Exposure to Cold Temperature During Confinement
Confinement after delivery for one month is a common practice among Asian mothers to help their bodies recover from their exhaustive labour. During this time, mothers are cautioned not to drink cold water, shower cold water, or be directly exposed to the air-conditioner. However, are there any side effects of being exposed to cold temperatures during confinement?
How Will Exposure to Cold Temperature Affect My Recovery?
Currently, there is no concrete research done on the effects of cold temperature during confinement, so there is no substantial evidence on how exposure to cold temperature will affect one’s recovery.
Air Conditioning
It is common for mothers to sweat a lot or experience hot flashes at night, postpartum. This is because your body had to create much more blood and fluid when you were pregnant to support your baby. Now that your baby is out, you will have to excrete these excess fluids, which causes sweating. Your estrogen hormone levels will also experience a sudden drop after delivery, resulting in more sweating and hot flashes. To cope with this, it is completely fine if you feel like lowering the temperature of the air-conditioning, to make yourself more comfortable, as long as you are not shivering. As with all things, using fans and air-conditioning in moderation will not affect your health.
Cold Water
During your postpartum recovery period, water is extremely important to keep you hydrated, on top of helping you produce breast milk. If you are experiencing scorching weather, it is normal to prefer cold water to refresh yourself. Drinking cold water can also help you with your hot flashes. Unless you have past problems with drinking cold water (i.e. catching a cold or getting sick), drinking cold water will not affect your postpartum recovery. Besides, there is also no evidence that water temperature is a determining factor in your recovery postpartum. On the contrary, if you are dehydrated because you do not like to drink warm or hot water, it will adversely affect your health (i.e. constipation and dehydration), and your baby will not get enough breast milk, which is crucial for their development.
Cold Pack
Your vaginal area might feel swollen or painful after delivery, after all, a human baby just came out from there. It is a common hospital practice in the United States for mothers to sit on ice packs after delivery for 15-20 minutes to help soothe their vaginal area. Many mothers have also reported that having a cold pack was “life-saving” to help ease the pain and discomfort of vaginal stitches while reducing bruising and swelling post-delivery.
Exposure to cold temperatures in ways that help you feel better during confinement is completely fine. You should do what is best for you, to get sufficient rest for a speedy recovery. Do take note not to expose yourself to extremely cold temperatures and to stop your exposure to cold temperatures if you are shivering or unwell. If you have any doubts, speak to your doctor to get proper medical advice.
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