Lochia during pregnancy is a combination
of blood, mucus and tissue from a healing uterus.
This post delivery discharge is normal and it lasts
anyway from 2 to 6 weeks. Bleeding varies from woman
to woman. Avoid tampons as you are prone to infection;
use sanitary napkins only (either the thin absorbent
ones or the old style thick pads) However long it
lasts, there are 3 stages to it:
• Bright red copious discharge lasting for 3-4
days
• Gradual slowdown in flow and the color changes
to pinkish-brown
• From day 10 it starts to lighten in color
considerably and becomes yellowish white or colorle
If you breastfeed, oxytocin will cause lochia to taper
off to zilch much faster; this is because uterine
contractions caused by the hormone shrinks the uterus
back to normal size thereby reducing the blood loss
Your doctor needs to be informed:
• If lochia starts to smell foul (it should
have fresh blood like smell), it means you have an
infection and you may be given antibiotics to treat
it
• If flow becomes bright red again, it means
you are over-exerting and need to take it easy
• If the bleeding is very heavy or with clots
or tissue, it means not all of your placenta or membranes
was expelled. You will be given medicines to help
flush them out of your system and occasionally a D&C
to remove the remnants
• If there is no bleeding since delivery.
