Hot Yoga or Hot Mama? The Postpartum Sweat
You’ve gotten through some of the more humbling postpartum jollies - aching limbs, postpartum vaginal soreness and bleeding, hemorrhoids…and into a blissful if exhausting routine with your baby and body.
Then suddenly, middle of the night wakings are accompanied by soaked sheets, wet clothes, mops of hair sticking to your neck and pillow. What gives?
These night sweats aren’t always from being hot or from the summer air, or even sleeping too close to baby or your partner. Mostly, they’re a side effect and symptom of recovery from birth!
Remember all of that extra fluid you needed to support amniotic fluid, keep you hydrated, power that extra 3-4 pounds of blood flow and stay strong? You don’t need it anymore now that your baby is here. While your urine output might have increased as well, you can’t exactly pee out all of that water weight.
So how does your body find its equilibrium? Sweat. Lots of it. Mostly at night.
Should you have to ride out the waves of uncomfortable sweating until it subsides - which, for most new mothers, will happen around the 1-2 week mark? Not always! There are a few things that can help during this transition:
Continue to Hydrate
Drinking a ton of water isn’t just good for your milk supply and nourishing your body, it will help with the transition of sweating and keep your body from dehydrating in the process.
Consider wearing lightweight, cotton or linen pajamas, and using lighter sheets to assist with wicking up any moisture during the night. Wear your hair, if it’s long, up in a bun or ponytail to keep the hair off your neck.
Lowering the temperature in your room may provide a temporary solution, as long as it doesn’t encourage you to reach for the covers!
Worst case scenario? Reach for some powder or lube up with natural deodorant to help with the sweats before hopping (well - you’re probably not hopping) into bed.
While most night sweats go away on their own postpartum, it’s important to remember if this is accompanied by any other symptoms of infection, such as a fever, chills, or renewed bright bleeding, wound infections or larger clots, you should always reach out to your provider in case there are other problems afoot.
Before you know it, the sweating, along with most of your other ailments, will be a thing of the past and you can focus on the drier aspects of parenthood!
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