post natal bleeding after 3 and a half weeks - advice needed please

[lottie990]

Hi

I am new to Mumsnet today and would really appreciate some advice. Apologies in advance for the detail!

I gave birth 3 and a half weeks ago. Last Saturday (17 days post natal) I had a heavy bleed, accompanied by drop in blood pressure, feeling a bit faint. The bleed was bright red and was a steady trickle but there were no clots. I also had cramps. Called 999 and was taken to A&E. It cleared up quite quickly but I had to spend a night on post-natal ward, which was awful.

I have just had another where I quickly soaked a sanitary towel and then had to sit on the loo for quite a while. I passed a couple of (what I think were) clots about the size of 50p coin and a few smaller ones. Again it was all bright red. This time no cramps.

Has anyone else experienced this? I really do not want to head to hospital again. This time I feel well within myself too. However most things I've read say you should be checked out.

Any similar experiences/advice very much appreciated. Thanks!

Hi Lottie, I bled for a while and like you had huge clots . I was told it was because I was over doing it and that I had to try and rest more . Speak to your GP though or HV. X

Lottie was it a vaginal birth ?

Hi,

Thanks for your replies. Yes it was a vaginal birth. And I am quite active... have been out and about since day 8 and was up and down the stairs with the pram at the train station today. Maybe that's what's done it. It's just I haven't passed any clots before - not even in the first couple of days.

Oo bless you, it does sound like you have overdone it to be honest .
I would give yourself a few days proper rest until your loss slows right down . You need to be really strict with yourself ! Increased bleeding is a sign that you are too active so make the most of lovely snuggles on the sofa and sod everything else .

Let us know how you get on and if you are at all concerned or feeling unwell make a doc app.

Thanks so much. I'll take your advice and get some DVDs on!

I was bleeding for 6 weeks. I told no one, as I thought it was just normal. Then one night I was passed a huge chunk of something solid (think a firm sponge). I was terrrified. I went to the docs the next day, who said it was retained placenta and by the size of it, an entire membrane. She suggested I return to the hospital for an ultrasound to check if any more left. There was, only a little bit though, so no operation required.

I was told any clots bigger than a 50p piece could indicate retained placenta, prob worth getting checked out again.

Hello,

Thanks everyone for your advice. Just thought I would update on my situation in case it can help anyone else in the future.

I had an ultrasound on 17 Jan and it turns out it was retained placenta. Just 2 tiny pieces but they were causing a lot of problems. I literally couldn't leave the house as I kept having massive bleeds, one of which lasted over an hour.

I was give misoprostal (sp?) and sent home. Apparently this should have made my uterus contract and expel anything left... my uterus had other ideas.

Yesterday I had a Manual Vacuum Aspiration (MVA) under local anesthetic. It's quite hard to find much info on these online as I think it's only started to be used commonly in the UK fairly recently.

I was given temazepam and paracetamol prior to the procedure. It wasn't fun, but was not painful. Just uncomfortable and little undignified. But hey, my dignity walked out the door a while ago now...

If anyone else has the same symptoms - fresh red bleeding after a couple of weeks, gushes of bleeding or passing clots bigger than 50p as silverangel mentions, I would urge you to ask for an ultrasound. It took the hospital quite a while to sort me out and in the meantime I've become quite anemic and have been too worried to leave the house in case it happened when I was out.

Thanks again for your advice!

X