Can You Take A Bath After You Give Birth?

Postpartum

Obie Editorial Team

It is safe to take a bath after birth?

Few people talk about the healing time your body will need after birth because the focus tends to go all to your adorable new baby, but you need to make sure you take the time to let it heal. Birth will take its toll, and you’ll probably be sore from head to toe afterward. What’s more, you might have tears in your vagina from the pushing or an episiotomy. You’ll also need to be careful about which activities you engage in. While strain may not be a concern because you may be taking it easy, you do need to be careful about exposing yourself to bacteria and infection before you are fully healed. Luckily, taking a bath after delivery is considered safe.

Why a bath may be a good idea

A bath after your delivery is actually recommended by experts so that your body will start repairing itself more quickly. Your tension will be relieved and you’ll have a moment to rest without the baby under your supervision (assuming you’ve asked your partner or a relative to take over for a while).

Bathing after a cesarean

You will need to be more cautious if you’ve had a C-section because the incisions made in that case are much deeper than any vaginal tears. Talk to your doctor about taking a bath after your cesarean section. Some studies recommend that you wait a week or more to let the cuts fully heal or at least start to close.

Bathing will provide a relaxing and relieving way to de-stress your body while also clearing your head in the moments you’ll have away from your little one. From now on, alone time will be scarce, so take advantage of it while you still can.