Brace yourself! Your “fourth trimester” may bring a long list of discomforts:

Physically:
Body aches
Perineum soreness
Abdominal cramps
Pain at the stiches
Urinary leakage
Vaginal bleeding
Constipation
Excessive perspiration or hotflashes
Hemorrhoids
Swollen breasts
Leg swelling due to water retention
Hair loss

If you had c-section, your scar may pucker and be tender for two to three months as it heals. 

Mentally:
According to the Health Promotion Board, you ought to be wary of the tell-tale signs of postpartum depression and seek help before it affects your quality of life. The symptoms include: persistent sadness or emptiness, lost of interest in anything, shifting appetite, insomnia, restlessness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, feelings of worthlessness, and thoughts of death.

Proper care and rest during confinement period would be a solid foundation for your future health, whereas the lack of them could lead to postpartum conditions which include headaches, arthritis, immune deficiency, chronic fatigue, depression and insomnia.

One of the sources of discomfort is intestinal gas. Pregnancy turns your digestion system upside down with stress, hormones, and fatigue upsetting the balance of good bacteria in your stomach. It causes constipation, indigestion, nausea and vomiting.

New mothers would feel “gassy” because their digestive system is returning to normal. To help get rid of this “wind”, new Chinese mothers are fed lots of ginger. They drink ginger tea, eat fish, chicken, beef or pork cooked with ginger, and even bathe in ginger water.