How long does it take for a postpartum wound to heal? How to clean without pain, no swelling?

Caesarean section is a method chosen by many pregnant women today to ensure a safe birth. Although the cesarean section takes place very quickly, the recovery time after childbirth is longer for women who have had a caesarean section and if they do not know how to take care of them, they will easily face sequelae.

Video content is professionally consulted by Midwife Nguyen Thi Giang - Obstetrics Department - Vinmec Times City International Hospital

There are many women who give birth for the first time and do not know how long the pain will take after the cesarean section, so they use pain relievers in the hope of quickly recovering.
During the hospital stay, the mother's incision will be cared for and cleaned by the nurse every day. However, after returning home, it is still necessary to clean the incision properly to avoid infection and have a beautiful postpartum incision. So to clean the incision at home, what do mothers need to prepare? What to do in case of postpartum cesarean section festering? How long does it take for a postpartum incision to heal?
First of all, in order to have a beautiful postpartum incision and avoid infection, mothers need to follow the following steps to clean the incision:
Wash your hands with soap before cleaning the incision. ; Prepare clean gloves, sterile cotton swabs, 10% betadine solution; After washing hands and preparing tools, proceed to open the cotton gauze package, pour betadine directly into the gauze pack, taking care that the mouth of the betadine vial does not touch the surrounding wall of the gauze pack; Wear clean gloves and use your hands to directly hold the cotton swab to disinfect the incision (note, the hand only holds one corner of the cotton swab). The first gauze will be used to disinfect directly on the incision, in one direction, without moving around. The next gauze will disinfect the lower edge of the incision. The mother can repeat 1-2 times until the incision is clean, avoiding the postpartum incision from festering. It is necessary to clean the incision for 7-10 days, after 10 days, it is not necessary to use betadine to disinfect the incision anymore, but only need to dry it with a clean towel after bathing, because in this process the incision is growing. To heal scars, if there is a doctor's appointment to apply anti-scar cream to have a beautiful postpartum incision, wait for the betadine to dry for 3-5 minutes, you can apply the cream and wear normal clothes.
During the cleaning process, if the postpartum incision is festering, bleeding, or the mother has a fever, you should immediately seek medical attention or contact the doctor directly. It is very important to clean the incision at home, if it is not cleaned properly, it will cause the postpartum incision to fester, become infected, swollen, and red, affecting the mother's psychology and health.