Postpartum Checkups
Author: Carla Snuggs
Postpartum checkups are extremely important. It is essential that your doctor see how you are healing after delivery. Your doctor will schedule a postpartum checkup for one to five weeks after delivery if you have had a Cesarean section. Your practitioner will also schedule an examination for six weeks after delivery.
One to Five Weeks After Delivery
Glade Curtis and Julie Schuler in their book Bouncing Back After Your Pregnancy explain that if you have had a C-section or a postpartum tubal ligation, your doctor will want to schedule an exam within 10-14 days after delivery. While you will probably not be given a pelvic exam at this time, your practitioner will examine your incision and discuss any issues you may be having like bleeding, problems with bladder functioning, or breastfeeding problems.
Six Weeks after Delivery
A 6-week postpartum checkup will usually examine:
- Your weight and blood pressure. By the 6th week, you should have lost between 17 and 20 pounds.
- Your vagina, cervix and uterus. Your doctor will be checking for vaginal muscle tone as well as the shape and size of your uterus, which should be about the size of a grapefruit. In addition your doctor will examine your ovaries for abnormal growths and also perform a Pap smear to check for abnormal cervical cells.
- Your breasts. The breast exam will check for blocked milk ducts and abnormal lumps or masses.
- The condition of hemorrhoids and varicose veins, if applicable
- Tears and incisions. If you had an episiotomy or experienced tearing during delivery, your practitioner will examine them. Your doctor will also inspect any incisions from a C-Section to see how they are healing.
- Your mental health. Some practitioners will assess your emotional health at this time and you may be screened for postpartum depression. If your feel that you are experiencing postpartum depression and you are not offered this exam, this is a perfect time to present this issue to your doctor and obtain a referral to a mental health specialist, if necessary.
You should schedule your sixth week postpartum checkup as soon as you get home from the hospital. Before your exam, you may want to write a list of questions you have for your practitioner and bring them with you. You can discuss anything from returning to regular sexual activity, birth control options, breastfeeding and nutritional concerns. If at all possible, it is best to attend postpartum examinations without your baby so that you and your practitioner can stay focused and not be distracted.
