The most common complications in women after childbirth

Complications in women after childbirth- When the process of childbirth is left behind, it always seems that a very happy and joyful period of life awaits a young mother and baby. And this is true if, as a result of the birth process, changes do not appear in the woman’s body that can darken the first months of motherhood. What complications occur in medical practice and how quickly you can cope with them – all this will be discussed in this article.

complications-in-women-after-childbirth
Complications in women after childbirth

Causes of complications in women after childbirth

In order to be able, if possible, to prevent the appearance of unwanted complications after childbirth, every expectant mother should know the main reasons that cause them. These include:

  • activation of microflora caused by the restructuring of the body during pregnancy and lowered immunity;
  • the ingestion of pathogenic bacteria from the outside into the woman’s body during the birth process;
  • the transition of some chronic diseases of the female reproductive organs into an acute form;
  • few features of the course of pregnancy ;
  • a typical birth process;
  • unprofessional actions of the medical staff taking delivery of the woman in labor.

Taking into account the listed reasons, the appearance of some of them can be avoided if you carefully monitor your health during pregnancy and prepare well in advance for the birth process.

The weakened immunity of the woman in labor has a huge impact on the development of postpartum pathologies. Protective functions are reduced when large amounts of blood are lost during childbirth. Thanks to this, microorganisms begin to multiply rapidly, which leads to the onset of inflammatory processes.

Failure to observe personal hygiene after childbirth can also lead to pathologies of the organs of the reproductive system.

Dangerous symptoms that you should definitely pay attention to, gynecologists include:

  • A sharp rise in the temperature of a young mother.
  • Drawing pains in the lower part of the abdominal cavity.
  • Vaginal discharge with blood and pus .

The above symptoms always indicate the presence of inflammatory processes affecting the pelvic organs.

The presence of bloody discharge

Gynecological practice shows that one of the most common complications in young mothers is uterine bleeding. Experts identify their main reasons:

  • The presence of benign tumors in the uterine cavity.
  • Dysfunction of the muscular membrane of the uterus.
  • Severe distension of the uterine cavity, which usually occurs when a woman has several babies or as a result of a high-water pregnancy.
  • Prolonged delivery process.
  • The use of special drugs that lower the tone of the uterus .
  • Some mechanical damage to the uterine cavity during childbirth.
  • Low blood clotting.
  • The presence of one or more of the above reasons can cause a fairly large blood loss, which can significantly exceed the norm established by doctors. It accounts for up to 0.5% of a woman’s weight.

With pathological discharge of blood in the postpartum period, a young mother usually has:

  • excessive pallor or cyanosis of the skin;
  • increased heart rate ;
  • hypotension.

All of the above symptoms are quite dangerous for a woman’s health. In this regard, at their first appearance, it is advised to immediately seek advice from the attending gynecologist.

Inflammation of the endometrium

The endometrium is the mucous membrane that lines the uterine cavity. After the baby is born, the endometrium may become inflamed.

The main reason is the entry of pathogenic microorganisms into the uterus. The onset of an inflammatory process can occur both after natural delivery and after a cesarean section.

Endometritis after childbirth is characterized by the following symptoms:

  • aching pain in the uterine region;
  • discharge of mucus and pus from the vagina ;
  • severe bloody discharge;
  • temperature increase;
  • severe fatigue and general weakness.

These symptoms indicate the presence of a strong inflammatory process in the uterus. Endometritis is treated with a course of antibiotics that help destroy pathogenic bacteria.

Endometritis is considered a very serious postpartum complication, which, if not treated promptly, can lead to the formation of severe infection or infertility.

Inflammation of the kidneys and urethra

A dangerous renal disease, pyelonephritis, can occur in a woman after childbirth.

This is a kidney damage by pathogenic bacteria such as: staphylococci, E. coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa or enterococci. Medical practice shows that if a woman was diagnosed with chronic pyelonephritis before pregnancy, then this disease will certainly manifest itself in the postpartum period.

Pyelonephritis is usually accompanied by the following symptoms:

  • A sharp and significant increase in temperature (sometimes the body temperature can rise to 40 ° C).
  • Drawing pains in the lumbar region.
  • Weakness and general malaise.
  • A sharp decrease in appetite.
  • Sometimes nausea is observed, accompanied by vomiting.

When these symptoms appear and the diagnosis is made, the doctor will prescribe treatment, which includes taking anti-inflammatory and antibacterial agents.

If serious kidney changes are diagnosed, surgery may be necessary.

Bacteria entering the urethra cause an inflammatory process in it. Most often this occurs due to trauma to the canal by obstetric forceps or due to a catheter, which is placed to remove urine from the body after a difficult birth. 

The following symptoms indicate the presence of such inflammation:

  • the appearance of redness of the canal opening;
  • slight adhesion of the edges of the hole;
  • discharge of purulent clots from the canal.

To help the patient cope with the above symptoms, the gynecologist prescribes a course of antibiotics .
If this recommendation is not followed, damage to other organs of the genitourinary system may occur.

Inflammation of the breast of a nursing mother

A fairly common disease that is diagnosed in the postpartum period is mastitis or inflammation of the mammary glands caused by pathogenic bacteria. Signs of mastitis include:

  • Severe pain in the mammary gland, which occurs both with and without breastfeeding.
  • Severely elevated body temperature.
  • Perceptible swelling of a specific part of the breast.
  • Redness of the nipples.
  • The onset of the inflammatory process.

The above signs may appear due to a woman’s non-observance of personal hygiene or when using stale underwear on which the mother feeds the baby. If the baby does not suck well at the breast , and milk stagnation constantly remains in it.

Complications in the postpartum period prevent a woman from receiving only positive emotions from motherhood. Some of the unpleasant consequences of childbirth can be avoided if you pay the necessary attention to your health during pregnancy. In the event of complications, doctors advise not to self-medicate, but immediately seek qualified help, thanks to which the woman in labor will quickly recover.

Dr. Ashwani Kumar is highly skilled and experienced in treating major and minor general medicine diseases.