotionally, and in everyday life in a way that never before. Plus social isolation. This creates grounds for abuse of power.
Violence often takes the form of “I don’t want you anymore after childbirth,” and women try to “get in shape” to become desirable again in the eyes of their partner. Sometimes this is ridicule or unobtrusive advice to eat less, take care of yourself or lose weight by a certain date.But claims to a woman’s body are only a small piece of the puzzle.
Usually a woman is faced with a choice – to accept new conditions or refuse. Both options are so-so, given the vulnerable position. Many simply do not have the opportunity to take and leave, because there is nowhere, nothing and nowhere to wait for support. And the strength to cope with the separation is usually not enough in the first year of life with a baby.
And then the option remains to agree that there is something “wrong” with her, and try his best to meet the expectations of the partner.
It is important for a woman to understand that this is not ok. And this is not about her, but about a partner who, unfortunately, revealed himself like this in a new period of the couple’s life.
Lack of support and emotional abuse in relationships are risk factors for postpartum depression. Physical health can also suffer, especially if a woman chooses strict diets at a time when the body needs to be given time to recover.Plus, many start to play sports that are not suitable for the body after childbirth. For example, actively pumping the press in an attempt to get rid of the abdomen and thereby aggravating diastasis.
If a partner left a woman after giving birth because of a changed appearance, it is worth giving yourself time to burn off this betrayal and broken hopes. Find any support you can. Get to a specialist who will help you get through this period. Remember that it is always not about the appearance, but about the partner, which was usually the same before, but was not so noticeable.
When a partner is included in the pregnancy and childbirth accommodation, takes care of the child from the first days, he does not have any questions about the female body – one that endured a whole person, or even two at once. But you cannot force another to show empathy and concern. You cannot protect yourself from everything. Sometimes people just behave the way they do. And all that remains for the other side is to retain the responsibility to agree or not to such behavior.
Topic details
How and why to talk about sex with a partner
How and why to talk about sex with a partner
90,000 Possible Causes and Treatment Methods
While carrying a child, many unpleasant moments and dangers await a woman.One of the most common troubles is pain in the knee joints. It can occur for a number of reasons. Why knees hurt during pregnancy, what to do in this case?
Features of the structure of joints
Any joint in the human body is constantly in motion. This is due to the fact that due to this, the mobility of the body is achieved. The joint is the cartilaginous junction of two bones, the space between which is filled with synovial fluid for mobility.The joint is surrounded by tendons and ligaments, with which muscle fibers are attached to it.
Joint pain can occur due to various pathologies both of the joint itself and of tissues located nearby.
Physiological causes of pain
During pregnancy, the female body undergoes many changes in a short time. Some of them are invisible to the expectant mother, and some can significantly worsen the quality of life. Why do knees hurt during pregnancy? Among the natural physiological causes, the following can be distinguished:
The increase in body weight that occurs during gestation and increases the load on all joints of the body, including the knee.
Due to the large abdomen, the center of gravity shifts forward, therefore the load on the knees increases.
Changes in hormonal levels, namely the release of a large amount of the hormone relaxin, which is necessary to prepare for childbirth. The hormone softens the cartilage and increases the elasticity of the ligaments. As a result of this process, the ligaments of the knee joint no longer fix it so tightly, the load increases.
Lack of calcium, since in the process of formation the child takes a large amount of useful vitamins and minerals from the mother’s diet, useful substances reach the woman’s body in smaller quantities.The problem is solved by the use of vitamin complexes or a balanced diet.
If your knees hurt during pregnancy due to the factors described above, then in most cases the problem is solved on its own after childbirth.
Psychological reasons
Even a desired pregnancy is a huge stress. And not only for the female body, but also for the psyche of the expectant mother. Why does knee hurt during pregnancy? Among the psychological reasons, depressive states are often distinguished, which can arise as a result of such factors:
Fear of irreversible changes in the body.Dissatisfaction with the appearance of your body, since in the process of bearing a fetus, it changes very much.
Hypersensitivity to external factors, which causes irritability, excessive emotionality.
Change of the usual social circle.
Change in the rhythm of life, the need to visit medical institutions, as well as spending a lot of time alone.
