The time for cleaning postpartum lochia is relatively short, generally only two to three weeks, mainly occurring during the postpartum period. Since postpartum lochia may have some similarities with menstruation, women sometimes cannot tell them apart. What are the differences between postpartum lochia and menstruation?

Firstly, postpartum lochia is the excretory material that begins to be eliminated on the first day after giving birth, with a fishy smell but not臭, bright red in color and very similar to a normal period, but the amount will be more, and some postpartum lochia may also contain blood clots. By the sixth day after giving birth, the composition of postpartum lochia will begin to change, the blood strips will decrease, and it will become mucous. The white lochia discharged one week after giving birth, and the duration of postpartum lochia is about three weeks.

In addition, postpartum menstruation is generally not early, and for breastfeeding women, it may take 6-8 months before the first menstrual period. For women who do not breastfeed, the first menstrual period will be earlier, possibly within 40 days, at which time the amount of blood will be larger, but the amount and duration of menstrual blood are generally separate from postpartum lochia, and it is very simple for women to distinguish, not complicated.

What are the main symptoms of postpartum lochia?

1. Residual Tissue

This may be due to a large gestational age, uterine malformation, fibroids, or inadequate technical skills of the surgeon during surgery, leading to incomplete removal of pregnancy tissue and partial tissue residue in the uterine cavity. At this time, in addition to unclean lochia, there is also intermittent bleeding, with blood clots, and accompanied by abdominal pain.

2. Uterine Infection

Infections in the uterine cavity may be caused by reasons such as sitting in a bath after giving birth or abortion, using unclean sanitary napkins, or having sexual intercourse too soon after giving birth or abortion, or due to inadequate sterilization by the surgeon during the operation.

3. Uterine Atony

This may be due to not being able to rest well after giving birth, or having a weak constitution and frequent illnesses, or the surgery time being too long for childbirth or cesarean section, leading to uterine atony and continuous lochia after delivery.

Because the symptoms vary, so does the treatment, suggesting that one should immediately go to the hospital to have a doctor search for the causes of unclean lochia and conduct treatment for the causes.