Lochia: Is Postpartum Bleeding Normal?

Many female friends may have heard that after giving birth, women need to excrete lochia during confinement. For the two methods of caesarean section and normal delivery, after the normal delivery, there will be lochia discharge. Will there be lochia discharge after the caesarean section?

Under normal circumstances, lochia has a bloody smell, and the amount does not exceed the amount of menstruation. The color is transparent and shiny, not dark or dirty, and it will be clean in 15-20 days. Because everyone's physical condition is different, according to different circumstances, the time for each woman to continue to excrete lochia after childbirth may not be the same.

But in most cases, it takes about 3 weeks to drain the lochia after a woman gives birth. If the lochia still exists more than 2 months after delivery, it may be that the lochia is not clean. The common causes of unclean lochia include some infections of the uterine cavity, some remnants of tissues such as placenta and decidua in the uterine cavity, and the uterus has not recovered completely.

Prolongation of the duration of lochia is one of the common symptoms of pregnant women after childbirth. If you encounter this condition after childbirth, you need to pay special attention, because it will not only affect the mother’s body to a certain extent, but also cause hysterectomy in severe cases. Let's take a look at what are the precautions for Prolongation of the duration of lochia.

Keep indoor air circulation, but keep warm and avoid cold. If you have blood fever, the clothes should not be too warm. When lochia reduces the body's tendency to recover, it can encourage the parturient to get up properly. Pay attention to vaginal hygiene, wash the vulva with warm water or 1:5000 potassium permanganate solution every day. Choose soft sanitized toilet paper and change menstrual pads and underwear frequently to reduce the chance of germs invading.

There are three types of lochia: red lochia, serous lochia and alba lochia. The duration of the three types of lochia is about 7 days.

The first type: red lochia

The red lochia will last for about a week. There are more lochia in the first week after delivery, bright red in color, and contains a lot of blood, small blood clots and necrotic decidual tissue, which is called red lochia. Bloody lochia lasts for three to four days, the amount of uterine bleeding gradually decreases, the serous fluid increases, and it turns into serous lochia.

The second type: serous lochia

Serous lochia appears after the red lochia, and the time range is about one to two weeks postpartum. During this period, the blood in lochia is reduced and replaced by necrotic decidua, cervical mucus, vaginal secretions and bacteria. This change makes the lochia into a light red serous, and the lochia at this time is called serous lochia. Serous lochia lasts for about ten days, the serous fluid gradually decreases, the white blood cells increase, and it turns into lochia and becomes alba lochia.

The third type: alba lochia

Alba lochia is a metabolite with a large number of white blood cells as the main content. Time range: Within two to four weeks postpartum, the blood will disappear under normal circumstances, but the lochia contains a large number of white blood cells, degenerated decidua, epidermal cells and bacteria, which makes the lochia thick and white, so it is called alba lochia. alba lochia lasts for three weeks clean.

For friends who have a C-section, the amount of lochia will be relatively small, but the time of lochia will be slightly longer. It is normal for pregnant women who have delivered by caesarean section to have a longer lochia. This is mainly due to the fact that the placenta will be taken out intact during the caesarean section, which reduces the residual tissue. However, because the uterine orifice is not fully opened after the cesarean section is performed, the way to eliminate lochia will be sparse and last longer. In addition, anemia can cause lochia to last longer and the body recovers more slowly. Some expectant mothers may develop anemia during pregnancy, and if it persists after delivery, lochia may last for a long time, and the body will recover slowly. Therefore, expectant mothers should pay attention to iron supplementation during pregnancy to prevent anemia.