Unplanned pregnancy with a minimum difference in the age of children, a fairly common phenomenon. Few people decide to take such a step consciously.
As a rule, conception occurs with full confidence in its impossibility.
Young mothers mistakenly believe that the absence of menstruation, after a recent birth, and breastfeeding make this process impossible. Let’s see why pregnancy occurs after childbirth.
Can pregnancy occur immediately after childbirth?
The restoration of the menstrual cycle is the most common symptom, indicating the restoration of the woman’s body after childbirth. Menstruation is one of the most complex processes, and significantly affects the change in many functions in the body of a woman. It represents the time interval between the beginning of the first menstruation and the beginning of the second. Each woman has this gap. In some it can be 21 days, in others 35.
The menstrual cycle, in its essence, is the preparation of the body for conception and is divided into two phases.
- With the help of the hormone estrogen produced by the ovaries, the follicles mature, inside which the egg is located. When the follicle ripens, it bursts, after which the egg goes into “free swimming”.
- In the second phase of the cycle, the egg ready for fertilization, moving through the fallopian tubes, enters the uterus. This is called ovulation. The ovaries produce the hormone progesterone, which prepares the inner layer of the uterus (endometrium) to receive a fertilized egg. The process of moving the egg through the tubes takes three days, during which time the egg must be fertilized. If this does not happen, it dies, and the inner layer of the uterus is rejected, which serves as the beginning of menstruation.
When can a second pregnancy occur?
The belief in young mothers that the absence of menstruation during breastfeeding can provoke conception after childbirth is a guarantee against pregnancy. This rule applies only when the baby is fully breastfed. And no feeding is replaced by complementary foods in the form of all kinds of mixtures or mashed vegetables.
The main indicator of the readiness of the body is the recovery period of the menstrual cycle with ovulation.
Only to determine exactly when it comes, no one can for several reasons:
- Due to the individual characteristics of each woman, it is impossible to predict the time of postpartum ovulation, since the recovery period for each woman is different. For a nursing mother, she may appear at the beginning of the 4th week, and for a nursing mother at the end of the 8th week after giving birth.
- Quite often, with a recovering cycle, menstruation can occur without ovulation. No ovulation, no conception
- There are situations in which fertilization occurs in the absence of menstruation. Can not predict the restoration of the menstrual cycle. And it is known that the activity of sperm in the vagina lasts more than one day after intercourse. You did not protect yourself, hoped for the absence of menstruation, and after a few days the cycle recovered along with ovulation, and as a result, a new pregnancy.
Mild symptoms: nausea or vomiting, malaise, increased pressure and much more can be attributed to fatigue that arose in the process of caring for the baby. Thus, a woman may not immediately find out about her interesting situation. A definitive test and a visit to the gynecologist will dot all the “and”.
Pregnancy against the background of lactation
If pregnancy did occur during lactation, just say that the woman’s condition is both moral and physical, it’s nothing to say. Only one who has experienced this on himself can understand. It is difficult to simultaneously breastfeed one child and endure a second. The body did not have time to recover from the stress and blood loss of previous births.
The process of consumption of trace elements and vitamin for lactation in itself is very large, and providing them with an unborn baby is an additional, big burden. It is an insufficient amount of vitamin that can cause a woman’s tooth decay and hair loss.
Hormonal changes in the body of a lactating woman against the background of the formation of the hormone progesterone can lead to a decrease in the amount of milk or its complete “disappearance”. The composition, quality and taste of breast milk are changing. Such changes can occur against the background of the restoration of the menstrual cycle during lactation. The baby is the first to respond to such changes and breastfeeding is entirely possible.
But even if milk is stored, in sufficient quantities and the baby is unpretentious, it is recommended to refrain from breastfeeding. When breastfeeding, the production of the hormone oxytocin is stimulated, which leads the uterus to tone, causing its contraction, which is highly undesirable in a new pregnancy and can provoke its termination (miscarriage).
What changes in a woman’s body?
In this situation, when a second pregnancy occurs after childbirth, significant changes occur in the woman’s body.
- The heart rate and circulating blood volume increase;
- changes in the activity of the adrenal glands and thyroid gland are observed;
- the concentration of sex hormones increases;
- changes in the reproductive and endocrine systems;
- manifestation of varicose veins;
- violation of the urinary system
This leads to:
- To increased fatigue;
- Excessive irritability;
- Frequent mood swings;
- Frequent urination;
- To drowsiness and nausea;
- Some retardation;
- Edema and venous expansion of the veins.
