Postpartum bleeding
One of the up sides of being pregnant is that you don’t have to worry about your period for a glorious 35-odd weeks. But all good things must come to an end, and once your baby has been born, you will bleed once again.
Every woman’s postpartum bleeding experience will be different. You may bleed heavily for four or five weeks or you may only spot for a week or two. It all depends on how you delivered your baby and on your hormones.
Lochia
Your post-baby bleed, is called lochia. It will generally start, immediately after your baby is born, as a heavy period and then slow down after the first week or two. Use a maternity pad, or if that’s too uncomfortable, a heavy-flow sanitary towel.
Using a tampon in the first few weeks is not advisable, after all, you’ve pushed the equivalent of a watermelon out of your vagina and it probably needs some time to return to normal. Tampons can also cause infections as any cuts or tears, caused by the birth, heal.
Keep a tub of your baby’s ‘bum cream’ handy, for the chafing. Wearing sanitary towels for several weeks is bound to leave your inner bum cheeks red and raw.
The bleeding will be bright red for the first week, then a watery pink before turning a yellow-brown, as the flow slows down. You may also sometimes notice small blood clots.
By the time you’ve had your six week check up, the bleeding should have stopped completely.
