How to distinguish menstruation after childbirth?

Mothers who have just given birth often have lochia in their vagina. It is worth mentioning that the lochia that appears in each woman may be different. Sometimes there will be some red stuff, but this is definitely not menstruation, but some residue in the uterus. Normally, menstruation will not occur within a short period of time after delivery. Menstruation will only occur after the body has recovered better. The following will teach you the correct way to distinguish menstruation.

How to distinguish menstruation after childbirth?

Generally speaking, mothers who are not breastfeeding will resume ovulation and menstruation about 6-10 weeks after delivery. Some will even resume ovulation and menstruation earlier, with their first menstruation 4-5 weeks after delivery. Just like Dongdong's mother, they often mistakenly think that lochia is never fully discharged and keeps coming back. Mothers who exclusively breastfeed usually start menstruating around 4-6 months after giving birth, or even later. Some mothers may not resume menstruation until around a year after giving birth. However, some mothers may experience menstruation 2-3 months after giving birth even if they are breastfeeding. Therefore, the popular belief that "you won't have your period if you breastfeed" is strictly speaking incorrect.

The difference between menstruation and lochia:

Many mothers will ask their doctors when they return for a checkup 6 weeks after delivery, wondering whether they are having lochia or menstruation? Doctors say that the so-called lochia is a secretion composed of a mixture of blood, necrotic toad tissue, mucus, white blood cells and birth canal bacteria remaining in the uterus after delivery, which will gradually be discharged through the vagina. Generally speaking, the color of normal lochia will change from dark red at the beginning to light red later, and then to light yellow and white. The properties of the discharged contents will also change from viscous at the beginning to gradually reducing later. It is usually discharged in about 3 weeks after delivery, but there are also a few weak mothers who may take up to 6 weeks to discharge. If the lochia gradually becomes lighter and the amount of blood decreases, and then suddenly a large amount of bright red blood is discharged, it should be the menstruation.

However, mothers should be reminded that sometimes postpartum vaginal bleeding suddenly turns red after lightening in color and is heavy in amount, which may also be a symptom of late postpartum hemorrhage. The main causes include retained placenta and fetal membranes, poor uterine involution, intrauterine infection, and poor healing of the uterine incision after cesarean section. Patients often suffer from severe anemia and hemorrhagic shock due to excessive blood loss, which may even be life-threatening. Therefore, when abnormal bleeding occurs after delivery, for the sake of caution, the mother should return for a check-up immediately, because it is not easy to judge whether it is menstruation or late postpartum hemorrhage from the bleeding or color.

How long does it take for menstruation to resume after childbirth? Depending on the different physical conditions of new mothers, the time when menstruation resumes after delivery is also different. Some mothers resume menstruation earlier, which requires mothers to distinguish between lochia and menstruation.