A visit to the bathhouse directly depends on the duration of the lochia; only after it ends can you take a steam bath. The first time after the birth of a child, a woman pays all her time and attention to the baby. Mom is getting used to her new condition, to the fact that she needs to take care of the baby around the clock. Thoughts about yourself temporarily fade into the background. But gradually, as a woman copes with new responsibilities more confidently and quickly, the desire to be beautiful, well-groomed and rested returns. All this can be achieved by visiting a bathhouse, a traditional place for self-care, rest and relaxation.
Is it possible to go to the bathhouse while breastfeeding?
The answer to the question whether it is possible to go to the bathhouse while breastfeeding does not depend on the harmful effects of water procedures on the quality of milk or the process of its separation. It is determined by the state of the body of a woman who has recently given birth. For a mother who wants to go on healthy hygienic procedures, the main importance is the period that has passed since childbirth, as well as the cessation of specific postpartum discharge. After childbirth, the danger of visiting a room with heated air may be due to unstable lactation.
The benefits of the procedure have been proven over hundreds of years of long-term, successful use: for cleansing the body, healing processes, renewing skin cells, optimizing blood circulation.
Before visiting the bathhouse, it is better to consult with your doctor, and also ask him about the possibility of starting the usual hygiene procedures. At the same time, you can find out whether visiting the sauna is allowed while breastfeeding, taking into account the characteristics of the body.
If a bathhouse with its moist air is a common phenomenon in the mentality, then a sauna with dry air can be considered a relative innovation for Russians, and the question of whether it is possible to steam in a bathhouse during breastfeeding and whether it affects feeding needs to be clarified separately.
What body care products should I take with me?
An ordinary woman takes a whole cosmetic bag with her to the bathhouse in order to apply various lotions, creams, scrubs, and masks to her steamed skin. A nursing mother can limit herself to natural-based products. The pores steamed by the bathhouse absorb everything much better, including chemical additives that get into your blood and milk. There is no need to feed your baby products from the chemical industry, which are generously packed into modern products that care for a woman’s body. Ideally, take baby care products. Baby lotion, cream and milk will not harm your skin and will make it silky and youthful.
When breastfeeding, you can use natural creams, lotions, scrubs and masks based on herbal decoctions or honey, preferably homemade. Popular products include curd-carrot mixture, kefir and yolk-yeast masks, coffee scrub, and chamomile lotion. Also, when breastfeeding, you can use luxury body care products in moderation; they are often of quite high quality and harmless to the body.
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The benefits of a bath after childbirth
After childbirth, the woman’s well-being comes first, because full lactation depends on it, which means nutrition, development, and health problems of the baby. After childbirth, it is not recommended to expose your body to high temperatures.
There is not a single authoritative medical source or competent doctor who would unequivocally prohibit visiting the bathhouse, suggesting that this only causes harm, not benefit. A visit to such an institution has long optimized the activity of the entire body.
A young mother can restore the body, its processes, increase productivity, and the safety of its work:
- optimize the functioning of the central nervous system and circulatory system, gradually eliminate the consequences of the birth stress experienced by the body;
- remove waste and toxins so that they do not affect the composition of milk produced for the growth and development of the child;
- relax muscles, tone the skin, get rid of excess fat deposits that have lost their energy reserve functions after the baby is born.
After childbirth, you can even steam in order to boost immunity and prevent possible diseases: bronchial asthma can be a contraindication for a woman. But even doctors recommend attending such procedures to prevent infectious diseases. They are extremely undesirable for the baby; he must be isolated during the procedures.
The benefits and harms of bath procedures
After the baby is born, a woman may encounter many unpleasant symptoms: mastitis, changes in hormonal levels, lack of vitamins, edema, etc. But any representative of the fair sex strives to be not only healthy, but also happy.
Bath procedures will help restore health and beauty. But when is a bath allowed after childbirth and what are the contraindications to “high-thermal” procedures?
Many centuries ago in Rus' it was customary to send a woman to a bathhouse after giving birth. In the Russian bathhouse, the young mother was not only steamed, but also fed and given presents.
A visit to the bathhouse has a beneficial effect on the recovery process after childbirth.
Having conducted numerous experiments, scientists have proven that visiting a sauna or steam bath has a beneficial effect on the recovery process after childbirth. Water procedures accelerate metabolic processes in the body and also promote the growth of red blood cells in the blood. Based on this, all wounds in a woman after the birth of her baby heal faster.
In addition, visiting the sauna is a great way to get rid of postpartum depression. High-temperature procedures have a beneficial effect on a woman’s nervous system, calming and relaxing her.
But to the question “Is it possible to go to the bathhouse immediately after childbirth?” the answer is not always positive. The fact is that a high temperature can cause bleeding in a woman’s pelvic organs, and the risk of infection is high.
Contraindications for visiting the bathhouse
Contraindications to visiting for a nursing woman are only general. The bathhouse is compatible with lactation, and breastfeeding has never been a reason for a ban. Thousands of women visit baths and saunas if their cardiovascular system and blood pressure are functioning normally, there is no bronchial asthma, and breastfeeding is not an obstacle if the fluid lost during sweating is replenished in time.
It is better to start visiting in the summer, after staying in the steam room. A bathhouse while breastfeeding can affect your health when temperature changes occur from a steamy, cold outdoor atmosphere or frosty air.
Lactation and bath procedures
After delivery, milk begins to come in 2-3 days. For many women, this natural process is accompanied by severe pain. To avoid stagnation of milk in the ducts of the mammary glands, mammologists recommend steaming the breasts a little.
When can a young mother breastfeeding her baby go to the sauna? And how will water treatments and hot air affect the feeding process?
