Lost 1 litre of blood, how long until I start feeling normal again?

[mypurple]

I gave birth on Monday 04/07/22 and lost a litre of blood. I had an iron transfusion 2 days ago which I thought helped but I'm home today and feeling so breathless and weak. I suspect it's to do with my low blood volume or iron levels.

Did anyone else lose a litre of blood during delivery and how did your recovery feel like? What were your symptoms and how long until you felt back to normal again?

I lost a litre, no transfusion or iron tablets given to me, had dizziness and nearly fainted a few times. Felt better after about 4-6 weeks.

Congratulations on your baby!
I lost quite a lot of blood during major surgery (not childbirth) and they gave me 2 units of blood and 2 of saline. And iron tablets to take home.
I felt much better after the transfusion, though. And that was nothing like giving birth and having a newborn to look after.
I hope the breathlessness eases soon. Please speak to your GP or health visitor if not, though. x

I read it only takes a few weeks for the body to build up its red blood cells again, so make sure you have plenty of red meat, liver, leafy green veg etc and vitamin C to help it absorb. iron from food is better absorbed than from tablets and don't irritate the stomach. I suspect your tiredness is more to do with the long ordeal of pregnancy, a difficult birth and tiredness form the new baby. Obviously get you Hb checked in a couple of weeks.

Short of breath - you’re anaemic and you need a transfusion! Insist on one. You’ll feel better. I lost a huge amount of blood when I gave birth; they sent me home. Only thanks to the intervention of my amazing community midwife did I get sent back to hospital and transfused. Pissed me off mightily as my first days at home with my new baby I was very weak and very sick. But huge congratulations, get that transfusion and hopefully you’ll feel a lot better.

What is your HB?

I lost 1.1L and my HB was still in a normal range ( I still don't understand it) and was discharged the next day without even a single iron tablet. I would suggest the liquid iron though. Much kinder to the stomach.

I lost nearly a litre, was extremely ropey for maybe 4 months and not quite myself for 12 months. I went in with low everything on the blood counts before anyway though and was massively set back by a rubbish hospital stay immediately after while they waited to see if I needed the transfusion.

What helped me was eating loads of healthy food, carrying a carton of juice at all times for a little boost, and taking my iron. Biggest thing though is resting which might mean taking any help you're offered.