POSTPARTUM BLEEDING AND MATERNITY PAD

POSTPARTUM BLEEDING:

Bleeding after a you give birth to a baby is said to be lochia. The blood flow will be heavy,  will be as bright red and sometimes it may also have blood clots. In some cases, the blood clot may be comparatively larger than the 50piece coin and it can be an indication of a serious problem known as PPH(postpartum haemorrhage).

Lochia discharge may be lessened in 6 to 12 hours since you were in resting condition after she have given birth to the child. But if you have not taken rest during the first 6 to 12 hours after giving birth you may notice a heavy flow of blood because the blood that stays inside the body will start flowing when u change your body position from a static resting phase. Sometimes blood may forms into small clots if you were lying down for while without any movements.

If you have given birth to the first baby and if you have any tampons past it may result in heavy flow and it is also not advisable to use tampons for 7 to 10 days post-delivery because it may have a serious risk of infection and you can use tampons as usual once you get the postpartum periods which generally happen 6 weeks after delivery.

In the hospital, they use a small disposable sheet over the bed to avoid the bed to stained. And If u were given birth at home then you need disposal sheets a towel above or below it to prevent stains in the bed or You can get waterproof bedcovers.

You may also likely to have a few leaks of blood in the first few days. You need to use a Maternity pad which will make to feel dry for a long time and it has antibacterial properties which heal. Remember one thing every time during every pad change wash your hands with handwash liquid and make sure to check your hands were clean to protect against infection.

Have a bath with warm water at least once a day and don’t use soaps and shower gels for 7 to 14 days post-delivery wounds need time to heal there. If u were not able to bathe daily you should at least wash the area with a cup of warm water before every pad change. warm water usage will disinfect and promote natural healing.

After 6 to 7 days the blood discharge will turn from bright red to pink colour and it will also be watery. After 14 to 21 days the blood discharge will turn in brown.

You may also notice at the end of the first week after giving birth blood discharge may again become heavier for 1 or 2 days. This happens because you may lose tissues that will again be formed where the placenta was fond of and don’t worry about it

If you breastfeed your baby the blood discharge may be seen as heavier. Whenever you feed a baby you will start to produce a hormone called oxytocin. Oxytocin helps in tightening the womb so it forces the lochia inside to leak so you may experience heavier blood release. In some cases after 7 to 10 you may be able to switch from a maternity pad to a sanitary pad. And about 30 to 35 days you can Switch from sanitary pads to panty liners.

How many Maternity pad will be needed once you give birth to a baby?

->You need at least  4 to 5 packs of maternity pads which consists of 8 pieces.

->Because you will need to change fresh maternity pad every 2 or 3 hours post-delivery. It will reduce 4 to 5 hours interval in next 2 to 3 days.

->kindly plan to buy maternity pads rather than prefer buying and using sanitary pads.

->maternity pads are longer, softer, free from chemical processing etc…

Maternity pads v/s Sanitary pads: