How long does it take to get your period after giving birth?

It is well known that women will have lochia for a month after giving birth. If they choose to breastfeed, they usually will not have menstruation. Most women will not have menstruation until the breastfeeding period is over. Of course, this is not absolute. Some women will have normal menstruation again one month after giving birth.

It should be said that there is no definite answer to how long it will take for menstruation to come after giving birth, but for women, as long as menstruation is restored healthily, it will be fine. So what are the factors that affect the time of menstruation after giving birth?

The resumption of menstruation after childbirth is a natural physiological phenomenon. How long does it take for menstruation to come after giving birth? This is a common question. The time of recovery may be early or late. Some women may have menstruation as early as one month after the baby is one year old, while others may not recover until the baby is one year old.

From a medical point of view, based on the tissue morphology of the endometrium, the ovaries may be able to ovulate as early as 33-42 days after delivery. In addition, the presence of a corpus luteum after ovulation can also be observed 6 weeks after delivery. Therefore, if the mother does not breastfeed, menstruation usually comes within 6 to 8 weeks after delivery. Research data show that 40% of non-breastfeeding mothers resume ovulation 6 weeks after delivery; by 8-12 weeks after delivery, only about 35% of mothers have not resumed ovulation and menstruation. About 25% of breastfeeding mothers will resume ovulation and menstruation 12 weeks after delivery, and most breastfeeding mothers usually take until 18 weeks to fully resume ovulation function. However, it is sometimes difficult to clinically determine the exact time of the first menstrual period after delivery, and a small number of women will begin to have intermittent bleeding of small to moderate amounts immediately after delivery.

Breastfeeding mother's menstruation

For new mothers who breastfeed their babies, ovulation and menstruation will resume later, and some may not have their period until a year later. For most people, their first menstrual period is heavier than usual, but their second period becomes normal, so no treatment is needed.

When menstruation comes, the amount of milk a breastfeeding mother produces generally decreases, and the quality of the protein and fat in the breast milk also changes slightly, with the protein content being higher and the fat content being lower. This milk sometimes causes indigestion symptoms in babies, but this is a temporary phenomenon and will return to normal after the menstrual period. Therefore, mothers do not need to stop breastfeeding whether during or after menstruation.

【Tips】

Postpartum lochia is not menstruation

Normally, after giving birth, a woman will have a menstrual-like bloody discharge from her birth canal. This bleeding from the placenta, mixed with the decidua, tissue fragments, and mucus remaining in the uterus, is called lochia.

Under normal circumstances, in the first 4 to 5 days, the lochia is abundant and red in color; one week after delivery, the amount of lochia gradually decreases and turns brown; after the 10th day, the color becomes lighter, slowly turning from yellow to white, and there is no special smell. Lochia usually disappears 4-6 weeks after delivery. But sometimes a small amount of brown lochia will continue until the first menstrual period after delivery.

Lochia generally does not exceed the amount of menstruation. If the bleeding lasts for more than two weeks, exceeds the menstrual volume or contains blood clots, or the vaginal discharge appears as rotten meat-like tissue or has a foul odor, you should seek medical attention immediately.

Many women think that as long as their menstruation has not come, there is no need to use contraception. In fact, this is not the case. Whether or not you have your menstruation or are breastfeeding, you can still get pregnant. So for your own health, or to allow your body to recover better, if you have sex before your menstruation, you must use contraception.