Your first day as a parent

You’ve done it and it was probably the most life-altering, amazing thing you’ll ever do. You’re likely to be elated and exhausted, tired and excited and a little bit in shock, despite the nine months of warning, and your baby’s first day will undoubtedly fly by. But what does it really feel like to be a new mum and what should you expect in the first minutes and hours?

Read on to find out about the first tests for your baby, how your body will change in those first 24 hours and what you’ll need to get home from hospital safely.

Your baby’s first test

The APGAR test will be carried out when your baby is one minute old and again at five minutes to check Appearance, Pulse, Grimace (her response to stimulation), Activity and Respiration. She will be given a mark out of 10, with between seven and 10 considered normal

• Your baby will be weighed and the circumference of her head measured. All data is entered onto her developmental chart, which your health visitor will give you as part of her Personal Child Health Record when your baby is about 10 days old

• Between four and 48 hours old, she will have a full newborn examination. This top-to-toe check up is done by a paediatrician or a midwife, who will check her heart, hips and eyes and, for boys, their testes too

Your body after giving birth

• The placenta

What about you? You may be given drugs to speed up the delivery of your placenta, which will happen five to 10 minutes after you’ve delivered your baby. If you’re delivering your placenta without drugs, it will take longer but the nurses will be there to help you and there are a few tricks to getting it to move, like squatting.

After this, your body will release the lining of the womb in a discharge called lochia. At first it's bright red blood, then it becomes brownish and, finally, a yellowish white colour. This will continue for anything between two and six weeks, so make sure you have a good supply of maternity pads. The more you rest, the lighter the lochia will be.

• If you’ve had stitches

Any minor grazes and tears to the neck of the womb, the vagina and the perineum (the area between your vagina and anus) usually heal quite quickly on their own. Recovering from an episiotomy (a surgical cut in the perineum) may take longer, and the stitches may be a bit painful for a few days or weeks. It’s unlikely that you’ll need to pass a stool in the first 24 hours, so don’t worry that you might be constipated. If nothing’s happened by day three, speak to your health visitor about what to do.