At home

While it is fun to be congratulated and show your new baby to friends and family, having visitors can require a lot of energy. Decide what works best for you when it comes to visitors, and tell your friends and family what you need. Your loved ones will understand that you and your baby need rest.

Yes, in the majority of cases it is completely normal. Many new mothers experience a mild depression referred to as the "baby blues." About 75 percent of women have baby blues the first few days after delivery. Symptoms may include crying for no apparent reason, irritability, sadness, anger, anxiety and trouble sleeping. Baby blues usually go away in a week or two.

If the symptoms are more severe and don’t go away after a few weeks it may be postpartum depression. Postpartum depression is an illness that occurs in about 10 percent of women after childbirth. Women with postpartum depression have strong feelings of sadness, anxiety or despair, and may have trouble dealing with their daily tasks. Depression can interfere with your ability to care for yourself and your baby.

While baby blues are normal and usually go away on their own, postpartum depression requires treatment.

Bleeding usually continues for five weeks to six weeks after delivery. The color changes from red to a creamy brown. If you saturate one or more pads per hour, call your health care provider.

Hemorrhoids are common during pregnancy and can cause much discomfort. To treat them, make sure you drink plenty of water and eat a diet high in fiber. This will help soften stools. You also may use a fiber supplement such as Metamucil® to help prevent constipation.

As the baby is born, the perineum stretches and occasionally tears. If the tears are small, you may experience some uncomfortable swelling and stinging.

Occasionally, the doctor will make a surgical incision to enlarge the vaginal opening during childbirth. Afterward, the incision is closed. The stitches dissolve within 10 days to 28 days. Do not be alarmed if you see small pieces of stitches when you urinate or bathe.

The amount of pain after an episiotomy or tear varies. Swelling and discomfort usually peak the second or third day after delivery, but it is difficult to predict how long the discomfort will last. You may experience little or no discomfort, while others experience dull, aching pain for some time. This is normal and eventually will subside.