Angela’s Constipation after Delivery
I have heard several women complain that going for a long call after delivery is one of the worst experiences in their lives. Angela, who recently gave birth to a beautiful baby boy weighing four kilograms, narrates how she screamed while in the toilet—a thing that made her husband rush to check on her. Angela says that having an episiotomy is bad enough, but constipating while your episiotomy is still fresh is total agony.
She regrets that as she was discharged from the hospital the doctor should have, but did not. advise her not to consume certain types of food.
Right from the hour she delivered, Angela had a heightened level of appetite. ‘While I was pregnant I ate poorly. During my labour I ate nothing too, but an hour after I gave birth I requested the nurses to bring me food. I ate foodstuffs I have rejected while in the labour ward.’
Angela was discharged from hospital on a Monday morning. On her first day back home, she drunk porridge and ate several varieties of foods, gulping in plenty what she had missed while in hospital.
However, she narrates. ‘I did not go for a long call from that Monday until Wednesday of that week. I casually attributed this to the enema* I had been given a few minutes after being admitted at the hospital. She therefore continued with her re-energised eating habits. Her husband made his contribution too. ‘He made certain that I took soup, porridge, tea and anything else he thought was nutritious, so as ensure I produced enough milk to breastfeed our baby.’
When the long call finally beckoned on that Wednesday, Angela felt as though she would tear apart her wound. As she says. ‘The episiotomy was tight and passing the stool was hard. It was painful! I stood up and tried to contain the call, but the urge to go on was so urgent and uncontrollable that I let out a loud scream!’
When her husband rushed to her rescue. Angela felt shy. ‘Sincerely speaking, I was embarrassed to let him know the details but since he was already at the toilet door, and would not go away. I explained to him what I was going through.’
Angela’s husband advised her to include a pawpaw in her diet, as it helps with digestion.
‘The thought of visiting the ladies haunted me for a while. I tamed my eating adventures and I thank Cod because the pawpaw worked for me and I have not constipated again.
*Enema refers to a liquid used to induce bowel movement (getting one to go for a long call), or to clean the colon (large intestine). Enema is forced into the rectum (lower segment of the large intestine) via the anus using low pressure. Many pregnant women have experienced enema, where it is applied during labour to get them to empty their bowels just before delivery.
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