When a woman has a baby, she loses an organ. The placenta, grown by her body for nine months of gestation, snaps off from her uterus and drops toward the birth canal. The meaty purple bag ribboned with thick blood vessels is pushed through the cervix five to 30 minutes after the baby and, depending on the culture, is carried away to be buried, rendered, or discarded.
And that’s just the part about the placenta. The physical trauma doesn’t stop there.
Expulsion of the placenta leaves a large internal wound on the inside wall of her uterus. Contractions do their best to control blood loss as her uterus gradually shrinks, but her vagina might have third- or fourth-degree tears, crossing from her perineal muscle into her anal sphincter. This is a common post-pregnancy injury, requiring weeks of healing. Over the next few days, her breasts will harden as they begin to produce milk. Breastfeeding will cause her nipples to ache, perhaps crack or even bleed. She’ll probably be constipated and have cramping from her uterine contractions. She’s profoundly exhausted.
[For more on this story by Erin Sagen, go to http://www.yesmagazine.org/pea...ultural-too-20180404]
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