Types of Lochia | Bleeding After Delivery

The primary cause of lochia is the discharge of material left after the delivery, together with blood and mucus. You may also notice further bleeding due to the cuts or tears that might occur while delivering the baby.

In some cases, when you are breastfeeding, you may feel or experience period-like cramps which are quite normal. These cramps are associated with the uterus to get back to its previous size following the delivery.

So if you feel pain, remember that the uterus needs to shrink to get back to the pre-birth size, and this can often be accompanied by discomfort and pain.

All mothers will experience bleeding after delivery, no matter if you had your baby through vaginal delivery or a Caesarean section.

Right after the delivery of the baby, you may experience heavy discharges and you might need to stock up on maternity pads in order to absorb the blood.

You should definitely stay away from using tampons since they can increase the chances of getting an infection.

As the weeks pass, bleeding after delivery gets weaker while becoming more brown in color. In general, bleeding after birth takes about four to six weeks.

What are the different stages of lochia?

Lochia generally contains dead tissue, blood, bacteria, mucus, and uterine wall lining. Don’t be alarmed if you see blood clots in the beginning – this is a normal process. The odor of blood is musty and it feels like period-like bleeding.

Lochia rubra – the beginning

Following the delivery, you will encounter Lochia rubra which is the first stage of bleeding. The bleeding starts about two days after you deliver your baby with the color of blood being bright red.

It generally contains blood, parts of membrane tissue, cervical discharge which might have remained in your womb after birth.

Lochia serosa

The second stage of bleeding is called Lochi serosa and this time the color of blood gets pinky brown. The process may take up to 10 days following the delivery and by the time the consistency of blood gets more watery.

Lochia alba – the final stage

The last stage of the condition is called Lochia alba. During the last stage of bleeding, you will experience lighter bleeding with a yellowish-white color. The duration of this period is between the 3rd week and 6th week following the delivery. You may notice that lochia alba is associated with fewer blood cells and generally contains tissue cells, mucus, fat and as well as white blood cells.

Note that you may experience heavier blood flow after the breastfeeding since baby suckling makes the uterus contract further. You should avoid doing any heavy work or moving a lot because it can also increase the bleeding.

How much lochia is normal after 24 hrs?

After 24 hours:

It is quite normal for new moms to experience fresh red or browny-red bleeding after 24 hours. During this time there may be heavy bleeding and you might need to change a maternity pad every few hours.

As with any bleeding, you will see some clots form. Some will be quite large, generally, the more time has passed the larger the clots will get. 

While this might sound ok, it might become quite alarming if you’re a first-time mother. Seeing large volumes of blood might be unnerving, and if you need, feel free to contact your doctor or midwife, or you doula. They’ve seen it all and you will not be the first or the last new mom to get alarmed by the sight of lochia.

After a week:

Following a week after the delivery, the blood color gets a pinky brown and also the mark on the maternity pads now gets smaller and lighter. In general, after one week, you should not be bleeding heavily, while you may still pass little blood clots which is quite normal in this stage.

After a month:

This time any remnants still coming from your uterus should be a pale, yellowish-white color, as you may also find that there is no bleeding at all.
Following three months after delivery, uterus usually gets back to its normal size and you should not feel almost any cramps or contractions.

How long does lochia last?

Lochia lasts up to 6 weeks following the delivery. After that period of time, some mothers may still find a small amount of brown, pink discharge. This may happen every day or just on a random occasion. All you need to know is that this is the last stage of lochia discourage and you will, normally, not be experiencing any bleeding anymore.

When do you need to contact your doctor during lochia?

If you experience passing large blood clots after the 24 hours of delivery, you should talk to your midwife or doctor informing about the situation immediately.

Normally blood flow should gradually decrease after day one. However, if you see that it increases rather than reduces, or any sudden increase even a week later, call your doctor immediately.

Is the smell of lochia strange? In general, during the vaginal periods, the blood has a metallic odor. However, the smell does not have to be offensive either.

Any strange or bad smell can be caused by an infection in your womb. In addition, if there is something left in your uterus while giving birth, this can also indicate itself by a strange smell in blood.

Therefore, if you experience this situation even after taking a bath or shower, please consult your midwife since it can signify a possible infection. According to the NHS, if you are worried about a blood loss as a new mom, you should keep sanitary towels that have been heavily stained so that your doctor can examine.

Urinary infection or even constipation may cause pelvic pain. Since the symptoms might indicate a UTI, you need to keep yourself hydrated and contact your GP as soon as you can.

Infection can also lead to pelvic pain, which is a serious issue. Some symptoms indicating that you may have an infection in your womb are generally feeling unwell and shivers.

In this case, you also need to immediately contact your GP which may prescribe you certain antibiotics to treat the bacteria that have infected the womb.

How to treat lochia infection?

During the next ten days after giving birth, new moms may experience lochia infections. It is generally caused by bacterial infections of the female reproductive tract following the delivery.

When this happens, vulnerable moms may experience a fever that is usually higher than 38 degrees Celcius. As a result, you may feel chills, have a pain in your lower abdomen and have and off-smelling blood.

It is very important to consult your doctor right away, and in general, the treatment procedure is carried out by administering antibiotics. The condition gets better in 2 or 3 days following the treatment.