What it is
Your head hurts after birth, and you want to know if it is the epidural, no sleep, or something worse. About four in ten mothers have a headache in the first week. Most come from sleep loss, dehydration, or skipped meals. Migraines often return as estrogen falls. Two kinds need their own attention: a spinal headache and postpartum preeclampsia.
What's typical
A spinal headache, from a small fluid leak at the epidural site, happens after about one in a hundred epidurals. It starts one to three days after birth, and is much worse sitting up and much better lying flat. A preeclampsia headache is severe, does not ease, and may come with vision changes or high blood pressure. It is an emergency.
What's known
ACOG and the CDC list a headache that will not go away among the urgent warning signs after birth.
What helps
- Water and a real meal, then twenty minutes lying down in a dark room.
- Note whether lying flat changes it. That is what the nurse will ask.
When to call someone
- Now (911 or go in): the worst headache of your life, a headache with vision changes, a blood pressure of 160 over 110 or higher, weakness on one side, trouble speaking, or a seizure.
- Today (call labor and delivery): a headache much worse upright and better flat, in the first days after an epidural.
- Todaya headache that does not ease with rest and water, or any headache with a blood pressure of 140 over 90 or higher.
- At your next visitfrequent migraines. Ask about options that work while feeding.
Who helps
Tools: Postpartum Prep Checklist
Related
- Postpartum preeclampsia: the warning signsPostpartum: Your Body
- Headaches and migrainesPregnancy: Your Body
- Postpartum warning signs: the one-page listPostpartum: Your Body
- Medications and breastfeeding: how to checkFeeding Your Baby
What mothers here say
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Sources
- American Society of Anesthesiologists — Patient information on post-dural puncture headache
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists — Patient FAQ on preeclampsia and high blood pressure during pregnancy
- American Migraine Foundation — Migraine and pregnancy: postpartum resource
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