Also, the expectant mother has quite natural fears about the health of the child.
Pathological causes
If the legs below the knee or knee joints hurt during pregnancy, then the causes of this condition may also be associated with pathological processes in the body. These include the following:
Getting physical injuries – dislocation, fracture, contusion.
Inflammatory process in the connective tissue of the knee joint.
Autoimmune diseases – systemic lupus erythematosus or vasculitis.
Rheumatoid arthritis.
In some cases, pain may be associated with pinching of the sciatic nerve.
Who should I contact?
If your knees hurt in the early stages of pregnancy, it is recommended to consult a general practitioner, since the causes of discomfort may not always be associated with pathological processes in the knee joints. If the therapist suspects any disease, then it is in his competence to refer a pregnant woman to narrow specialists – a surgeon, rheumatologist, traumatologist, orthopedist, osteopath.
Diagnostics
Specialists with a narrow focus are required to examine a pregnant woman, find out the symptoms, and also conduct a number of additional clinical studies that may be needed to make the correct diagnosis. The most commonly used diagnostic methods are:
Palpation. In order to find out the exact localization of painful sensations in the knee joint.
Trendelenburg’s test, which helps to find out the efficiency of the valves of the veins of the lower extremities.
Ultrasound diagnostics for visual assessment of the knee joint condition.
Magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography is rarely used because it is considered harmful to the fetus, however, in some cases it cannot be dispensed with.
An X-ray is required if a mechanical injury to a limb is suspected.
Also, in some cases, a biopsy of the synovial fluid from the joint, general and biochemical blood tests are required.
First aid
If your knees hurt during pregnancy at 40 weeks, then unpleasant sensations can be caused by banal overwork. It can be associated with a significantly increased weight of a pregnant woman, a shift in the center of gravity, and, as a result, an increased load on the knee joints. In this case, adequate first aid for a woman is a good rest in a supine position.
If the pain has not gone away even after a quality rest, then you should contact the clinic for additional examinations.
Traditional methods of treatment
Carrying a baby is a special period in the life of every woman, during which a large number of classic medications are undesirable for use. In this regard, many doctors resort to treatment with folk remedies that are considered safe. The following therapies are popular:
Nutria fat is a great way to relieve pain. It is enough to apply it with a thin layer to the sore spot.After a while, the discomfort and discomfort will go away.
Warm bath with a decoction of birch and coniferous leaves. To prepare the product, you will need about 500 g of dried herbs, which must be brewed in 4 liters of water. After that, the broth must be filtered and poured into a bath with warm water. It is recommended to take water procedures every day for 20 minutes.
A bandage with honey and salt helps if your knees hurt during pregnancy. This will require 1 tbsp.l. natural honey, which must be mixed with 1 tbsp. table salt. The mass should be wrapped in gauze or light cloth, and then applied to the sore spot for 30 minutes. The tool has anti-inflammatory effects. Bee honey should be used only if there is no individual allergic reaction.
Pine buds with sugar. To prepare the product, you need to take 300 g of green pine buds, mix with 300 g of sugar, fill the jar with the contents and put in a dark cool place for 5 days.After 5 days, the kidneys will give juice and some of the sugar will dissolve. The resulting mixture must be rubbed on the sore spot every evening. After 30 minutes, it is recommended to wash off the mass with warm water.
The use of ordinary cosmetic clay can significantly improve the condition. To do this, it must be diluted with water, according to the instructions, and then applied in a thick layer to the sore joints. It is recommended to repeat the procedure daily.
Chopped horse chestnut should be poured with vodka and kept in a water bath for about 20 minutes.The resulting mixture is also used to relieve pain and relieve inflammation.
If your knees hurt during pregnancy, then the standard course of treatment with folk remedies is about 14 days. It should also be remembered that any methods of treatment, even traditional ones, should be used only with the permission of the attending physician.
Drug therapy
If your knees hurt badly during pregnancy, then the only way out is to use drugs to relieve discomfort and discomfort.The most commonly used drugs are:
“Paracetamol” with an increase in body temperature, if it is caused by an inflammatory process in the knee joints.
Gel “Malavit” has a weak analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect. It is applied externally, directly on the skin of the knee.
