weakness after delivery

Weakness After Delivery – Causes and Ways to Cope with It


Delivering a baby is a memorable and challenging experience for a woman but it is not an easy process. It requires immense strength to give birth to a baby. It leads to exhaustion but it ultimately concludes into immeasurable joy, and a beautiful future. However, this child delivery process makes a woman tired, and weak. In this article, we will look at why a woman observes weakness after delivery and how to cope with it.

Is It Usual To Experience Fatigue After Childbirth?

Postpartum fatigue is commonly seen in woman after when they deliver a baby. Hormone imbalances, sleep issues, anxiety, and carrying, developing, and giving birth to a new life requires a lot of energy. This does not end here. Producing breast milk, and feeding the baby, taking baby’s care in every two to three hours, and managing home, makes her weak.


All these reasons collectively contribute towards fatigue, and extreme tiredness in the body. In some women, this tiredness goes away on its own after a few weeks of child delivery, while in others it may require even a few months to recover their normal strength.

Reasons for a postnatal fatigue

Here are a few reasons that results in postnatal fatigue:

  • A hyperactive thyroid gland may be the cause of fatigue after the birth of the child.
  • Prolonged labor that goes for several hours requires up a lot of energy and the strength to push the baby out of the body. This can be very overwhelming and exhausting experience for the new mother.
  • In addition to it, the drugs that are used for relieving pain can even tire the mother post-delivery.
  • Expecting women who undergo a C-section delivery also feel extremely tired after delivery.
  • Breastfeeding the baby can also drain you.
  • Loss of blood at the time of delivery can even reduce hemoglobin content in the body. This condition can also leave you fatigued, and tired.
  • Postpartum depression that arises out of fatigue is commonly seen in woman after delivery. This depression also tires a mother.
  • Feeding the baby very two to three hours can impact sleep. Poor sleep can cause tiredness.

Ways to Effectively Deal with Postpartum Fatigue

Fortunately, there are ways by which you can manage your postpartum fatigue effectively:


Ask for help: If you feel tired due to above reasons, then you can ask your spouse to help you in household chores and other tasks such as changing the diapers, making the baby sleep, taking care of the baby while you sleep, etc. When you will have lesser duties to perform, you will get better sleep. It will make you energized.

Adjust sleep schedules with your baby’s sleep: In the initial days, it can be hard to adjust your sleep schedule in accordance to the sleep schedule of the baby. Once you learn about the sleep time and pattern of the baby then adjust your sleep pattern in accordance to the baby. In this way, you will not just adequate rest, but also your health won’t get affect.

Try Relaxation Techniques: Meditation, rhythmic breathing exercises, pranayam, yoga nidra etc. can give your body the much-needed rest. Listening to soothing instrumental songs will also help.

Exercise: A slow walk for thirty minutes a day can help in releasing all the accumulated stress and relax your body. Fresh air will also promote good sleep.

Eat a Balanced Diet: Eat a well-balanced diet to boost your energy levels. You need to supplement your body with extra calories to take the best care of the baby. Ensure that your diet includes good amount of carbs, and high-quality protein snacks. Drinking ten to twelve glasses of water daily is essential when you are breastfeeding. It will help in replacing loss of fluids in the body. Discuss with your doctor if you should take prenatal vitamins.

Limit Visitors: Your friends and family members would be eager to meet you and your baby. It may require you to cook and entertain them. For some time, till your life gets balanced, and you recover from tiredness, you should limit visitors to your home.

Also read: How To Remove Stretch Marks After Pregnancy?

Conclusion

The newborn period is a temporary phase in the life of the women. It does not last for a longer time. A newborn baby sleeps for a longer time that can provide more rest to the mother. In addition to it, there are methods by which they can deal with lack of energy and increase their energy. At times when you are feeling low in energy, it is required to always ask for assistance. By eating well, getting adequate rest and taking good care of yourself, you will feel strong enough to take good care of the newborn and the family.