Just given birth and want to know the normal size of uterus and how long the postpartum process will take to get there?
The answers you’ve been looking for are just below!
Want to know how long it’ll take for your uterus to return to it’s normal size? Or how to easily encourage this process?
This post all about how to shrink your postpartum uterus, and the size of uterus by week
Plus many easy to use tips and tricks to encourage the process along!
Postpartum Recovery Timeline
The Postpartum recovery timeline isn’t short and sweet unfortunately. The actual process of fully recovering from childbirth and all the pregnancy months prior, can take months itself to recover. Which like every other part of the process has it’s own trials. On the bright side though, many women report feeling somewhat recovered after six to eight weeks.
Involution Of Uterus After Delivery
Involution of the uterus, simply put is your uterus reverting to the state it was before you were pregnant. During this process your uterus undoes the changes it experienced during pregnancy. During pregnancy there was a significant increase in your uterus size, thickening of your uterus lining, blood vessels enlarged and many other changes in order to support and nourish the growth of your baby. And once the baby and placenta is birthed, uterus involution occurs. During which you can experience afterpains (postpartum cramps) . This entire process on average lasts about six weeks.
Normal Size Of Uterus
After this process your uterus should be at its normal size which is about eight centimetres long down the centre, five centimetres wide across the top and three centimetres thick. With a volume ranging between eighty millilitres through to two-hundred millilitres. And a weight around thirty-five grams. Leaving it in it’s original state looking like an upside down pear.
Postpartum Uterus Size By Week
Now this upside down pear (uterus) sits deep in your pelvis. When pregnant it expands upwards and outwards, reaching your navel. This will be about eighteen weeks along the track. Then from there onwards its about the size of how many weeks you are. So thirty weeks equals thirty centimetres and so on… And yes, the full term forty weeks is about forty centimetres. Which means the nine months of extensive stretching isn’t going to just disappear once you’ve given birth. You will still have a bump.
Once given birth the uterus will be about the same size as it was at eighteen weeks of pregnancy, sitting around the height of your navel again. At this point it will weigh about 1000 grams.
After one week the uterus will weigh around 500 grams.
Size of uterus 2 weeks postpartum is 300 grams.
The size of uterus 3 weeks postpartum is around 150 grams.
Size of uterus 4 weeks postpartum is 100 grams.
and eventually at 8 weeks is about 60 grams.
During this time the uterus retracts about a centimetre or two per day until it has been restored to its normal size again.
How To Shrink Uterus After Birth
Drink Plenty Of Water
This is an incredibly simple tip, but sometimes the most basic and easy to use methods can be overlooked. Why? Well because, they’re just right in front of us. But something as simple as staying hydrated and drinking lots of water can be a step in the right direction. This simple remedy helps to flush out toxins so that your body is more able to repair and recover from the pregnancy and birthing process. If you add some minerals to your water and electrolytes, this can do wonders for your energy and general wellbeing. Further allowing your body to dedicate some more effort to shrinking your uterus.
Breastfeeding
There are many beauties in breastfeeding but I’ll give you just one off the list. Breastfeeding benefits include the release of the hormone oxytocin. This hormone is integral for uterus contractions. In which this restricts the blood vessels of the uterus, discouraging further bleeding. Therefore allowing the uterus to be expedited back to it’s normal size.
T.L.C.
You’ve managed to carry a whole other life inside of you for months! Then went into the birthing process which is an intensive process itself. You’ve earned a moment for some TLC (tender loving care). But as we’re aware, you’ve got a whole new life depending on you. So here are some ideas that can help but aren’t too extravagant to take up time and energy you barely have.
A simple stroll with with baby could be a simple yet effective booster. Seeing some nature or getting fresh air can do wonders. Along with a stroll, there can be some breathing and relaxation exercises while out in nature. These will improve your mood to be able to withstand the changes occurring with your uterus at the moment.
And if all else doesn’t quite do it for you, there’s always an over the counter painkiller. A doctor may prescribe something like ibuprofen but a chat with your healthcare provider can prescribe more exact and relevant medications for your needs.
Warm Compress
Along the lines of self care but actually having it’s very relevant benefits is a nice hot bath. That’s right. Heat can help to relieve the pain of contractions. Just like heat could relieve the pain of period contractions, it can also relieve the pain of contractions occurring as your uterus returns to normal size. If a hot bath isn’t quite for you, a heat pad can also be effective. In which this promotes the retraction of your uterus.
If a full body immersion bath doesn’t seem feasible due to time and energy restraints with your new little baby, then a sitz bath is also an option. The sitz bath doesn’t require a prescription and it’s easy to do. Its a kit you find at your pharmacy, health stores or online. It safely fits over your toilet as the warm water cleanses the perineum (skin between the rectum and vagina). The benefits of sitz bath is that it increases blood flow to the perineum, relieves minor pain and irritation, and also promotes the uterus returning to it’s normal size. Ultimately giving faster recovery that is slightly faster than average.
(Want know how binding your waist helps speed up this whole process?)
Girdle
And we saved the best for last. That is the tried and tested Bengkung belly binding. A method of waist compression that has been around for many centuries across multiple cultures in the world. The Bengkung belly wrap reduces the amount of water retention and applies pressure to the uterus. Much like how a sprained ankle has compression applied to it for faster healing, a similar approach takes effect with binding.
As with the compression around the waist, this also encourages better posture. Allowing organs to return to their original state before pregnancy at a more efficient rate. Which also allows the uterus to shrink more easily.
These benefits can be found with the traditional Bengkung Belly Binder, our recommendation is this excellent and innovative wrap found here. Or there is the traditional method which requires wrapping muslin or cotton around the waist. Or there are the options of girdles that have been designed to help with similar processes.
This was all about your uterus: the normal size, postpartum size, recovery timeline, and how to shrink it.
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