Lochia suddenly increases and is dark red

After giving birth, it is normal for the mother to have lochia discharge from her lower body, and the discharge of lochia is also to make the woman's uterus healthier. Generally speaking, lochia will disappear completely about 20 days after delivery, and in the first few days, the amount of lochia is relatively large and the color is bright red. If the lochia increases abnormally or is dark red in color, the mother needs to pay enough attention to it and go to the hospital for appropriate examinations!

1. What causes sudden increase in lochia after delivery?

In the first few days after delivery, the lochia is abundant and bright red in color, which is called red lochia. After one week, the color of the lochia becomes lighter, which is called serous lochia; about two weeks later, the lochia becomes light yellow, which is called white lochia and lasts for 2-3 weeks. In short, lochia should stop when it is one month after delivery. When the uterus is not in full recovery, or there are residual placenta, fetal membranes or infection in the uterine cavity, the amount of lochia increases, the duration is prolonged, and there is a foul odor.

Generally, the lochia will be completely gone about 20 days after delivery. There are large individual differences, and the amount and duration of lochia after delivery are different. Pay attention to hygiene and continue to observe. Generally, lochia will disappear about twenty days after caesarean section, and the color of lochia will gradually become lighter.

Sometimes it is normal to have a certain amount of lochia. Just pay attention to the cleanliness of the vulva and change sanitary napkins frequently. You can also boil some motherwort to promote better contraction of the uterus, and drink brown sugar water to clear the lochia as soon as possible. This is normal. It will continue during the confinement period. Drinking some motherwort can help expel lochia. Don't worry, just have a good rest.

2. Is it normal for lochia to be dark red?

If the lochia is dark red, you should observe it promptly and go to the hospital for examination if necessary. After the fetus is delivered, the secretions from the mother's vagina contain blood, necrotic decidual tissue and cervical mucus, which is called lochia. 3-4 days after delivery, the lochia is bloody, with large amount, brown-red color, and contains a large amount of blood, small blood clots, and necrotic decidual tissue. After 4-6 days, the lochia will become serous, its color will become lighter, and it will contain less and less blood. After 7-10 days, white lochia will appear, which contains a large number of white blood cells, decidual tissue, epidermal cells and bacteria. The lochia basically stops in about a month. Normal lochia has a bloody smell, not stinky. Gynecologists point out that if there is a bad odor, or there is too much red or white lochia and it lasts too long and recurs repeatedly, then it means that the lochia is abnormal.

3. How to identify abnormal lochia

1. Be alert to increased bleeding in two situations. If the amount of bleeding increases just after delivery, it may be caused by poor uterine contraction, birth canal laceration, placental retention and abnormal coagulation function. This situation is "postpartum hemorrhage" rather than lochia. This often happens in hospitals, and the situation can be averted with timely treatment from medical staff on site.

Another situation is that the amount of bleeding suddenly increases 2-3 weeks after delivery, or even heavy bleeding occurs. This may be due to poor uterine involution at the placental attachment site, residual placental membranes or decidua, or infection of the uterine incision.

2. Be aware of the fluctuations in the amount of lochia. Abnormal lochia is generally dark purple in color, such as uterine prolapse or flesh color, with a foul odor. It may be accompanied by fever, abdominal pain, uterine tenderness, and may last too long and recur repeatedly. The causes of this situation are generally due to cervical erosion, cervical polyps, or even cervical cancer.