Fastum Gel can only be used in the first two trimesters of pregnancy. In the third trimester of gestation, the use of this drug is not recommended.
Gel “Traumeel S” is a homeopathic remedy that relieves puffiness and relieves pain.
Unfortunately, a large number of medications cannot be used during pregnancy, therefore, treatment of the disease can only be started after childbirth and cessation of lactation. Up to this point, it is recommended only to relieve pain by means that have no effect on the fetus.
Also, some orthopedists recommend getting orthopedic shoes during pregnancy.In order to prevent the development of joint diseases that are associated with improper weight distribution.
If your knees hurt during pregnancy, but this discomfort is associated with injury, the trauma doctor may prescribe the wearing of an elastic bandage (for sprains), apply a cast or recommend the use of an orthosis.
Treatment after childbirth
If knees hurt during late pregnancy, then it is quite logical to start treatment after the baby is born.In this case, treatment is prescribed more essential than local anesthesia. It includes the following methods:
Physical therapy, which is aimed at strengthening the muscles of the lower extremities.
Injection of corticosteroid drugs that have a powerful anti-inflammatory effect. The following drugs are often used: Prednisolone or Dexamethasone.
Physiotherapy procedures – ultrasound therapy, electrophoresis, darsonval, help to restore joint function faster.
Surgery may be required in advanced cases. It can be aimed at a complete replacement of the joint or restoration of its mobility without the use of implants.
If your knees hurt during late pregnancy, manual therapy may be prescribed to reduce the discomfort. Massage improves blood circulation in the injured limb, as well as relieves pain.
In some cases, a woman is invited to experience acupuncture – acupuncture.This method does not belong to official medicine, however, numerous reviews of women from all over the world prove its effectiveness.
Nutritional features
If your knees hurt during pregnancy, then, first of all, it is recommended to revise your diet. The thing is that a child needs a large amount of vitamins, macro and microelements for proper development, therefore, if the daily diet of the expectant mother does not include healthy foods, then the fetus has to take them from the reserve reserves of the mother’s body.Calcium has a positive effect on the function of bone and articular tissue, and with its lack, it begins to break down. In order to prevent knee pain due to a lack of calcium, the following foods must be included in the daily diet:
Dairy and fermented milk products – milk, hard cheese, cottage cheese, kefir and others.
Various types of meat.
River and sea fish.
Liver.
Chicken eggs.
Also, seasonal vegetables, herbs and cereals must be included in the diet of a pregnant woman.
To maintain the body, many doctors recommend taking vitamin complexes. It is advisable to start using them at the planning stage of pregnancy, so that the body can store useful substances.
Preventive measures
What to do if knee joints hurt during pregnancy? It is much easier to prevent the occurrence of discomfort than to deal with treatment later.To do this, it is recommended to adhere to the following preventive measures:
Reducing the load on the knee joints includes tracking weight. It is important to gain weight within normal limits.
In the last trimester of pregnancy, when the baby’s weight is at its maximum and the center of gravity is shifted forward, you need to spend as much time as possible resting.
Wearing comfortable shoes can significantly reduce the stress on the legs and spine.
Daily self-massage will improve blood circulation and lymph flow.This will avoid stagnation and discomfort associated with it.
It is important not to neglect wearing a special maternity bandage, which not only supports an impressive belly, but also distributes the load on the legs.
Some doctors may also recommend wearing compression garments in order to avoid the appearance of varicose veins.
Postpartum recovery: first hours.
The joy of the birth of a baby is behind, the hormonal cocktail that raged during childbirth is gradually changing its composition and the body is rebuilding itself to a new stage in life – motherhood.But, having experienced the happiness of childbirth, what should mom do next? How to recuperate faster and always have fun communicating with your baby? Svetlana Luzikhina, an experienced obstetrician and presenter for childbirth, gives specific recommendations on how to help yourself in the first hours or days after childbirth:
“The first day after childbirth, you can lie not only on your back, but in any other position. Even on the stomach! But in this case, place a small pillow under your belly so that there is no deflection in the back. Try not to lie in one position for a long time, change positions.It is advisable to get up only when absolutely necessary, for example, to the toilet, but you can eat in bed – let others take care of you! When walking, do not take wide steps, but imagine that you are in a long, narrow, evening dress, move smoothly and in small steps.
