Is it possible for a nursing mother to go to the bathhouse?
In the old days, the bathhouse was not only a place where one could throw off the burden of worries and cleanse the body of toxins. The birth of a child also took place in a bathhouse. This was considered natural.
But over time, living conditions have changed, and women are provided with qualified assistance during childbirth.
And it is recommended to go to the bathhouse or sauna when a woman’s body gets stronger after the birth of a baby.
There is an opinion that nursing mothers should not overheat, otherwise there will be less milk. But doctors do not agree with this conclusion. If you follow the rules for visiting the steam room, there will be no problems with lactation.
When should you start visiting the bathhouse after childbirth?
When exposed to high temperatures, changes occur in the body. There is a decrease in the level of lactic acid, which helps to calm and strengthen the immune system. But there is also a negative impact. One person’s blood pressure rises, so you can’t stay in the steam room for a long time. In another person, inflammatory processes may worsen. Therefore, after giving birth, a woman should not immediately visit the bathhouse. You need to wait 6-8 weeks for lactation to stabilize and for the body to return to normal.
Women after a cesarean section are advised to avoid the sauna until the surgical scar has completely healed .
After all, you need to protect yourself from penetration of pathogenic microorganisms. You can wait 2-3 months after giving birth to enjoy the bath.
Pool
Recovery after childbirth involves stabilizing the hormonal system, establishing metabolic processes, and returning the figure to its usual frame. Exercises in the pool are considered an effective method of honing forms. Regular swimming and water gymnastics are beneficial and have a beneficial effect on the female psyche.
Metabolic processes accelerate in water. Fat deposits are spent to obtain energy and heat. Sports water gymnastics is a low-traumatic activity. The liquid puts pressure on the whole body, the back muscles are strengthened, and the condition of the spine improves.
You can go to the pool with your baby. Despite the tangible benefits, there are certain limitations. They depend on the nature of labor.
When can you go to the pool after giving birth? If the child was born naturally, there were no complications, you can go to classes after 3 months. In case of using cesarean section, consultation with a gynecologist is required. Typically, permission is issued 6 months after the birth of the baby.
A woman should take care of her breasts. Feeding the baby depends on her condition. In the pool, cold water and non-compliance with sanitary and hygienic standards pose a threat to the mammary glands. Inflammation is provoked by the temperature contrast between water and air masses. Mastitis takes a long time to heal, and you will have to stop breastfeeding.
Recommendations:
- During the first few days, walk around the pool and swim slowly;
- do not make active movements of the shoulder girdle;
- perform exercises that strengthen the muscles of the abdomen, legs, buttocks;
- Lessons should not exceed 45 minutes in time.
Women with chronic diseases should not go to the pool. Mothers with elevated body temperature are prohibited from visiting the establishment. If complications arise during the postpartum period, stay home.
The benefits of bath procedures for a woman’s health after childbirth
After such a shake-up of the body that a woman receives during childbirth, she needs:
- remove waste and toxins from the body;
- improve metabolic processes;
- strengthen the immune system;
- increase muscle tone;
- rejuvenate the skin;
- lose the weight you have gained.
All this can be achieved by visiting the bathhouse. Hardening procedures are carried out in the sauna to prevent the occurrence of unwanted colds. But you need to steam wisely, because at high temperatures, long stays indoors, hot and humid, there is a danger of decreased lactation. And not everyone can withstand the conditions of a bathhouse.
Carrying out cosmetic procedures
Visiting a bathhouse is not only good for your health, it is also a great way to tidy up your body and face, since maximally open pores allow maximum exposure to cosmetic products. This is especially true in the postpartum period, when mommy develops stretch marks, age spots, and cellulite. The use of folk remedies for care will help to significantly improve the situation (not eliminate it completely).
It is better to prepare masks, scrubs, lotions and creams in advance. You should not use products with an aggressive chemical composition, as chemicals can penetrate into the milk through open pores. It is better to use natural ingredients that are available to every housewife.
To care for your body, you can make a scrub from coarse coffee, cinnamon, sugar, and sea salt. It is enough to mix these components with olive oil, cream or honey.
As a nourishing face mask suitable for any skin type, you can use a mixture of sour cream, olive oil and egg yolk.
To strengthen your hair, just apply kefir to it, leave it for 30 minutes, and then rinse it off.
When using traditional medicine, pay attention to the presence of allergies. To do this, test the product on a small area of skin. If there is no redness, continue cosmetic procedures; if an allergic reaction occurs, you should immediately consult a doctor.
A bathhouse for a nursing woman is an excellent way to improve the health of the body and keep the body in good shape. It is important for a young mother to approach visiting this establishment wisely: to be attentive to her well-being and listen to the recommendations of experienced specialists.
How does high temperature affect lactation?
A woman should not be afraid to attend bath procedures during breastfeeding. The quality of breast milk will remain the same after you go to the bathhouse. It has been proven that lactation increases in hot weather, so sometimes it is useful to go to the steam room. But if the glands are weak, then the milk will spontaneously flow out. This must be anticipated before visiting the sauna.
It is advised to express milk before going to the bathhouse. This will help reduce the release of colostrum from the breast. The procedure is especially necessary if the sauna is public.
There will be a decrease in milk production when a woman gets carried away with staying in the steam room. Increased sweating leads to dehydration of the body. This results in a shortage of mother's milk for the baby. Drinking plenty of clean water and juices will help avoid this.
Bath or sauna?
