How to tell if lochia is smelly

After giving birth, women need to clean up the remaining lochia. It usually takes three weeks to discharge the lochia. Some mothers find that the lochia is very smelly when they discharge the lochia after giving birth. In fact, this situation is abnormal. Mothers who have just given birth should learn to identify the odor of lochia. So how to judge whether the postpartum lochia is smelly if you choose natural childbirth?

How to judge whether postpartum lochia is smelly:

There are two reasons why postpartum lochia may have an odor if you choose to give birth naturally. One is caused by infection. It may be due to the unclean washbasin or sanitary napkin used after giving birth, or the daily necessities are not replaced in time, which may cause intrauterine infection, leading to intrauterine inflammation. The postpartum lochia will immediately produce an odor. Another reason is that there are residual embryos or fetal membranes in the uterus. If the residual embryos or fetal membranes in the uterus are not discharged normally after normal delivery, they will rot and emit a foul smell over time, and the lochia discharged after delivery will also emit a foul smell.

If the lochia of a postpartum woman has a strong odor, it is necessary to pay attention to it, because the lochia of a postpartum woman normally has a fishy smell, but it is not odorless. If it has a peculiar smell, there is definitely a problem. Therefore, if the mother's lochia has an odor, she should go to the hospital immediately to find out the actual cause of the odor and then use medication to treat it.

Three types of postpartum lochia:

1. Stubborn postpartum lochia

It is bright red in color and is famous for containing a lot of blood. The amount is large, sometimes with small blood clots, a small amount of fetal membrane and necrotic deciduous tissue. Stubborn postpartum lochia lasts about 3 to 4 days and slowly turns into serous lochia. Stubborn postpartum lochia lasts too long, indicating poor uterine repair.

2. Serous lochia

The color is light red, so it is famous for its paste-dominated structure. Because the uterine wall is gradually repaired, bleeding is significantly reduced, and the lochia after delivery changes from bright red to dark red. It contains a small amount of blood, but a large amount of necrotic exfoliated tissue, cervical mucus, vaginal discharge, and pathogens. Serous lochia can last for 7 to 10 days, and then slowly turn into white lochia.

3. White lochia

It is viscous and known for its white color. Contains a lot of white blood cell counts, necrotic desquamated tissue, epidermal cells and bacteria, etc., and lasts for 3 weeks.

What is lochia?

During pregnancy, the embryo adheres to the inner cavity of the uterus. After the baby is born, the embryo is also delivered. However, the wound caused by the embryo's separation from the uterus will take some time to heal completely. Therefore, some blood will be discharged from the wound immediately during the confinement period.

In addition to blood, there is also necrotic and fallen decidual tissue (especially the decidua at the embryonic attachment site), which contains blood, necrotic decidua, mucus, and bacteria. This kind of vaginal discharge produces postpartum lochia.

Postpartum lochia is a normal physiological phenomenon. As the uterus shrinks, the color of lochia gradually becomes lighter and the amount gradually decreases. The amount of postpartum lochia and how long it lasts are key indicators for evaluating the quality of uterine repair.