Your body worked hard during pregnancy, helping to keep your baby healthy and safe. But your body also changes after having a baby. While some changes are normal and help you recover from pregnancy, others may be a sign that something may not be right. Seeking medical care is the best thing you can do if you have any of the following warning signs or symptoms:
- Heavy bleeding (more than your normal period or gets worse)
- Discharge, pain or redness that doesn’t go away or gets worse. These could be a sign of infection in your c-section incision or if you had an episiotomy.
- Intense feelings of sadness and worry that last a long time after birth. These could be a sign of postpartum depression (also called PPD). PPD is a kind of depression that some women get after having a baby.
- Fever higher than 100.4F
- Pain or burning when you go the bathroom
- Pain, swelling and tenderness in your legs, especially around your calves. These could be a sign of deep vein thrombophlebitis (also called DVT), a kind of blood clot.
- Red streaks on your breasts or painful lumps in your breasts. These could be a sign of mastitis, a breast infection.
- Severe pain in your lower belly, feeling sick to your stomach or vomiting
- Vaginal discharge that smells bad
- Severe headaches that won’t go away
- Vision changes
Call your health care provider or dial 911 right away if you have any of these signs or symptoms:
- Bleeding that can’t be controlled
- Chest pain
- Trouble breathing
- Signs of shock, such as chills, clammy skin, dizziness, fainting or a racing heart
- Seeing spots
If you feel like something is wrong, call your provider. It is important to get help so that you can enjoy being with your new baby.
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