The Importance of Water for New Mums
Transcript
Hi everyone, Emily from POGO Physio here today. I just wanted to do a quick Facebook live video about the importance of fluid. This message is pretty much directed mainly at my mums who have just have had either a vaginal delivery and they’re feeling a little bit sore or have some stitches they want to protect and also the mums who have had Caesar’s. One of the most important things we need to do for you guys in those first few days after you’ve given birth and beyond is avoid constipation because if you’ve had a vaginal delivery you don’t want to be straining downwards against where it’s painful and If you’ve got a Cesar wound you also don’t want to be straining because that will be irritating on your wound, and for all of you woman out there avoiding constipation is really important. A lot of the time people, maybe when they’re in hospital don’t eat the same diets that they eat so once they go home things can help and fibre is really important. I think something that not everyone knows though is that fibre supplements don’t work unless you have adequate fluid intake. So you can have all the Metamucil and Movicol and psyllium husk in the world, if you’re only having 500 ml of water in the day the likelihood is that it’s going to harden your stool and make you constipated. So the important thing to remember is if you’re taking fibre supplements and things like that and if you’re eating a balanced diet you also need to remember to drink enough water. In Doctor Cris’s book ‘Healthy Habits‘ it says one litre per 25 kilos of body weight and then if you’re pumping or breast feeding things you want to have a little bit more than that. So just keep that in mind because I know things get really busy and it can be hard to drink water because you’re trying to look after this child you have but if you try to keep fluid and things around you that can be just a little bit of a helper to make sure you’re not straining when you go to pass a bowel motion. Thanks ladies.
Emily Georgopolous (APAM)
Physiotherapist
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