In order for the pelvic bones to recover properly after childbirth, fix them in the supine position with a wide bandage or any long scarf (diaper) so that you can tie around – from the upper edge of the thigh to the middle of the thigh.This is especially important if you plan to do housework, such as cooking.
Drinking, food:
After childbirth, drink as much as the body requires. We recommend drinking a decoction of herbs (nettle, yarrow, shepherd’s purse – brew in a thermos, each herb is 2 tablespoons per liter). This collection has an anti-inflammatory, hemostatic effect, contributes to the contraction of the walls of the uterus after childbirth. We drink during the day, about a liter. On the first day, honey, lemon, two tablespoons of wine or rose hips (to increase hemoglobin) can be added to this herbal cocktail to taste, and we drink the main cocktail 5-7 days after childbirth.On the first day, you can eat and drink whatever you want to recuperate. Eat what was eaten during pregnancy, the baby is familiar with this food. Limit fresh vegetables and fruits, and be careful with those foods that personally cause gas in you, it is from them that the baby can have colic.
Eat easily digestible food: cereals, soups, stewed vegetables, etc. Add natural vegetable oils to food (porridge, soup) (2-3 tablespoons per day) to prevent constipation. If that doesn’t work, you can use glycerin or sea buckthorn candles.Sea buckthorn suppositories also help heal cracks if they have formed, and they can also be used to treat hemorrhoids. For hemorrhoids, you can use the ointment “esculus” and “witch hazel” (there are also candles). In case of any complications, you can get individual recommendations from the specialists of our center (obstetricians-gynecologists, midwives, homeopaths, hirudotherapists, etc.).
Breastfeeding:
Contact with the baby is very important (emotional, physical, visual): skin-to-skin contact is important, do not hold back your emotions! Hug the baby, kiss! You stroke the baby, admire it, and the body immediately begins to release hormones that contribute to the contraction of the uterus and stimulate the production of milk (colostrum).Don’t worry about whether you have colostrum or not, breastfeed on demand. Try to do it right right away so that the baby completely captures the areola. Teach your baby to open his mouth wide by teasing him by touching the chin or lower lip of the baby with your finger or nipple. When sucking, you should not be in pain, and pay attention that the baby’s jaw moves up and down, the lips are unfolded, and the tip of the nose is pressed against the chest.
During feeding, no matter the position in which you are feeding, you should feel comfortable.If you feel good, then the child will be too. The child should lie confidently in your hands, it is not so important for him how correctly you do something – children really need the confident hands of their parents! Subject to the above, milk will come at the right time for the child. Difficulties arise if the mother had problems with prolactin before pregnancy, had a long-term intake of oxytocin, during separation after childbirth. However, this may not affect in any way – everything is individual!
Use a knitted or cotton bra, sports shirts that support your chest.It is important that you feel comfortable and not crush anywhere.
For nipple healing, use 100% lanolin (purilan) or bepanten, you can also use sea buckthorn oil. Starting from the 38th week of pregnancy, you can start wiping the areola with a frozen decoction of oak bark (alternately, then the left, then the right areola, we wipe for 2-3 seconds, repeating 10-15 times). Due to the tannins and the contrast of temperature, the skin on the chest will thicken slightly. It is good to continue the rubdown after childbirth, as long as there is a need.
To avoid stagnation in the chest, from the end of the second day try to completely exclude everything hot, eat and drink everything at room temperature. It is better to drink water often, but in small sips, in order to understand the body’s need for water. Try not to drink sugary drinks (compotes, tea with sugar and other drinks), they require additional liquid. As soon as you start to feel milk coming (breasts get hotter than usual and feel full), start doing chest exercises.Where there is movement, there is no stagnation! Let me remind you of a few exercises, for example: when you put your hands on your shoulders and rotate your elbows away from you; the arms are bent at the elbows in front of us and squeeze the palms, we also move them from side to side, up. The cat is kind and angry – this exercise will not only improve blood circulation in the chest, but also help the uterus to contract better.