Doctors believe that there are no prohibitions on visiting the bathhouse for a nursing woman. The main reason for milk burnout is a lack of fluid in a woman’s body.
When visiting a bathhouse, a young mother must follow a number of recommendations.
But when visiting a sauna during lactation, a woman should follow the following recommendations:
- After the bath, you should not overcool (dive into the pool after the steam room, etc.). A sudden change in temperature can have a negative impact on the functioning of the mammary glands. It is only allowed to pour cool water on some parts of the body, and then rub the mammary glands with a towel.
- You should not enter a steam room that is too hot; the temperature should be tolerable and the exposure time should not be long. It is advisable to enter the steam room in several approaches, each of which lasts 2-3 minutes.
- A nursing mother can only visit the bathhouse if accompanied by her husband or other relatives. A woman should listen to every reaction of her body.
- In the sauna, a nursing mother can only be on the lower or middle shelf, but she cannot climb onto the top one. You can sit on your fifth point or lie on your back, but not on your stomach. Under no circumstances should your chest touch the hot boards.
- A woman should take into account that the steam room helps to increase lactation, so after visiting the sauna you should try to put the baby to the breast as soon as possible.
- During bath procedures, fluid loss occurs in the body, so a woman who is breastfeeding must replenish the amount of fluid in the body after bath procedures (drink fruit juice, tea or water). But it is necessary to take into account that infusions of sage or mint can provoke a decrease in milk in the female body.
Rules for visiting a bathhouse for a young mother
At the first postpartum visit to a bathhouse or sauna, a woman should be attentive to the slightest changes in her condition. If the doctor gave a positive answer to the question whether she can go to the bathhouse during breastfeeding, and she had a normal pregnancy and childbirth, this does not mean that there is no need to limit the time spent.
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When feeding a child, you need to be extremely careful about exceeding the norm or very high temperatures, otherwise the milk may cause severe lactostasis or not arrive on time due to the fact that the body has lost a lot of fluid. A young mother should drink plenty of fluids (you must take recommended drinks with you). It is also important for her to follow the prescribed precautions.
Contraindications
When going to the bathhouse for the first time after giving birth, a young mother should carefully monitor the body’s reaction to high temperature and water procedures. Women who are entering the bathhouse for the first time need to be especially careful.
Under no circumstances should women who suffer from:
- asthma;
- heart pathologies;
- epilepsy;
- kidney problems;
- diabetes mellitus;
- complications after childbirth;
- hypertension.
Women suffering from cancer are strictly prohibited from visiting the sauna.
Precautions for nursing mothers
The main rule is not to overdo it, and carefully monitor your well-being. For the first few months, it is recommended to visit the bathhouse no more than once a week, while covering your chest from exposure to high temperatures (take a large cotton towel, terry for this).
Is it possible to go to the sauna during breastfeeding - find out additionally from your attending physician: how much he considers this a positive thing. It is not recommended to expose your body to intense impact - a broom or changes in water at different temperatures, so as not to provoke a rise in pressure or lactostasis.
It is the cosmetological procedures carried out in the bathhouse using plant or animal ingredients of natural origin that allow you to quickly and effectively put in order after childbirth the face and body of the woman giving birth.
Experts' opinion
When can you go to the bathhouse after childbirth? Doctors advise waiting 2-3 months. Provided that the delivery was natural and everything went well, without any complications. It is advisable to start taking a steam bath after the uterine mucosa (endometrium) has been restored. Simply put, when the postpartum discharge ends. If you think you are not yet ready for high temperatures, it is better not to rush.
It is very important to listen to how you feel and not risk your health. The recovery process in the postpartum period depends on the individual characteristics of the woman. Some people recover almost immediately, others, on the contrary, take longer.
In order to avoid doubts about whether you can go to the bathhouse or wait a little longer, the ideal option is to consult a doctor. If there are no contraindications, you can enjoy warm steam with a clear conscience and not worry about possible consequences.
After a caesarean section, doctors do not recommend bathing procedures for six months.
As soon as the postoperative sutures heal, you should definitely contact a gynecologist. It should exclude internal or external inflammatory pathologies of the pelvic organs. Only after the doctor’s permission can you safely go to the bathhouse.
Balance between health and beauty
Is it possible to steam after giving birth? Even if you cannot live without water procedures, the body needs to be given time to recover. Impatient girls try to return to their previous shape as quickly as possible, and begin visiting the steam room almost immediately after the birth of the child. Such a rush can provoke infection of wounds, with all the ensuing consequences. As a result of a sluggish infection, due to which the sutures do not heal for a long time and may come apart. In such situations, serious treatment is required.
As you can see, the price of inattention to your body is very high. Under no circumstances should you neglect your health for the sake of beauty. You are beautiful when you are healthy. In the fight against excess weight, try to follow diets and light exercises.
pros
High temperature and hot air open the pores. The skin is deeply cleansed of keratinized particles and excess sebaceous secretions. Steam activates the cardiovascular system, accelerates blood circulation, and increases metabolism. Oxygen-enriched blood removes waste products, and all body systems receive nutrients.
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The epithelium is saturated with moisture, thanks to this hydration, skin rejuvenation occurs. It becomes more elastic, small wrinkles disappear. The heat of the bath cleanses the body of waste and toxins and removes excess weight. After the steam room, an amazing feeling of lightness appears, the skin glows, and the scales show minus one kilogram.
The steamed back will thank you too. When exposed to heat, muscle fibers relax and become firmer and more elastic. During increased sweating, lactic acid and urea leave them. And along with them, fatigue and tension. Joint pain miraculously decreases or goes away completely.
As you can see, there are more than enough advantages. Regularly warming up the body in a steam room strengthens the immune system and increases resistance to bacteria and viruses.
