5 surprising things that will happen in the hours after you give birth for the first time

No matter how many classes you go to, or how 'ready' you think you are, nothing can truly prepare you for the rollercoaster that is giving birth for the first time.

I remember being - after my first experience of labour in 2013 - 'shell-shocked' in the aftermath. That's not to say it was exclusively harrowing or traumatic (although at times it probably was!) but more reflective of the fact that you can't really contemplate in advance something so life-changing and defining. In hindsight now (I had another baby in 2015) there are five things that happened in the aftermath of giving birth that I feel just aren't mentioned a lot of the time. So, in an effort to continue to debunk the mystery of it all, here I go... 1) You'll be on a serious high Not matter how it all happened - once you're done 'n' dusted the high you get is pretty incredible. I remember that being more pronounced on my second child, but it was still very much there the first time around too. It's your (admittedly small) reward for all the hard work you've done the preceding hours. 2) It's a blur Your midwife or doctor is busy making notes; maybe your partner is holding your baby. You're (quite possibly) in a labour ward surrounded by apparatus and bright lights. All-in-all, it's a bit surreal. And certainly afterwards, you'll look back and it will be something of a blur. 3) The placenta  Not sure if it was just me - but at no stage in the nine months of pregnancy did anyone mention to me the small matter of delivering the placenta. I mean, I suppose it's obvious enough now that, of course, the placenta has to be delivered too, but I never considered it. It's not a painful or necessarily unpleasant moment of labour - but it is odd. Very odd. Kinda like giving birth to an octopus actually. 4) You won't sleep  You'd assume that after labouring for hours, and probably not getting much sleep immediately prior to the arrival of your baba, you'd be only too happy to nod off as soon as you can. Wrong. All that adrenaline plus the presence of your little one plus manic WhatsApp'ing your friends and family means you won't get a wink. 5) You bleed... a lot No matter what way that baby comes out, blood will feature in some capacity. Thankfully, most of it will come courtesy of postpartum bleeding - which is like a heavy period that lasts for a few weeks after giving birth. Medically called lochia, you'll need pads - lots of pads... special postpartum ones that you can pick up in most pharmacies.