Massage your breasts with light, massaging movements. We apply the child to the breast at the request of the mother, if he asks more often – that’s great! In no case do not express your breasts “completely”, if suddenly a situation arises that you need to express, do it until the chest is relieved.But the chest must remain full. Milk comes on demand, if you express, then the body will not establish the correct rhythm of milk production, and you will turn into a dairy factory.
As soon as you understand that milk comes at the request of the child, start drinking what you want and at the temperature that you like.
Personal hygiene:
Use cotton underwear or postpartum disposable panties. Change your pads after every trip to the toilet. Also, every time it would be good to wash with a decoction of oak bark or yarrow, chamomile.In case of perineal injury (rupture or episiotomy), after treatment with an antiseptic, you can use wound healing ointments for the mucous membrane (sea buckthorn oil, calendula, arnica ointment, solcoseryl, etc.). Empty your bladder more often, you can’t stand it. If suddenly you do not feel the urge, then go to the toilet, every 3 hours, as if by an alarm clock.
A contrast shower is useful (if not for the whole body, then at least for the area of the uterus). Change the temperature of the water so that you feel comfortable, water yourself for 30-40 seconds, while trying not to get burned or overcooled.
Gymnastics:
Exercises to strengthen the muscles of the perineum and pelvic floor can be done from 2-3 days after childbirth (if there are no injuries, and if there is, then not earlier than a week later), or when you think about it ☺. Strengthening the muscles from the bottom up, starting with the famous Kegel exercise. Next, we attach exercises for the abdominal muscles – “rinsing the abdomen” (lying on the back, with the legs bent at the knees, put one hand under the lower back and then raise the pelvis due to the tension of the gluteal muscles and helping breathing while inhaling, we draw the perineum upward, while exhaling we relax) …Also useful are “twisting” – to improve the work of intestinal peristalsis, exercise on all fours (cat – with bent knees, move the legs to the side and back, strengthening the gluteal muscles, etc.). Towards the end of the first month, exercises can be done with the baby.
Mood:
A favorable psychological background in the family is very important. It’s good if there are helpers next to you during the first days who can cook food, clean the house (but don’t overdo it! The child needs cleanliness, not sterility!).Then the mother will be able to calmly deal only with the child and herself: tune in to breastfeeding, get used to a new role, and, of course, eat well and rest – sleep when the baby is sleeping. Be sure to tell your husband about your expectations and needs – he is experiencing even more stress than you, and fatherly feelings in him may not wake up immediately.
You need to recover, so do not rush with the guests, emotional peace is more important now. Well, if guests are inevitable (many grandmothers, aunts, uncles and friends want to admire your baby), then clearly stipulate the time of the visit and assistance in receiving guests (cleaning, cooking, etc.).By the way, in the old days there was a good custom – those who visited a family with a newborn brought food with them and did something around the house so that a woman could safely take care of the child. Do not be afraid to ask for help if you need it, friends or relatives will be happy to help you, just formulate specifically what exactly and how you want.
If something does not work out for you or you do not have enough information, do not hesitate to seek advice from specialists (except for obstetricians-gynecologists and pediatricians, osteopaths, HV specialists, consultants on children’s sleep, hirudotherapists and psychologists will help) or friends who have had more than a year of successful breastfeeding and postpartum recovery. “
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Treatment of hemorrhoids during pregnancy and after childbirth
Pregnancy and childbirth are often provoking factors for the development of hemorrhoids
Hemorrhoids (from Latin – bleeding) – a disease resulting from the overflow of blood in the venous plexus located in the anus.It is these enlarged, altered veins that are called hemorrhoids.
Hemorrhoids overflow with blood due to a sedentary lifestyle, improper, irrational and irregular nutrition, as well as due to excess weight.
Heredity plays an important role in the occurrence of hemorrhoids.
The congestion of blood in the veins of the small pelvis is promoted by taking medications, for example, oral contraceptives, antibiotics, laxatives. Of course, the abuse of alcoholic beverages and smoking has a negative impact on health in the field of proctology.Some sports: equestrian, cycling, auto and motor sports, rowing, weight lifting – all these can provoke hemorrhoids.
Pregnancy and childbirth also contribute to the development of hemorrhoids.
