Postpartum Checklist

Courtesy of The Complete Illustrated Pregnancy Companion, Robin Elise Weiss, L.C.C.E., C.D. (DONA) with Dr. Marcello Pietrantoni, M.D., F.A.C.O.G

Postpartum:

• Experience the first few hours after birth
• Stand up for the first time after you give birth
• Cope with bleeding after birth
• Relieve your postpartum pain
• Deal with after pains
• Take care of your perineum
• Take a sitz bath
• Deal with staples
• Make the most of your postpartum stay
• Go home!
• Check out your postpartum body
• Watch for weird postpartum symptoms
• Swaddle your baby
• Understand why babies cry
• Return to your normal bowel movements
• Head out for the first time
• Manage the baby blues
• Get help for postpartum depression
• Go to your six-week postpartum visit
• Select postpartum birth control
• Have your first period
• Reconnect with your partner
• Adjust your diet for breastfeeding
• Figure out when and how to sleep after birth
• Get everyone fed
• Set realistic expectations for yourself
• Get back to exercise
• Experiment with positions for breastfeeding
• Set up a breastfeeding station
• Ensure that your baby is getting enough to eat
• Know when to call a lactation consultant
• Deal with engorgement
• Use a breast pump
• Return to work after maternity leave

Watch for:

• Decrease in fetal movement
• Swelling
• Headaches
• Blurred vision
• Bleeding or spotting
• Back or abdominal pain
• More than six contractions per hour
• Gush of fluid from the vagina