After normal delivery, women experience massive transformation in their bodies that requires extensive care to recover. The massive contractions during labour create a high degree of trauma in the woman’s body. The caregivers must evaluate the woman to determine whether there is any damage on the woman and the intensity, hence determining the most effective intervention. The major issue that women experience after birth includes severe pain, constipation, hygiene issues and sexual activity resumption. Healthcare providers look for symptoms such as the severity of pain as explained by the patients, availability of any bulging or masses on the patients’ genitals, abnormal discharge and severe conditions such as faecal leakage. Research studies provide little insight on the most effective approaches of perineal care in postnatal women; hence healthcare providers offer intervention according to the patient’s condition. Ireland’s healthcare providers use different approaches to provide effective perineal care to postnatal women.
Hygiene is essential for women who have just given birth to prevent infections in the genitals. Hygiene is also essential since it promotes healing in the damaged areas, eliminating the woman’s massive stress. To ensure hygiene, postnatal women should ensure that they change their sanitary towels frequently, preferably within 3-4 hours, and ensure that they clean their hands before and after the process (Shoorab et al., 2020, p. 333). The women should also ensure that they lean forward when urinating to avoid feeling the stinging sensation when urine passes to a wounded part. Suppose the patient complains of experiencing a stinging sensation when passing urine. In that case, it is necessary to prescribe a drug that neutralizes the acidity in the urine to ensure that the woman does not hinder the healing process by scratching a wounded part due to the scratching after experiencing a strong stinging sensation to the acidity in the urine. Besides, the women should also wipe their genitals after urinating or egestion, moving from front to the back and ensuring that they wash them with warm water and later dry the parts (Dasanayake, 2021 p. 3).
In case of paining parts or swellings and masses, the postnatal women can also use ice pads to relieve the pain. The ice pads help soothe the painting and swollen parts hence giving the patient’s a relaxed feeling to aid in their recovery. According to Dasanayake and Goonewardene (2020, p. 4), ice pads used in the perineum are effective when used on the first day or the second day after delivery. Healthcare professionals claim that postnatal women should use the ice pads for about 20 minutes daily in 2 hours intervals. Since delivery also causes loosening of essential muscles in the mother’s body, the healthcare providers can advise on the most effective exercises to strengthen the muscles. The most commonly used exercise used for perianal care in postnatal care is the pelvic floor exercise. The pelvic floor exercises are most effective 24 hours after delivery since the muscles have not taken any permanent form after delivery. Healthcare professionals should ensure that they guide their clients’ on how to do pelvic floor exercises to ensure that they do not harm themselves.
Pain is inevitable for postnatal women. The most effective way of managing the pain is using oral pain relievers such as Diclofenac or Paracetamol (Steen and Diaz, 2018 p. 580). As a midwife, one should ensure that they inquire from a trained physician on the most appropriate medicine for the patient to ensure that they do not prescribe extremely strong drugs for the mother or the breastfeeding baby. The postnatal women should also ensure that t6hey do not sit for a very long time to avoid pressuring the perineum and limiting the healing process (Shoorab et al., 2020, p. 333).
References
Shoorab, N.J., Taghipour, A., Mirteimouri, M. and Roudsari, R.L., 2020. Social recovery: A neglected dimension of caring for women with perineal trauma in Iran. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 25(4), p.333. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7494167/
Steen, M. and Diaz, M., 2018. Perineal trauma: A women’s health and wellbeing issue. British Journal of Midwifery, 26(9), pp.574-584. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjom.2018.26.9.574
Dasanayake, D.L.W. and Goonewardene, I.M.R., 2020. Postnatal care of the woman and her baby during hospital stay; bridging the gap in reproductive healthcare. Galle Medical Journal, 25(4). https://gmj.sljol.info/articles/10.4038/gmj.v25i4.8057/galley/6224/download/
Dasanayake, D.L.W., 2021. Postnatal care during the hospital stay. Sri Lanka Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 43(3). https://sljog.sljol.info/articles/10.4038/sljog.v43i3.8021/galley/6154/download/
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