Pregnancy changes a lot in a woman’s life, the load on the female body doubles, and can provoke the development of hemorrhoids, and childbirth can aggravate it. According to statistics, women who have given birth suffer from hemorrhoids 5 times more often than those who have not given birth. During pregnancy and childbirth, the enlarged uterus presses on the pelvic floor, which causes the venous plexus to fill with blood.
Constipation, which very often accompanies pregnancy, also aggravates the situation.
The number of pregnancies and childbirth, as well as the age of the pregnant woman, affect the degree of risk of developing hemorrhoids.
Hemorrhoids: What to Do?
Unfortunately, hemorrhoids occur quite often in pregnant women.
The only correct decision, if you have doubts about your health in this delicate area, you need to go to the doctor and start treatment.After all, hemorrhoids in a pregnant woman can disrupt the normal course of pregnancy in the later stages, as well as affect the course of childbirth and the postpartum period.
Fear and hope for “maybe” often lead to the fact that hemorrhoids pass the first stage, the health of a pregnant woman worsens, the disease progresses. Running hemorrhoids can cause anemia (a decrease in the amount of hemoglobin), diseases of the musculoskeletal system (for example, arthritis), genitourinary system, skin.
Manifestations of hemorrhoids resemble some other diseases of the rectum, and even cancer.
According to the severity of painful manifestations, there are 3 degrees of severity of acute hemorrhoids in pregnant women:
I degree. Small, painful nodes appear in the anus, accompanied by itching and burning in the anus, and non-purulent discharge. All these manifestations periodically disappear.
II degree. Hemorrhoids are enlarged. Pain in the anus increases.
III degree.Swelling and redness increases. Large bluish-purple internal hemorrhoids protrude from the anus.
If hemorrhoids are not treated at this stage, necrosis of the nodes may begin with the appearance of black areas on them. Complications of this stage can be paraproctitis (inflammation of the tissues around the rectum), infringement of a thrombosed internal node.
Influence of pregnancy and childbirth on hemorrhoids
As a rule, childbirth provokes a sharp exacerbation of hemorrhoids, even if during pregnancy this disease has not become aggravated.
It’s all about the very mechanism of labor: when the baby’s head passes through the small pelvis, the maternal organs and tissues located in this area are squeezed, and first of all – the venous plexuses.
Hemorrhoids enlarge, acquire a denser consistency. During labor, and especially pushing, knots may bulge, redden, or even turn blue. In other words, the very mechanism of childbirth leads to a complication of hemorrhoids, provokes the prolapse of internal nodes and even their rupture.
Prevention and treatment of hemorrhoids during pregnancy and after childbirth
First, a pregnant woman needs to get rid of constipation and improve bowel function without prolonged straining.
To do this, you need to follow a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. Any alcoholic drinks, salty, spicy, spicy, pickled, peppered dishes are strictly prohibited. Do not eat fatty foods, fatty meats, high-calorie dairy products and buns; you need to limit the use of onions, mustard, black bread, legumes, unripe fruits and berries.It is recommended to eat broccoli, corn, carrots, ripe apples, beets, cauliflower, potatoes, raisins, prunes, dried apricots and honey, cereals, especially pearl barley or oatmeal.
Therapeutic exercise is indicated for pregnant women in order to prevent hemorrhoids.
It is important to avoid hypothermia during the period of gestation.
It is necessary to observe hygiene of the anus, especially after each evacuation.
Doctors – proctologists distinguish three groups of pregnant women with hemorrhoids:
The first group is women with asymptomatic hemorrhoids.For them, preventive measures are recommended – diet, exercise therapy, walks, a water toilet in the anus after a bowel movement, laxative herbs, laxatives.
The second group is women who have constipation, bleeding, pain during bowel movements, anal itching, that is, patients with the first or second stage of the development of the disease. As a rule, for sick women at these stages of hemorrhoids, doctors proctologists recommend treatment with suppositories and ointments, warm sitz baths with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, herbal infusions, and drugs taken orally.
The third group includes pregnant women with advanced hemorrhoids, prolapse of internal nodes and frequent exacerbations of the disease, that is, those subject to hospitalization and surgical treatment.
