Color changes of lochia after childbirth

Every tiny change in the body reflects a message. A few days ago, I heard a mother say that she had a lot of lochia when she was pregnant. She was very annoyed at the time. No matter how she washed, it wouldn't get clean. The color changed from red to white, and the red was accompanied by mucus. At that time, she suspected that the white color was due to a serious gynecological disease. Later, she learned that many mothers had the same experience, so she came to the conclusion: the color will change with the amount of lochia. Is this true?

The reason for the formation of lochia after childbirth is that the placenta peels off from the uterine wall due to uterine contraction, and the blood vessels on the uterine wall will naturally bleed, and then slowly close the blood vessel ends as the uterus recovers. In this process, the mixture of blood, decidual tissue shed from the uterine wall, and mucus is lochia. The discharge of lochia goes through three stages in total, and lochia in different stages has different characteristics.

The first stage is 3-6 days after delivery. Since the lochia contains more blood, it is red and is called bloody lochia.

The second stage is 7-14 days after delivery. During this period, the lochia contains less blood and is mainly composed of necrotic decidual tissue and mucus, so it is pink and is called serous lochia.

The third stage is 2-3 weeks after delivery. The lochia contains a large number of white blood cells, epidermal cells and some decidual tissue. It is white and is called white lochia.

The time required for postpartum lochia to be discharged is generally about 3 weeks. Appropriate use of motherwort preparations can assist uterine contraction, promote uterine recovery, reduce the amount of lochia discharged, and shorten the time of lochia discharge.

It is worth noting for expectant mothers that during the period of lochia discharge, it is very important to ensure the cleanliness of the vulva. This is because the uterine cavity, which has not yet fully recovered, is connected to the outside world through the cervix and vagina, making ascending infection prone to occur.

Therefore, expectant mothers should wash the vulva with warm water every day after delivery, once in the morning and once in the afternoon to ensure that the lochia and dirt in the vulva are cleaned; change sanitary pads frequently, and the sanitary pads should be packaged intact. When changing pads, do not touch the center of the sanitary pad with your hands to prevent contamination; change underwear frequently to ensure that the vulva is clean and dry.

After reading this, do mothers have some understanding of the color changes of lochia? The color changes are related to the ingredients contained in the lochia and have little to do with the amount. During the lochia period, mothers should pay attention to hygiene and take care of their bodies. This period is indeed very annoying and uncomfortable, so you must keep a good mood. Pay attention to your body changes, pay attention to your physical and mental health, be a beautiful mother, and fly on the road of life.