Lochia

[bebedreamr]

Hi all! I am 8 days pp and had suffered a retained placenta resulting in a postpartum hemhorrage following the birth of my son. I had Surgery to remove the placenta and clean out my uterus, so the first week my bleeding was minimal. The last few days I had hardly and lochia, I have literally been in bed with baby, but I keep having episodes of gushes of blood with some clots. My MW says its normal, but I'm terrified of hemhorraging again or having a uterine infection. I feel very out of control when it comes to my body right now! And I literally have been in bed doing nothing for 8 days. I'm about to lose my mind.
Has your lochia come and gone like this? Are there any other PPH sufferers out there who have overcome this fear?

 

[ParisJeTadore]

First off, I'm sorry you had a hemorrhage Lochia seems to range wildly depending on who you are. Personally, I have gone from minimal bleeding to some ridiculous gushes at 1 week pp, 4 weeks pp and 6 weeks pp with both of my babies. No one could explain why, and I'm still not sure this is normal but in the end I was ok and eventually it did stop (8 weeks for first baby, 13.5 weeks for my second). I've heard there is a "hormone dump" at 7-8 days pp so this may be what your experiencing.

Since you had a hemorrhage due to retained product I would keep a close eye on it. If the bleeding is picking up or you are filling more than one pad per hour I would suggest asking if you could get an ultrasound done (for peace of mind) to make sure they didn't leave any leftover product.

I know it's the worst feeling when you feel like you have no control over your body-I really hated that. Hope your bleeding stops soon

 

[tulip1975]

The gushes may be coming from you being in bed and horizontal for long stretches.

 

[wishfulone]

I think because you already had surgery, that by now all of the 'extra' stuff should be out of there. It will probably take a while to heal - and I agree, that the gushes are more likely to occur when you get up from sitting/lying down for a longer period of time. The point of concern is completely soaking through/ filling up a peri-pad every hour. Be extra cautious to not over-exert yourself. Sometimes I know I feel guilty just for getting up to make lunch - but certain activities are not avoidable. TAKE CARE