After confirmation of pregnancy, the question of its preservation is decided by each family individually. The health status of a woman, the number of previous births, complications in the form of bleeding during childbirth and the postpartum period are taken into account.
Particular attention is given to the presence of chronic diseases. If cesarean section was used in previous births, the condition of the scar on the uterus, the presence of inflammatory processes of the uterine mucosa are of great importance. Given the medical and domestic factors, a decision is made to maintain or terminate the pregnancy.
If nevertheless a positive decision is made, all actions should be aimed at the safe bearing of the child.
The following rules must be observed:
- A complete and balanced diet.
- During and after meals, take vitamin-mineral complexes, including iodine-containing ones. This will ensure the active and complete interaction of vitamins with food.
- Full relaxation, walks in the fresh air for at least two, three hours. An eight-hour sleep with raised (on a pillow) legs for the prevention of edema.
- To prevent unloading of the venous bed of the legs, it is recommended to use compression hosiery (stockings, tights, elastic bandages).
- To prevent hemolytic disease of the newborn, take an Rhesus factor-antibody test.
- Due to the weakened tone of the abdominal wall after previous birth, the use of an antenatal bandage is necessary.
- In the presence of chronic diseases, it is necessary to consult a cardiologist, endocrinologist and hematologist.
Compliance with these simple rules will ensure the normal development of the fetus, and also relieve possible complications of the second birth.
Possible complications
All the complications, one way or another, are connected with the fact that for such a short period of time the female body does not have time to completely restore its strength and reproductive function.
And an unplanned pregnancy immediately after childbirth can cause various problems.
- Progression of anemia (anemia) – a decrease in the content of hemoglobin (protein) in the blood causes a lack of oxygen in the body’s cells, and causes the development of anemia. If, after a previous pregnancy and subsequent births, the body needed an increased need for protein and iron, if the previous birth was bleeding, or labor was accompanied by cesarean section, in which blood loss is inevitable, then the risk of anemia increases in subsequent pregnancy. With lactation, the need for iron and proteins increases, which can also cause the development of anemia during the second pregnancy. Recommended nutrition, which includes protein (fish, meat, dairy products and milk). Acceptance of iron-containing drugs and multivitamins, as prescribed by the doctor.
- Possible manifestations of varicose inflammation on the legs. A significant increase in the volume of circulating blood, an increase in its coagulability, a decrease in the speed of vascular blood flow in the legs and an increased tone of the venous wall are all signs that cause venous inflammation in the legs. The need for prenatal bandage is also due to possible manifestations of varicose inflammation – the growing uterus, as a result of pressure on the veins located behind it, prevents the venous outflow of blood from the legs. Recommended gymnastics for the legs, dieting. To avoid unwanted constipation, eat digestion-improving foods – fruits, vegetables, kefir and cottage cheese. For the feet, you can use therapeutic gels and creams prescribed by your doctor.
- Exacerbation of somatic diseases. – combined gestosis (edema, protein in the urine, high blood pressure), renal inflammation, hypertension, diabetes mellitus. Such diseases should be examined and treated together with a specialist physician.
- Conditions associated with impaired cervical function (isthmic-cervical insufficiency) develops as a result of the formation of scar tissue on the cervix, caused by impaired healing of sutures on the cervix. The broken neck structure in the future, with repeated pregnancy, can cause a spontaneous miscarriage.
- Thinning of the uterine scar after cesarean section. As a result of the formation of a large number of connective tissues in the scar, complications may develop in which the placenta, which is attached in the scar zone, does not fully perform its functions, does not provide the fetus with nutrition and oxygen – fetoplacental insufficiency develops. This leads to a miscarriage or the risk of rupture of the uterus in the scar area.
- Weak labor.
- Decreased uterine contractility.
- Possible bleeding in the postpartum period.
These complications are not listed in order to scare future mothers, but in order that they pay as much attention as possible to themselves and their health. Indeed, now the life of the future lump completely depends on the state of their health.
When to plan a new pregnancy
The birth of a child is always joy and happiness, even if it is not planned. But in order to avoid possible complications, restore hormonal balance, gain strength and endure a strong and healthy child, the intergenetic interval is two, three years. That is how much time the body will need to restore its resources. And those who had a cesarean section at the first birth, need time for complete healing and scar formation.
Knowing and using contraceptive methods will help prevent an unplanned pregnancy in the postpartum period.
