The things no one tells you no.16:
Bleeding after birth.


Mumofsix` featured blog about things no one tells you.

`I thought I would, every now and then,
add a little bit of info that
took me by surprise with my first baby.`

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It goes without saying that blood is involved when giving birth and that you bleed a bit after birth. The thing I was not aware of when I had my first baby was that straight after birth you can bleed quite heavily and it was hard to know if this was a normal amount to lose or if I was haemorrhaging. It seemed to gush out at times especially when I moved, much more than having your period. No one was concerned at the amount I was losing so I guessed It was all normal and it was, each baby has been the same since.
Pads are essential and they need to be really good thick absorbing pads and an incontinence pad on the bed was essential also.
Clots can also form and I had times when the bleeding had slowed and then a large clot would pass and the blood flow would start again. If you are continually passing large clots followed by great gushing of blood then you do need to get it checked out or if you are soaking through pads in minutes of putting a new one on.
Lastly on this topic, you can bleed for up to six weeks post baby. During those six weeks the bleeding will gradually ease off and change colour from red to pink to a brown and may even stop for a few days and then start again. It pays to keep wearing pads for a while after your bleeding stops just in case it does start to flow again.

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10 Comments on Bleeding after birth.


Britani1986 - Wednesday, 8 Jul
With my first daughter I had the depo birth control shot in the hospital right after I had her, I bled none stop for a year straight. Everytime I went to get my next shot, I kept telling them that it had not stopped yet and they told me my body is just getting used to the shot. finally exactly a year after my daughter was born i switched to the patch and the bleeding stopped that day. I learned my lesson on getting the depo at the hospital. I heard later that you are supposed to wait till your first check up. It'd been nice if the doctor told me that. lol

dssmonoka - Thursday, 7 May
To think that we're so happy for missing 9months of period but then 6weeks of non-stop bleeding pretty much make it up!


babykake - Sunday, 12 Apr
the bleading has me worried this time round as i no what to expect i wasnt told about the clots or come to that the smell is unbeliveable (tmi) it scared me so much after having my baby that i didnt want to go through it again and here i am baby number 2 and terrified of my post-partum body already and im only 6 wks pregnant

mamabear7406 - Tuesday, 17 Mar
Bleeding is a huge concern for me. I remember seeing the blood after having my son, and I seriously thought I was going to die. The nurses just shrugged it off and said it was 'normal' I bled through two pairs of pyjamas in a few short hours, and I couldn't pass urine for 12 hours after giving birth even though I was desperate. They said that after I emptied my bladder the bleeding would probably ease off but it didn't. I kept trying but just couldn't pee, they tried inserting a catheter but it hurt so much I told them to leave me alone and let me keep trying on my own to go. It was torture. I continued to bleed for 6 weeks after the birth, and have had heavier periods since then. I'm worried about bleeding after this second birth too.

krystasappleseed - Monday, 26 Jan
wow the bleeding. i told anyone that would listen that i thought that god was playing a joke on us. it's like hey okay no periods for like 10 months and then after your baby its like hey okay you get to bleed for like a month and a half! wha tthe heck. i didnt realize you would or could pass clots the size of a baseball. disgusting! I took every pad they would give me at the hospital and those so comfy toss away underwear too lol

youngmamiof3 - Friday, 12 Sep
I think the bleeding and mess it made was the worst part of my whole expierence with my daughter and im not at all looking forward to it this time around, I think I might try the depends idea though cuz those pads just don't cut it :/

reneaj - Tuesday, 2 Sep
I remember right after having my daughter i was in the recovery room. The nurse told me to get up and go pee. when i got up it was like i could feel my insides fall back into place or something and a huge pool of blood gushed out. I saw it and immediately passed out. Thank god for depends! THEY WORK SO WELL AND ARE MORE COMFY THAN THOSE PADS THEY GIVE YOU

aadams - Monday, 25 Aug
My bleeding was severely abnormal with my first, and because it was my first I had no idea... nobody said anything so I thought it was normal. SO when I had my second and I was gushing, I thought nothing about it... turns out it was highly abnormal amounts and I had to have a transfusion and was put on medication to stop the bleeding.... I am just sooo lucky that nothing tragic happened with my first as I was at home alone, experiencing the same type of bleeding that I assumed was normal. I'm a bit nervous to see how the third round goes. At least I now know what is normal and abnormal....

mississippi - Tuesday, 15 Jul
I didn't know what was going on..there was so much blood after I finally made it to the restroom.The nurses that escorted me there didn't seem to notice it and just kept pulling up my huge pad and underwear...noone told me about that.

jwinters05 - Thursday, 10 Jul
The bleeding is definately something I wish someone had told me about. I had a spinal and my legs were numb for hours after giving birth. I didn't get out of the bed for almost 7hrs. The nurse then sent me to the bathroom and when I got there, everything that had pooled up inside me broke loose and left this huge puddle of blood on the bathroom floor. I thought I was dying and yelled for the nurse who then told me it was perfectly normal.