The NHS has today been accused of providing 'inadequate' pain relief to women who have suffered agonising childbirths.
Under health service guidance, new mums can be discharged just a day after undergoing a C-section or vagin*l birth.
But they are advised to take just paracetamol or ibuprofen to manage symptoms.
Campaigners and doctors slammed the move, claimingit was yet another example of women's pain issues in healthcare being ignored or underplayed.
Posting on X, DrStephanie deGiorgio, an urgent care NHS GP in Kent wrote: 'This is the pretty big hole in my abdomen from where this little lady emerged.
Campaigners and doctors slammed the move, claiming it was yet another example of women's pain issues in healthcare being ignored or underplayed. Posting on X, Dr Stephanie deGiorgio, an urgent care NHS GP in Kent wrote: 'This is the pretty big hole in my abdomen from where this little lady emerged.
Posting on X, Dr Stephanie deGiorgio, an urgent care NHS GP in Kent wrote: 'This is the pretty big hole in my abdomen from where this little lady emerged. 'Why....why....do women get discharged with paracetamol and ibuprofen? This is not enough for abdominal surgery. 'I hear it over and over again and every single time it enrages me. Why....why....do women get discharged with paracetamol and ibuprofen? This is not enough for abdominal surgery'
'Why....why....do women get discharged with paracetamol and ibuprofen? This is not enough for abdominal surgery.
'I hear it over and over again and every single time it enrages me.'
Caroline Farrow, a catholic commentator and mum-of-five also revealed she was left 'screaming in agony' after being sent home from her first C-section with paracetamol.
She said: 'Tell me about it. Woke up screaming in agony the night after being sent home from my first section.
'Had four in total. Paracetamol didn't cut it. Also: iron tablets post section. Very very bad idea.
'Thought I was coming apart. Spatone much better.'
Dr deGiorgio today told MailOnline: 'Women, who have had either C-section or vagin*l delivery often call their GP after discharge to get stronger analgesia.
'These may be women who are discharged quickly or after a few days and with a variety of assisted vagin*l deliveries as well.
'Some women are told to buy their own from a supermarket or pharmacy instead of being given meds to take away.
'What needs to happen is that a woman's individual pain relief requirements should be assessed before discharge and she should be sent home with a supply of what she needs.'
She added: 'That may include stronger anti-inflammatory medications like diclofenac or opiate medication like Oramorph.
'Some women may need very little, which is great for them.
'But we mustn't presume. There are many options safe in breastfeeding.'
Under NHS guidelines midwives may offer new mumsnon-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen or diclofenac, as well as paracetamol to relieve pain.
'It's a good idea to plan for this, and make sure you have a supply of simple pain relief in the house, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen,' the health service says.
Opioids dihydrocodeine and morphine sulfate are then occasionally recommended for women who need further pain relief.
Health officials, however, have previously warned against taking opioids over fears some babies may be more sensitive to the side effects of these medicines, such as temporary breathing issues or even heart rate problems.
DrdeGiorgio, however, argued inadequate pain relief can be 'horrific and causehuge psychological trauma to women'.
It alsoapplies to postnatal wards', she said.
She told MailOnline: 'Being asked to care for a newborn immediately after major abdominal or vagin*l repair, perhaps with a catheter in and drips still in situ is ridiculous.
'Add in inadequate pain relief, and it's horrific and causes huge psychological trauma to women.
'It has led to deaths and serious injury of babies when their desperate mother's have picked them up by their babygro and sadly dropped them. It's beyond tragic.
'This is definitely about women's pain not being taken seriously, and this happens in labour as well.'
She added: 'The fear of overuse of opiate medication is causing acute pain to be mismanaged quite frequently.
It comes as a damning report into the 'postcode lottery' of NHS maternity care last week ruled good care is 'the exception rather than the rule'. A hugely-anticipated parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma, which heard evidence from more than 1,300 women, found pregnant women are being treated like a 'slab of meat'
'There is a balance to be struck between good pain relief — vital for recovery and rehab — and prescribing too much for too long and risking addiction.
'We need to ensure that balance is right and not leaving people in desperate pain.'
An NHS spokesperson told MailOnline: 'It is essential that all women are given appropriate and tailored pain relief options in labour and after the birth, with the NHS’s three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services asking hospitals to prioritise listening to women including around pain relief.
'To support this a decision support tool for pain management in labour and birth help to support informed decision-making will be available within the next year.'
It comes as a damning report into the 'postcode lottery' of NHS maternity care last week ruled good care is 'the exception rather than the rule'.
A hugely-anticipated parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma, whichheard evidence from more than 1,300 women, found pregnant women are being treated like a 'slab of meat'.
The scathing report detailed how one woman carrying twins who went into premature labourat 19 weeks was told by a consultant to 'stop stressing' after she lost her first baby.
Another, dismissed as an 'anxious mother', later lost her baby from complications she warned about.
At the time, health Secretary Victoria Atkins labelled testimonies heard in the report 'harrowing' and vowed to improve maternity care for 'women throughout pregnancy, birth and the critical months that follow'.
NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard also said the experiences outlined in the report 'are simply not good enough'.
Last year,NHS watchdog NICE was also accused of offering 'pseudoscientific' cheap sterile water injections as painkillers for women suffering agonizing back pain in childbirth.
The health service's drugs and treatment watchdog gave the controversial treatment option — which sees water injected into the lower back — its seal of approval in new guidance.
But the watchdog's decision was heavily criticised by some high-profile doctors and campaigners on social media.
Some branded the treatment as pseudoscience as medics don't fully understand how it works, while others were worried women's pain in childbirth was again being ignored by medics.
While some NHS trusts already offer these sterile water injections during childbirth, NICE's guidance is expected to make them more widespread.
Pain relief options during childbirth has long been a controversial area.
Multiple women have also reported their requests for strong pain relief during childbirth being ignored or dismissed by NHS medics and midwives.
