Category: After Baby

The Postpartum Check-Up

About 2 weeks after delivery and 6 weeks after delivery, you will need a check-up to make sure your body is healing without problems. If you have a Cesarean delivery, you may have your check-up sooner than if you had a vaginal delivery.

Physical Exam

  • Weight: A woman usually returns to her non-pregnant weight about 6 months after delivery. The postpartum period is ̄not the time to diet. Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet that is low-fat. Talk to your doctor or nurse about weight loss after delivery for advice.
  • Blood Pressure: This is a routine check to be sure your blood pressure is in a normal range.
  • Breast Care: Your doctor will check your breasts for lumps and nipple problems. Your doctor or nurse will also show you how to do breast self exams. Give yourself a breast exam every month a week after your period.
    • If you are bottle feeding and not pumping breastmilk, your breasts will usually return to their normal shape and size in 4 to 6 weeks. Do monthly breast self exams.
    • If you are breastfeeding, your breasts still may be full and feel firm by the 6th week. Checking your breasts daily for lumps or plugged ducts can help prevent problems with discomfort or infection.
  • Abdominal Incision: If you had a Cesarean delivery or your tubes were cut or tied off, you have an incision. Your incision will be checked to make sure healing is complete.

 

Pelvic Exam

This part of the check-up is an internal exam to check the health of your ovaries, uterus (womb), cervix (opening into the womb) and vagina (birth canal). Your perineum, the area around the birth canal, also will be checked for healing.

  • Perineal Area: Your doctor or nurse will examine the areas around the vagina, urethra (opening of the bladder), and rectum for healing.
  • Vagina and Cervix: Your doctor or nurse will slide a thin piece of plastic or metal, called a speculum, into the vagina. A speculum is a duck bill shaped instrument used to hold the vagina open during the exam. A few cells will be taken from your cervix and tested in a laboratory. This is a Pap Smear test and routine in a postpartum check-up.
  • Uterus and Ovaries: The last part of the exam is checking your uterus and ovaries. Your health care professional will feel the shape and size of both. Vaginal bleeding or lochia often stops in the first 4 to 6 weeks after delivery. Bleeding that begins 1 month after delivery is usually your period. A rectal exam may be part of the internal exam if you have had a long or deep episiotomy.

 

Ask Questions!

After your exam, your health care professional will tell you how well your body has healed from delivery. Ask any questions you have about returning to work, exercising, birth control methods, or other health concerns.

Just had a Baby and Feeling Blue?

“I just had a baby, and being a mother is not what I expected.”
“I feel so scared and so sad.”
“Shouldn’t I feel happy?”
“I just don’t feel like myself.”

You may have the Baby Blues or Post-partum Depression (depression after the baby is born).

Is it The Baby Blues?

Very Common. May go away on its own, but talking to a health care provider can help.

Some signs are:

  • Crying
  • Not being able to sleep
  • Feeling overwhelmed
  • Not wanting to eat
  • Having a short temper or mood swings
Is it Postpartum Depression?

Common. Goes away with help from your health care provider. You can get this anytime during the first year.

Some signs are:

  • Sadness
  • Not wanting to hold or touch your baby
  • Changes in eating
  • Not wanting to talk to family or friends
  • Thoughts about hurting yourself or your baby
Is it Postpartum Anxiety?

Worry that takes over your life. Get help from your health care provider as soon as possible.

Some signs are:

  • Uncontrolled worry
  • Not being able to sleep when the baby does
  • Feeling afraid that something will hurt the baby
  • Feeling afraid that you might hurt the baby
  • Feeling afraid to be alone with the baby
  • Having very scary thoughts
  • Chest pains
  • Feeling dizzy
  • Sweating or shaking
Is it Postpartum Psychosis?

Not common. Emergency–get help right away!

Some signs are:

  • Hallucinations
  • Feeling very confused
  • Speech that does not make sense
  • Severe insomnia
  • Having thoughts about hurting yourself or your baby right now

You are not alone! There is help available for you and your baby.

Call for Help:

Find Help Online:

Stay Strong with Iron

Iron

  • Is a mineral needed to keep your body and blood healthy.
  • Helps give you energy.
  • Helps with growth and brain development.
  • Helps prevent sickness and infections.

Why is iron important?

Eating enough iron will keep you and your family healthy and feeling good. When there is not enough iron in the blood you can get anemia. Anemia can make you feel tired, weak, get headaches, look pale, and get sick more often. Children who have low iron may also have trouble learning in school.

Iron is important for the healthy growth of infants, children, and for women during pregnancy.

What foods have iron?

There are lots of foods that are high in iron, and many WIC foods are good sources of iron. The list below shows foods that have iron.

What foods with iron will you eat more of?

  • Chicken
  • Beef
  • Turkey
  • Fish
  • Pork
  • Tofu
  • Turnip and collard greens
  • Beans, lentils, chickpeas, soybeans
  • Nuts, nut butters, and seeds
  • Cereal and oatmeal with iron
  • Rice, bread, and pasta with iron

  • Tips for getting enough iron:

    • Eat different kinds of high iron foods each day. WIC cereal, beans, and peanut butter are good sources of iron.
    • Avoid tea or coffee with meals, even if they are caffeine-free. These drinks make it harder for your body to use iron.
    • If you are pregnant, be sure to take your prenatal vitamins. Take iron pills only if your doctor gives them to you or your child.
    • Eat vitamin C foods with iron foods. Vitamin C foods help your body use iron. There are lots of fresh fruits and vegetables that are high in vitamin C; see the list below for good sources.

