Bleeding after childbirth: how many days go, types, norm

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Almost every girl experiences pregnancy. The birth of a baby is a difficult natural process, which is often accompanied by various complications. Therefore, women often ask themselves the question: how long does blood discharge go after childbirth? To understand when to see a doctor, you need to know which lochia are considered normal and which are not.

Lochia

This is blood discharge after childbirth, which is evidence of the proper course of cleansing the body. They are considered a he althy process after the birth of a child, which tells the new mother that the discharge from the uterus, consisting of blood, mucus and dead tissue, is coming out. This restoration of the body is experienced by all newly-made mothers. This is required to clean the birth canal after the child has passed through it. The color and number of allocated lochia may vary depending on the characteristics of the woman's body, but there are basic criteria forwhich you can determine the norm and pathology, and you should also know how many days after childbirth blood discharge can go.

Normal highlights

After the artificial and natural process of the birth of a child, normal discharges are those that at first are copious and contain blood clots and mucus.

Why is there bleeding after childbirth? This is due to the fact that at first, after the resolution of pregnancy, the vessels located on the walls of the uterus are in a ruptured state, which leads to profuse bleeding. The organ of the female reproductive system, with the help of intense contractions, is cleared of dead cells and particles of the placenta, clots are taken from here.

Beware

During the period when a young mother has lochia, she should be under the supervision of a doctor. This will save her from complications. It is worth paying attention to the fact that a small amount of blood discharge after childbirth, and even more so their absence, indicates that the woman's body is not recovering properly and one cannot do without medication. When such therapy does not bring the desired result, it is necessary to clean the uterus. That is why it is especially important to know how many days after childbirth there are bleeding.

Women's uterine recovery periods

The natural process of normalization of work in the body of a young mother:

1. Immediately after giving birth, the girl has bleeding that lasts seven days, theyare abundant.
2. A week later, clots and mucus are added to the secret of the woman.
3. By the twentieth day, the amount of blood shed becomes much smaller and becomes lighter.
4. After 4 weeks, the bleeding becomes scarce and has a "daub" appearance, as in the last days of menstruation.

How long does bleeding last after childbirth?

After natural delivery, the duration of lochia should not exceed nine weeks. After caesarean, longer bleeding is allowed. It is worth remembering that it all depends on individual characteristics, so do not panic if there is a lot of bleeding after childbirth for a long time. It is better to consult a doctor and consult about all concerns.

Breastfeeding triggers the release of the hormone oxytocin, which triggers uterine contractions, causing lochia to last less than thirty days.

Description of lochia

By the nature of the discharge and its shade, one can judge the correct course of the restoration of the uterus, as well as how much blood discharge will go after childbirth. They should have the following shade:

• bright red discharge that smells like meat is considered normal in the first days after birth;
• light pink or brown color indicates that red blood cells are being replaced by white blood cells - such a secret on the fifth day after birth is considered completely normal, it is accompanied by a musty smell;
• light lochia (yellow or white)appear on the thirtieth day, they have no smell and are soon replaced by mucus, after which they stop.

Usually, postpartum discharge is accompanied by a pulling cramping pain in the lower abdomen.

Don't start having sex before the lochia is completely gone, as this can cause complications.

Reasons to see a doctor

The recovery process after childbirth does not always go well. Reasons to see a specialist:

• lack of discharge (usually indicative of a spasm of the cervix due to large particles of the placenta that blocked the cervix);
• duration of abundant scarlet discharge, the appearance of temperature, chills and high pulse (these signs may indicate endometritis - an inflammatory process of the uterine mucosa);
• brown discharge on the third day after childbirth, terrible headaches, sleep disturbance, heart palpitations, fever (if, in addition to these signs, the gynecologist notices an increase in the uterus in size, this indicates complications of endometritis);
• disappearance of secretions and an increase in temperature to thirty-nine degrees in a generally satisfactory condition (all these are symptoms of metroendometritis);
• discharge accompanied by an unpleasant odor (a sure sign of infection).

Only a specialist can correctly determine the condition, so it is so important to see a doctor for the first few months after the birth of a child.

