Post c section bleeding

[HappyHolidays22]

Hi all,

does anyone have any similar experience… I am 2.5 weeks post (third) c section. Everything with the op and recovery so far has gone ok. Post partum bleeding even stopped completely around 5 days ago.

i guess I have started to do a little more around the house in the last 24 hours… playing gently with my toddler, wiping the sides, moving some bits of laundry ….

then yesterday evening, I got up on the couch and felt some cramps and twinges mainly in my lower right side. They subsided after a few minutes.

a couple of hours later, I suddenly started bleeding again. A very deep red/brown initially in a gush and then like a medium heavy period of dark red ever through the night. Not soaking pads through, but as I’m asleep, the blood is clearly pooling inside and then when I get up to feed baby, it’s coming out in one go when I go to the toilet.

im worried I’ve overdone it yesterday and done some serious damage that I need to get checked at triage for today?

DH and DSis say the stop start is a normal part of recovery… but I’m panicking. I have some anxiety after I hemorrhaged post delivery with my second.

does anyone have any advice or similar experience at a few weeks post partum?

I am also EBF just for info.
thanks xxx

Hey! 3.5 weeks postpartum after 2nd c section here.

I also stopped bleeding really early on (around day 5/6). Then a week or so later like you, probably did a little bit much too soon and started bleeding again (again, similar to what you've described). Last week due to my concern I booked an appointment with the GP. They examined me and said everything was fine and that yes, stop start bleeding is normal, especially with a section. I was particularly concerned as I had pain with it down one side, but again it was considered to be a normal part of the recovery process and 10 days or so down the line, it's now coming to a stop as I'm just very lightly bleeding and pain has gone (finally!!).

Maybe just book an appointment with your GP for peace of mind 🙂

@inquisitiveinga thank you so much - that really does give me peace of mind! But I will get checked today anyway, like you say. Can I ask - was your bleeding really deep red? I have exactly the same discomfort down one side too xx

Definitely have a word with the postpartum midwife team. But yes, I had this and it was well within normal for me. It was my first c-section so I just thought the bleeding stopped much earlier than my VBs. But no! It was very stop start and lasted just as many weeks in the end.

3 years ago now and all was/is well!

And I had very deep red bleeding. In fact, with all of my births it never followed the colour changes you expect. It just kept changing!

Thank you @Livingmagicallyagain that is really reassuring xx

After my C Section my bleeding was off and on for nearly two months, it would stop for a few days and then come back 🙄 ruined a good few pairs of leggings.
My baby is 6 months and I've had no issues at all

@Newmum2610 was it quite heavy and red when it would restart? Thank you for commenting.

Im such a panicker - I’ve had two other sections and can’t remember what happened with the postpartum bleeding with either. I think with my first, I didn’t think twice about any problems — it’s all come from the experience with my second.

@HappyHolidays22 yeah it would be bright and heavy. Honestly it would be gone for sometimes up to a week and then would suddenly reappear in the middle of the supermarket. Don’t trust that it’s finished until you get your first proper period.

You need to take it easy, you have had major surgery, again, your body needs time to recover. Be kind to yourself, playing with your toddler is obviously fine but if you can avoid lifting laundry baskets etc then avoid it. I had 2 c sections and my midwife was very good at telling me to just rest, it is only for a few more weeks.

Hi @HappyHolidays22 congratulations on your baby :) I am 4 weeks post c section and the same thing happened to me around 2.5 weeks. I had stopped bleeding early on after a few days and suddenly after 2 weeks I was feeding my daughter and felt blood gushing out. It gave me quite a fright not enough blood to fill a pad but still quite a lot! It was also dark red. I rang the hospital and they asked me just to monitor it and to come in if it was filling pads/getting heavier etc. It has eased off a lot now 1.5 weeks laterjust occasional blood when I wipe. I read somewhere that there is a large scab in the uterus where the placenta was attached and this can come away after 2 weeks causing fresh, temporary bleeding so perhaps that is what this is? Either way, I think it sounds very normal but if you are worried contact your GP or hospital for your own peace of mind :)x

Thank you so much for your reassurance everyone. When I stood up this morning (after lying down for about 3 hours) the amount of blood did suddenly fill a pad but I think that’s because it must’ve been pooling for the hours I was lying down. I will keep a close eye on it this morning and call triage if I get concerned. I might do this anyway just for peace of mind if it’s stil heavy later

Kept an eye on things today - the bleeding didn’t get any worse and certainly wasn’t soaking a pad in an hour. I did pass a few small clots tonight and had a panic so called triage - they said it can be normal and so long as the bleeding isn’t excessive, just monitor. so I am still in the same position tonight as last night.

One thing i have noticed today is that as I am breastfeeding I am cramping and bleeding again - I had this in the first few days post partum but this had subsided too, now it’s come back again as well.

hoping this sounds normal in all of your experience too!

Hi @HappyHolidays22 just wondering what the outcome of this was? Currently in the same boat. I’m 11 days post section, had two days of no bleeding at all and today suddenly had some dark red blood and a fair bit of bleeding which has freaked me out

Hi @northernsunshine - hope all is well with your little one? It was just that I was over doing things and this was a ‘normal’ part of recovery for me. I definitely had to slow down what I was doing and things eased up a day or so after I slowed down on each occasion. This happened about three times during the first 6 weeks post section. Try to take it easy and dont overdo it xxxxx

2 x c sections for me and bled on and off with both behind six weeks - especially if I had walked a bit more.

normal for me

@HappyHolidays22 thanks so much for your reply. I’ve been freaking out as this evening have been heavy bleeding and when I go on the toilet I can feel it rush out of me (sorry tmi) .. called triage and they said it sounded normal for now but to monitor. I’m just so anxious so reassuring to hear yours turned out to be normal. Xxx

@northernsunshine - that’s exactly what happened to me too and it’s that gush that feels reallly scary. I also had it on one occasion where it gushed out after I had been sat down breastfeeding. And that was the one that started suddenly after I’d had days of no bleeding at all.

at 11 days post section, it’s still really early days so I would expect some on and off bleeding… and, for me, the gushing was normal. I think so long as it isn’t filling a full pad in one hour, they say it’s ok and just to monitor.

my suggestion would be to have a couple of days of rest if you can where you don’t really do very much. I suspect then the bleeding will really settle down. But do call your midwife if you’re worried - that’s what they are there for :) xxx