  • What foods with vitamin C will you try?

    • Oranges
    • Strawberries
    • Grapefruit
    • Cantaloupe
    • Kiwi fruit
    • WIC juices
    • Tomatoes
    • Bell peppers
    • Sweet potatoes
    • Broccoli
    • Cabbage
    • Kale

Sample Menu High in Iron

Breakfast

  • WIC cereal with milk
  • Orange juice or fresh orange

Lunch

  • Tuna or chicken salad sandwich on wheat bread*
  • Baby carrots
  • Strawberries or kiwi fruit
  • 1 cup low-fat or fat-free milk

Dinner

  • Chili*
  • Small green salad with low-fat dressing
  • Mixed fruit

Snacks

  • Peanut Butter with crackers
  • Broccoli with low-fat ranch dip

Visit TexasWIC.org for these recipes and more.

Guide to Helpful Programs & Services

  • Medicaid

    Medicaid offers health care coverage for children, pregnant women, people with disabilities, people 65 and older, and some adults caring for children. It helps with bills for doctors, hospitals, nursing homes, and drugs ordered by a doctor (prescriptions). Children who get Medicaid will also be in the Texas Health Steps program.

  • Texas Health Steps

    Texas Health Steps is a health-care program for children, teens, and young adults ages 20 and younger who have Medicaid. It offers medical and dental checkups and many other health-care services.

Medicaid Monthly Income Eligibility

Call 2-1-1 or go to www.211texas.org for information about:

  • Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

    CHIP is for children ages 18 and younger. It is an Insurance program for families who earn too much money to get Medicaid, but cannot pay for private insurance.

  • CHIP Perinatal Coverage

    The CHIP perinatal coverage offers prenatal care to pregnant women who cannot get Medicaid and do not have other health coverage. Benefits may include up to 20 prenatal visits; drugs ordered by a doctor; costs of giving birth; 2 doctor visits for the mom after the baby is born; and regular checkups, vaccines and drugs ordered by a doctor for the baby.

  • Newborn Screening

    All babies born in Texas must be screened for 29 medical disorders. Two tests are done using drops of blood from the baby’s heel. Tests are done 1 to 2 days after birth and again at 7 to 14 days after birth. Early detection and treatment can prevent serious health problems.

  • Child Support Enforcement Services

    The Office of the Attorney General helps families establish a child’s legal father, set child support, collect child support payments, find absent parents, and offers services to help parents work together to meet their children’s physical and emotional needs.

  • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food Stamps

    SNAP helps families buy food. SNAP benefits are given through the Lone Star Card. This is a plastic card that is used like a debit card.

  • Early Childhood Intervention (ECI)

    ECI helps children birth to 3 years of age with disabilities and delays in growth or learning. ECI services help children reach their full potential.

  • Family Planning Services

    Most family planning clinics offer pregnancy testing and counseling, birth control methods and counseling, tests for breast and cervical cancers and HIV testing and counseling. Ask your provider if confidential visits are available.

  • Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

    TANF helps families with children ages 18 and younger pay for things like food, clothing, and housing. TANF benefits are given through the Lone Star Card. This is a plastic card that is used like a debit card.

  • Head Start and Early Head Start

    These programs promote healthy development in preschool children from birth to age 5. Priorities include education, family literacy, health, and childcare.

Other Programs & Services

  • Texas Workforce Commission
  • Education
  • Postpartum Depression
  • Mental Health
  • Housing
  • Child Abuse Reporting
  • HIV and STD
  • Rent Payment Assistance
  • Utility Assistance
  • Women’s Health

Umbilical Cord Blood Banking & Donation

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT CORD BLOOD BANKING AND DONATION

Download the brochure below for more details about:

What is cord blood?

Umbilical cord blood is the blood that stays in the umbilical cord and placenta after the birth of your baby. It can be used to help treat diseases in children and adults.

How is cord blood used?

Stem cells from cord blood can be used to treat over 70 diseases in children and adults. Cord blood has been used to treat certain cancers, inherited diseases and diseases of the immune system.

How is cord blood collected?

After your baby is born, medical staff collects the cord blood and places it in a special container that is sent to the cord blood bank. The cord blood and mother’s blood are then processed and tested. If the mother’s blood shows the presence of any illness, the mother will be notified. If the cord blood bank determines the blood can be used, it is stored for future use.

Who benefits from cord blood?

Cord blood transplants can help blood relatives, extended family members, and non-related children and adults.

Are there risks with cord blood collection?

There are no risks to the mother or infant when cord blood is collected. Collecting the blood does not affect delivery or cause pain to the mother or infant.

Are cord blood and embryonic stem cells different?

Yes. Embryonic stem cells come from developing human or animal embryos. Cord blood stem cells do not involve the use of embryos.

Is there a demand for cord blood?

Yes. Thousands of people who could benefit from a cord blood transplant die every year waiting for treatment. There is an especially great need for more cord blood donations from ethnic and racial minorities.

What are the options for handling cord blood?

Options for those who want to donate cord blood:

  • Donate to a public bank, where your donation is made available to others, much like blood banks.
  • Save cord blood through a family banking program. It will be available for family members for a fee.
  • Save it for a sibling with medical need.
  • Donate it for research studies.

Is there a cost to donate or save cord blood?

There is no cost to donate cord blood to a public cord blood bank. There may be costs associated with family- or sibling-directed donor programs.

How do we decide whether to donate?

The decision to donate or save cord blood is a choice that only expectant parents can make. It is important for expectant parents to talk to their health care provider so that they have all the information they need to make the decision that is right for their family.

View Brochure