There are a number of differences between a bathhouse and a sauna that are unknown to people. They affect health differently, which is why a number of contraindications for them vary. For example, it is not recommended for people with cardiovascular disease to visit the bathhouse, but the dry steam of the sauna is beneficial for them.
Important: A contraindication to visiting the sauna is considered to be an upper respiratory tract disease, which is an indication for visiting the sauna.
This is due to the following:
- The humidity in the bath is on average 70%, while in the sauna the air is dry;
- The temperature of a bathhouse rarely reaches 80°; in a sauna it can exceed a hundred;
- Complete warming of the body is only possible in a bathhouse. The temperature of a Russian bath is lower than that of a sauna, so the body warms up faster and its conditions are milder;
- Ventilation outside and inside the sauna is the same in pressure; in the steam room there is excess pressure;
- The healing effect of a sauna is due to the rapid change from hot air to cold air. Therefore, all modern saunas are equipped with cold water pools. There is no such thing in the bathhouse, because in the times of Ancient Rus' they were built on the banks of reservoirs, where they plunged after bath procedures;
- The sauna air is too dry, which can negatively affect the mucous membranes. The bathhouse, on the contrary, is suitable for people suffering from respiratory diseases.
When to feed your baby: before or after the steam room
You can avoid milk leakage during bath procedures not only by expressing. Before going to the sauna, you should feed your baby. And only after feeding, express the remains into a clean container. For those who like to take a steam bath, the bath takes from 2 to 3 hours. If the baby is breastfed tightly, he will be able to cope without his mother during this time.
After the sauna, you need to rest a little and give the breast to the baby so that the milk does not stagnate in the breast. It will be released abundantly, and the child will have enough of it for a long time.
What to take with you
If a woman liked to take a steam bath before giving birth, then she knows that she should definitely take a drink to the sauna. Plain water is more suitable for this, but not cold, but at room temperature. A cup of herbal or green tea, a glass of juice, or mineral water will benefit. You need to drink a lot to maintain the normal level of moisture in the body.
Due to heavy milk discharge, take at least 3 towels. You can lie on one in the steam room, and dry off with the other. A small soft towel is placed under the breast to allow the milk to drain onto it.
You can't go to the bathhouse without:
- comfortable shoes;
- sheets for wrapping up after the steam room;
- felt hats;
- comfortable washcloth;
- soap and shampoo;
- combs.
All accessories are familiar to women who visit the bathhouse regularly. If they go for the first time, they take anti-high blood pressure medications.
Basic rules for visiting a bathhouse during breastfeeding
It is difficult for a woman’s body, after pregnancy and childbirth, to return to normal. By visiting a sauna, you can get such a jolt, after which you will have to recover for a long time. The body is still so weak that it is necessary to act intelligently on it with high temperatures and humidity. There should be gradualism, consistency, moderation in everything.
Duration of stay in the bath
No matter how pleasant it is to be in the steam room, feeling how the body is cleansing, you should limit yourself in time. First, you should sit for 5 minutes, carefully monitoring your condition. The second time they come in no earlier than 15-30 minutes later. If you feel normal, then stay in the steam bath for 7-10 minutes.
At the same time, there is a ban on diving into the snow or cold water of the pool. This is harmful when breastfeeding.
We adhere to the temperature regime
The temperature rise in the steam room reaches 60-100 degrees. A woman during lactation should approach visiting the steam room wisely. The temperature in it is set gradually, if the bathhouse is your own.
In a public sauna, they try to refrain from entering the steam room if the temperature there is very high, and they begin to feel dizzy. We must not forget that they feel worse when the humidity rises along with the temperature. It should be within 10% in the sauna at a steam room temperature of 60 degrees. Then you will feel better.
Without control of the temperature and air humidity in the sauna, tingling and burning in the chest area may occur. In this case, it is better to leave the steam room.
Eating and drinking regime
You cannot go to the steam room on an empty stomach. It is also not recommended to overfill it with food. 2-3 hours before washing, you should eat a light salad or low-calorie dish. It is not customary to take food into the bathhouse. But they pay special attention to drinks. They like to take kvass and tea infused with herbs with them.
It is important that the drinks are not cold, as this will lead to colds and sore throat.
Alcoholic drinks and beer are not allowed. Because of them, sensitivity is dulled, and it is difficult to understand whether you are hot or not. Hence the problems with the heart and blood pressure.
Shoes and hats
Walking barefoot is not recommended, especially in public baths. But it’s better to wear special slippers or flip-flops in your own. They will protect your feet from fungal infections.
A hat made of felt or felt is purchased by those who like to steam. She will cover her head and save her from the intense heat. It is dangerous when you go to the steam room without a hat. Heatstroke may occur, which can result in headaches and migraines.
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 during the bath procedure
A woman needs to tune in to what is not allowed while washing in a bathhouse:
- whip yourself with a broom;
- hot from the steam room, douse yourself with cold water, rub yourself with snow;
- drink alcoholic beverages;
- steam on an empty and full stomach;
- sit on the top shelf.
If it is difficult for a woman to do without a broom, then you can use it by gently tapping it on the body.
What to avoid
Fans of extreme sports, there are many of them among mothers, are interested in whether during the lactation period after a steam room they can dive into a cool pool, an ice hole, wipe themselves with snow or douse themselves with cold water.
Breastfeeding experts and medical professionals unanimously give a negative answer. They explain this by saying that sudden changes in temperature can provoke vascular spasm, which contributes to blockage of the milk ducts. This is fraught with the development of lactostasis.
It is enough to take a warm shower after the steam room. It is possible to use a contrast shower, while the chest area should be protected from hypothermia.