Pregnant women with similar complications of hemorrhoids should be treated by surgery (hemorrhoidectomy – excision of nodes) or minimally invasive methods of treatment (small or bloodless surgery). The minimally invasive methods that are used in One Clinics include sclerotherapy – the introduction of special sclerosing drugs into the node, “blinding” the walls of the node; ligation – the knot is pinched with a special latex ring, which causes rejection, dying off of the knot in 7-10 days; infrared photocoagulation and laser coagulation (exposure to a laser or high temperature on the base of the hemorrhoidal node at 3 to 5 points; this results in a burn, which subsequently causes necrosis of the node with its subsequent fallout; the process also takes 7-10 days).
If the condition of the pregnant woman allows, then the doctors – proctologists of the Only Clinics try to postpone all these interventions until the woman recovers from childbirth.
A set of exercises for hemorrhoids for pregnant women. Recommendations of doctors – proctologists of Online Clinics:
1. Starting position (ip) – standing, arms extended in front of you, feet shoulder-width apart. Turn the body to the right without lifting your feet from the floor, and take your right hand back as much as possible – inhale.Return to the starting position – exhale, turn to the left. Repeat 5 times in each direction.
2. I. p. – standing, hands are raised in front of you, fingers are interlocked in the lock. Perform body turns to the right and left, taking your arms back as much as possible. Repeat the exercise 5 times in each direction.
3. I. p. – sitting on the floor, resting his hands on the back. Bend your knees, while this movement of the heels should not be lifted off the floor. Extend your legs slowly. Repeat 5 times.
4.I. p. – while sitting, spread the legs to the sides as much as possible, while the legs should be firmly pressed to the floor, the knees should not bend if possible. Bend forward and touch your right and left feet alternately with your hands as far as possible, then straighten up. Repeat the inclines 5-7 times (recommended only for the first and second trimester).
5. I. p. – sitting in the same way as in the previous exercise, but tilting to the sides; the opposite hand is on the belt. Repeat 5 times in each direction (recommended only for the first and second trimester).
6. I. p. – lying on your back, arms along the body. Pull the legs bent at the knees to the stomach and return to the starting position (recommended only for the first and second trimester). Repeat 7-10 times.
7. I. p. – lying on the right side, the right arm is bent at the elbow and lies under the head. Bend your left leg at the knee and press it to your stomach, you can help yourself with your left hand. Repeat 7-10 times. Then repeat the exercise lying on your left side (recommended only for the first and second trimester).
8. I. p. – sitting on a chair. Stretch the right hand to the side, raise the left leg, bent at the knee, forward and to the left, trying to bring it to the lateral surface of the abdomen, helping oneself with the left hand – exhale. Return to starting position – inhale. Repeat for both legs 5 times. Recommended for the third trimester.
Careful attitude to your health, timely access to a doctor, examination, correct diagnosis and timely treatment will help to avoid or minimize hemorrhoidal problems.
90,000 Pyelonephritis (inflammation of the kidneys)
Basically, pyelonephritis is classified into acute and chronic.
Acute pyelonephritis (inflammation of the kidneys)
– a rapidly developing and life-threatening disease. It is characterized by increasing serous-purulent inflammation in the kidney, leading to severe intoxication (poisoning of the body with infectious and other toxins).
In this case, the patient most often complains of pain in the lumbar region (“impossible to touch”), fever (up to 39 degrees with chills), severe general weakness, headache, nausea, vomiting, dry mouth, bloating. In the absence of adequate treatment for inflammation of the kidneys, a picture of infectious-toxic shock may develop: a drop in blood pressure, loss of consciousness, tachycardia, pallor of the skin.
The main distinguishing feature of acute kidney inflammation is the possibility of rapid progression with a fatal outcome.The reason for this is the peculiarities of the blood supply. 20-25 percent of the circulating blood “passes” through the kidneys, therefore, in a situation where the kidney turns, in fact, into an abscess, there is a danger of generalization of inflammation (spread to the entire body).
Causes of acute pyelonephritis
– an infectious process in the kidney caused by bacteria. Pathogens (usually E. coli – E. Coli) can enter the organ in two main ways: from the lower urinary tract (for example, from the bladder in chronic cystitis) and from the blood (for example, if there is a focus of infection anywhere – caries, tonsillitis, sinusitis, etc.etc.). However, out of the blue, pyelonephritis (inflammation of the kidneys) is extremely rare. Most often, there are so-called “predisposing factors”: urolithiasis, anomalies in the development of the genitourinary organs, the presence of narrowing of the ureters, prostate adenoma, etc.
