lochia - should i be concerned about this?

[theslumbertaker]

i gave birth to dd2 just over three weeks ago and i am still losing a fair amount of blood, which is often still bright red. on the day she was born i also passed a uge blood clot, around the size of a kidney (sorry!). i don'trecall any of this happening firt time around. does this sound like something to beworried about?

thanks in advance

Have you been doing a lot? Did the flow less and then start up again or has it always been the same? If it's started up again then that can be a sign that you are doing to much and you need to take things easier. If you're at all worried (and you sound a bit) you should have a word with midwife who can have a quick look for you.

Don't worry about the clot, that was 3 weeks ago.

Blood loss would normally have gone pinker by now, is it still bright red all the time or just sometimes? Is the general pattern of the loss is that it is reducing, or staying about the same?

Does it smell bad. You will know if it does as will anyone else who lives in your house! How often are you changing your pad?

Do you feel unwell? Flu like symptoms?

the flow has lessened abit over time but is still fairly heavy and has stayed the same colour mostly. i have been doing a fair bit tbh, but can't really not - i have 3yo dd1 and dh works long hours so i am on my own with them a lot and also have the house to run too. i do try to rest where possible, but not easy. problem is, i have been discharged from midwifery now, and can only see hv at child clinic. i guess i should speak to gp. just wondered if anybody had had similar experience.

stripey - no smell, and changing pad less frequently now than i was, say around 4 times per day. bright red most of the time though. not feeling unwell at all - in fact, i have felt great since the birth, which has probably encouraged me to be a lot more acive than i was last time...

I think you should definitely see the gp or hv asap just to be on the safe side, seems like a long time to still be bleeding so much and so red for.

Try and rest as much as you can as your body really does need it. Leave anything that isn't necessary such as housework until you're feeling better. Give yourself a chance to heal inside. It could be that or you could have an infection so it's worth getting checked out but I'd definitely recommend resting as much as you can.

Mine started to get heavier and redder at one point when I was doing too much and rest was the only thing that helped.

thanks jodie, i think you are right, more rest and a trip to the gp seems to be in order.

I was similar after dc2 I ended up back in hospital with my dc2 after collapsing and surprise surprise everyone managed. I also did a lot of damage that at 10months still not completely healed meaning I still need a bit of help. If I had of been more careful I would have been better by 6weeks.

Leave the cleaning if necessary, get quick easy meals but trust me do less or you could get a lot worse and make things a lot harder for yourself.

sorry to hijack thread, my lo will be 5 weeks on monday and my bleeding had more or less finished just odd bits of pinky coloured but then about a week ago it has started up again bright red and has been like that all week, it doesn't smell horrid but i have had some tummy pains which i have assumed were afterpains. I'm breast feeding so didn't think you got periods but i suppose it could be periods restarting

I bled for 4 weeks and it was bright red most of the time.

That would be unusual if it was your period, are you exclusively breastfeeding? It is possible but unlikely. Are you feeling ill at all? Have you been doing too much? Might be worth seeing your gp as well.

I am giving one bottle of formula during the evening but that is because LO is soo demanding at that time of day it gets too much for me as i'm too tired. I feel fine, although my mum had been helping me loads with stuff and she's been on holiday this week so maybe i've been doing too much without realising. Have HV on tuesday so will mention it to her then.

I'd have thought that with just the one bottle in the evening your periods wouldn't have returned yet. Try taking it easier and see if it slows but it's good that you'll be seeing hv on Tuesday.

thanks for your replies all. thedollshouse - good to hear that this may not be be completely unusual. hopefully it will settle down soon enough on its own, but i think i will see the gp anyway. i don't want to end up in hospital like you did slushy. i am having a very relaxing weekend so far, and insisting i get lots of rest whilst delegating all the work to dh!

I think it does come and go. Ds3 (dc4) is 4 weeks old, and it's really variable with me - if he has a particularly 'guzzly' feed, or if I overdo it then it starts up again. I also had some clots at about 2 weeks, mw said was inevitable as I had a HUGE placenta, so the site to heal is a bigger site, and also the more children you have apparently the more it can start and stop. I also had a few occasions where it SUDDENLY gushed.

Am going to check with GP at 6 week check, but I think it's ok, as long as you're feeling ok.

I bled for over 10 weeks on both DCs, all was fine, no issues. i am in awe of someone who is worried about still bleeding after 2 weeks! (as some posts here are about).