Lochia after childbirth: what is it?

Lochia after birth is normal. How long should they last? Why do they appear? What should alert? The answers to these questions will be found in this article.

What is the lochia after childbirth?

From the wound surface of the uterus during healing, lochia are allocated. They consist of mucus, blood and fetal remains.

How many lochia lasts after childbirth?

The first 3-4 days of excretion consist mainly of blood. Then, when the hemostasis is completely established, they acquire a paler color and become brownish. Approximately at the end of the first week of excretion, the bacteria and residues of the decidual material are mainly contained and become serous. The color of the discharge changes to yellowish. Approximately by the 10th day, after the birth, the plague should become completely white, without bloody impurities.

Sometimes in the first or second week the volume of secretions increases. This is due to the fact that during this period the scab formed at the place of attachment of the placenta is rejected. The amount of secretions gradually decreases. From the third week they become slimy and lean. During this period, in most women, the endometrium has fully recovered. Approximately to the fifth-sixth week, excretions stop.

Lochia after childbirth: duration and normative indices

Specific, as if puff smell - an indication that lochia formed and output normally. If the first weeks of excretion have ceased, this should alert you. Such a symptom may be a sign that the uterus has a sharp bend or her neck is clogged with a blood clot.

Accumulation of lochia can lead to constant aching or cramping pain in the lower abdomen. In some cases, the body temperature may rise slightly, the patient may feel chills.

If the plagiosis after delivery is too abundant or after 4 days of allocation is too bright or prolonged, this should alert you. Also, the cause for treatment of a gynecologist should be a cloudy, purulent, foamy or abundant mucous lochia. This can signal that after the birth in the womb there were fragments of a child's place, or about the presence of inflammation or infection.

Under no circumstances can such symptoms be ignored. It is important to seek medical help as soon as possible. Otherwise, complications may arise, including. Severe loss of blood, development of anemia and other severe conditions.

If you are breastfeeding, lochia can be more abundant. This is normal. This phenomenon is associated with the fact that during the feeding the uterus is reduced reflex due to irritation of the nipples. As a rule, in lactating women, excretions stop faster. To lochia separated normally, it is important to timely empty the intestine and bladder.

Approximately on the twentieth day after birth, epithelization of the uterine surface occurs, except for the placental site. Mucous is restored by the end of the sixth week. The placental area is covered with epithelium to the eighth.