If acute pyelonephritis is suspected, the patient should be immediately hospitalized in a specialized clinic.
Chronic pyelonephritis (inflammation of the kidneys)
– a sluggish infectious and inflammatory disease characterized by damage to the tissue (panenchyma) and the renal calyx system.
During the course of this disease, two phases can be distinguished. Remission is the calming down of the pathological process. Exacerbation is the manifestation of vivid clinical, laboratory and pathomorphological symptoms.
Chronic kidney inflammation is usually based on two components: impaired outflow of urine from the kidneys and the presence of a urinary tract infection.
Causes of chronic pyelonephritis
– usually develops after acute pyelonephritis.The main causes of chronic inflammation of the kidneys are as follows:
- Unresolved urinary outflow disorder (acute pyelonephritis was treated with antibiotics, but the cause was not eliminated),
- Incorrect treatment of acute pyelonephritis (insufficient treatment duration, inadequate medications),
- Chronic foci of infection in the body (tosillitis, caries, enterocolitis, etc.),
- Immunodeficiency states and metabolic diseases (eg diabetes mellitus).
Chronic pyelonephritis is an extremely common condition. In adults, kidney inflammation occurs in more than 200 people per thousand of the population. Moreover, women suffer from this disease 4-5 times more often than men. Chronic pyelonephritis is the most common cause of chronic renal failure.
Chronic kidney inflammation is a sluggish but dangerous disease. Its essence lies in the fact that as it develops (periodic activation and attenuation of inflammation), there is a gradual scarring of the kidney tissue.Ultimately, the organ is completely replaced by scar tissue and ceases to perform its function.
In the phase of remission, chronic pyelonephritis can proceed for years without clear clinical symptoms. In the initial phases of kidney inflammation, patients may periodically notice mild malaise, an increase in body temperature to subfebrile values (up to 37.5 degrees), decreased appetite, increased fatigue, mild dull pain in the lumbar region, pallor of the skin. In the analysis of urine, there is a moderate increase in the number of leukocytes, bacteriuria.With the further development of kidney inflammation, the progression of the described complaints is noted. Dysfunction of the kidneys leads to thirst, dry mouth, the formation of an increased amount of urine, nighttime urination. In laboratory tests, the density of urine decreases. As the pathological process deepens in the kidneys, nephrogenic arterial hypertension (increased pressure) develops, which is distinguished by a special “malignancy”: high diastolic pressure (more than 110 mm Hg) and resistance to therapy.In the final stages of the disease, symptoms of chronic renal failure are noted.
A separate nosology is “ asymptomatic bacteriuria ” – a situation when there are no clinical and laboratory symptoms, but an increased number of bacteria is detected in the urine. In such a situation, the likelihood of developing a manifest urinary tract infection against the background of hypothermia, a decrease in general immunity and other provoking factors is increased. Asymptomatic bacteriuria is a reason for consulting a urologist and finding out its causes!
The so-called “ pyelonephritis of pregnant women ” is especially dangerous.Its essence lies in the fact that the enlarged uterus compresses the ureters and the outflow of urine is disturbed. Against this background, the development of severe forms of pyelonephritis is possible, the treatment of which is very difficult, since most antibiotics are contraindicated during pregnancy. In this regard, pregnant women need constant monitoring of urine indicators. And in the event of pyelonephritis (inflammation of the kidneys), the installation of internal ureteral stents is often required, which carry out the outflow of urine from the kidneys.
Pyelonephritis treatment
consists primarily in eliminating its cause – the underlying disease (urolithiasis, ureteral strictures, prostate adenoma, etc.)). In addition, adequate antimicrobial therapy is required, selected on the basis of urine culture and determination of the sensitivity of bacteria to antibiotics. There are a number of complementary treatments for kidney inflammation.
What’s the main thing? The patient must understand that chronic pyelonephritis is a “gentle killer” of the kidneys. And if you do not fight him, he will certainly lead you to the hemodialysis unit.