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

You will not have your period at first after giving birth. The main reason is that you are breastfeeding and your uterus has not fully recovered. It takes about six months of repair time before you can have your period. It may take a year for it to recover. Some women have a faster body repair ability and can ovulate and have their period about 42 days after giving birth. This situation is also possible.

Postpartum menstruation recovery

The resumption of menstruation after childbirth is a natural physiological phenomenon. How long after giving birth will menstruation come? 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 bloody discharge from her birth canal, similar to menstruation. This bleeding from the placenta implantation site, mixed with secretions such as 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.

Common postpartum menstrual abnormalities

Common postpartum menstrual abnormalities include continuous vaginal bleeding and amenorrhea:

First case:

Since the first menstruation after childbirth is usually an anovulatory cycle or is caused by dysfunctional corpus luteum induction, and the ovaries are still not very sensitive to the stimulation of gonadal hormones at this time, various abnormal phenomena are common, such as the continuous dripping of postpartum lochia, occasional irregular and repeated small amounts of bleeding, or bleeding similar to menstruation during the confinement period.