Color of highlights,which should alert

We have already talked about how many days after childbirth blood discharge is normal. In case of complications, a preliminary diagnosis can be determined by the color of the lochia. The following shades indicate violations:

• yellow, which appeared before the sixth week, which is accompanied by an unpleasant odor, itching or burning, indicates an infectious process has begun (in this position, it is advisable to consult a doctor as soon as possible and start treatment, otherwise irreparable damage to the reproductive system may be caused);
• green, they often appear two weeks after the baby is born, they can be a symptom of a bacterial infection in the vagina (endometritis can begin if you do not start taking medication on time);
• rich brown can show the presence of pathology in the body, as this indicates coagulated blood, such discharge is especially dangerous in the first days after childbirth (the causes may be uterine fibroids, endometriosis, hormonal imbalance);
• white color often becomes a symptom of thrush, which should still be accompanied by itching and irritation in the perineum (usually after childbirth, thrush appears due to a decrease in immunity);
• pink lochia in the second week after childbirth may be due to erosion or trauma of the penis (after artificial delivery, such discharge indicates a possible divergence of the seams);
• black or too dark lochia only speaks of hormonal changes in the body and does not require urgent medical attention.

If bloodthe discharge is a strange color or it is short-term, long-term, has an unpleasant smell, you should see a doctor as soon as possible to avoid complications.

Bleeding

During the first hours after the birth of the baby, too abundant lochia indicates the onset of bleeding. It is usually caused by weak contractions of the uterus, which cannot begin the recovery phase after childbirth.

Usually, in such cases, doctors prescribe a dropper with the hormone oxytocin, which helps start contractions, to a young mother. They are dripped simultaneously with the unpleasant procedure of emptying the girl's bladder by inserting a catheter.

Cervical rupture could also be the cause of bleeding. This happens when the doctor misses it or places the wrong stitch on it, which is easily damaged.

It should be borne in mind that bleeding is very dangerous not only for he alth, but also for the life of a young mother, so measures must be taken immediately!

Factors affecting the appearance of unnatural lochia

How many days after childbirth does bleeding occur? Their duration depends on the causes, which in most cases lead to consequences in the form of complications:

malnutrition, unhe althy fatty foods with little protein in the diet (after the birth of a baby, it is very important to stick to a diet);

• abuse of bad habits during pregnancy (this includes cigarettes and alcohol);
• anemia;
• excessiveweight;
• immunodeficiency;
• polyhydramnios during pregnancy;
• wearing a long time coil to "interesting" position;
• abortion;
• pre-pregnancy surgery;
• respiratory diseases.

Prevention

How many days after childbirth there are blood discharges also depends on the individual characteristics of the young mother. Despite the fact that lochia is rather unpleasant, they are very important, because it is thanks to them that the body is cleansed after the difficult process of the birth of a baby, and is also restored. The further fate of the woman's reproductive system depends on how smoothly this period passes.

Rules

When bleeding ends after childbirth, the question is ambiguous, but to prevent complications, you must adhere to the following rules:

1. You should go to the toilet often, at the slightest urge, especially on the first day after childbirth. An empty bladder plays a huge role in preventing the development of complications, since it does not interfere with the normal contraction of the uterus. It is advisable to visit the ladies' room at least once every three hours.
2. Need to choose natural feeding for the baby. Since in the process, the hormone oxytocin is released into the blood, which affects the woman’s brain, due to which the uterus contracts much faster, the remnants of the placenta come out more actively and the lochia ends faster.
3. Requires more tummy time. This helps preventstagnation of blood with the remnants of the placenta inside the uterus, since after childbirth the main reproductive organ moves to the posterior abdominal wall, and this arrangement prevents the secretion from escaping.
4. Apply ice to the abdominal cavity four times a day for the first two weeks to help contract muscles and normalize blood vessels. But it is important to ensure that the compress is not on the stomach for more than five minutes, otherwise hypothermia may occur.
5. How long does bleeding after childbirth last for a woman who has twins or a large baby? Doctors give a young mother intravenous drips of the hormone oxytocin, which will help return a distended uterus to normal in thirty days.
6. You need to be especially careful about the hygiene of the genitals all the time while there is blood discharge after childbirth. This will help prevent infection from entering the body. After each visit to the ladies' room, you should wash yourself using special products for intimate hygiene, which contain a minimum amount of dyes and fragrances.
7. In no case should you take a hot bath until you run out of lochia. Heat is known to facilitate the spread of bacteria. Also, inflammation of the genital organs can begin in the water.
8. Experts advise changing sanitary napkins after baby is born as often as possible! The first three weeks you can not save on them and it is worth updating them every two hours. A pad filled with secretions is a favorable environment for the spread of pathogenic bacteria. It's important to knowabout a complete ban on the use of tampons in the postpartum period, because they can provoke endometriosis in a young mother.
9. You need to dress warmly, because hypothermia, especially in winter, can cause serious complications.
10. Doctors forbid women who have given birth to lift weights, this can break the stitches and cause bleeding. Usually experts tell girls not to lift things that weigh more than five books.

Strict adherence to the rules will affect how long a woman's postpartum bleeding lasts.