Washington Babies

Let's Talk Blood...How Much?

So two of my very good friend's recently gave birth in the last week and after visiting them in the hospital it makes you think about all kinds of stuff.  In particular, one of my girlfriends who just had her second baby was going on and on about the pp bleeding and how she almost passed out when she saw it this time around during her first "pee" at the hospital.  I am usually not all that squeamish about that stuff, but um yeah, okay not so comforting thanks much.

I know it varies from woman to woman, but seriously...how much blood should be expected?  I'd love to hear from the mamas who've already been through this.

Re: Let's Talk Blood...How Much?

  • Well since I had a c-section, they cleaned me out pretty good, so I didn't have the heavy bleeding that I've heard women who deliver vaginally do. I had to use the ginormous hospital pads for heavy bleeding for a week and a half tops and then got away with regular pads and panty liners for two to three weeks after that.
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  • So, youre opening yourself up to hear a lot of TMI you knowStick out tongue  But I'm an open book when it comes to having a baby so if you want to know, Ill tell you.   For the first pp pee they put a large tuperware type container (think like a juice container) in the toilet so they can judge how much blood you are passing and I filled that thing up! and it was all dark red blood, with clots, way way more than I would have expected.  I continued bleeding heavily for the next 6 weeks then light bleeding for about 3 weeks after that.. I seriously thought itwas never going to end!   That first PP Pee was the worst though... I had to ask if it was normal, I thought I was bleeding out or something =/
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  • Lynchie - I WELCOME TMI in this regard. I want to be fully prepared. And what you just wrote scares me!!  LOL But it's good to know these things so I don't cuss in the bathroom. And I NEVER cuss..lol
  • I bled a lot.  I did not take it easy when I got home.  I did housework right away and continued until I was bleeding so heavily that I called the nurses line and they said that I would continue to bleed like that if I wouldn't take it easy.  I was filling up pads, I would say, every couple hours, maybe even every hour.  I'm talking huge pads, too.  I don't really remember specifics, but just keep in mind that if you rest afterwards, you will really help yourself out in this department.

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  • imagenykola:
    Lynchie - I WELCOME TMI in this regard. I want to be fully prepared.

    Word.  You always see and hear about the birth, but the post-birth stuff seems to be swept under the rug. 

    Someone on one of the national boards mentioned that they bought a bunch of actual baby diapers (size 1, I think) and put them in the freezer right before she left for the hospital.  They were frozen solid by the time she came home, and she used them as her heavy bleeding pads.  She said that the cold felt really good on her swollen and torn up lady bits. 

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  • imagecinema_goddess:

    imagenykola:
    Lynchie - I WELCOME TMI in this regard. I want to be fully prepared.

    Word.  You always see and hear about the birth, but the post-birth stuff seems to be swept under the rug. 

    Someone on one of the national boards mentioned that they bought a bunch of actual baby diapers (size 1, I think) and put them in the freezer right before she left for the hospital.  They were frozen solid by the time she came home, and she used them as her heavy bleeding pads.  She said that the cold felt really good on her swollen and torn up lady bits. 

    Hmm.. it seems like sitting on something frozen solid would have really hurt.  Sitting on the couch hurt!     I do recommend getting some of those frozen gel packs to hold on your business though.  and a blow up doughnut to sit on, I know people sit on their boppys but I couldnt figure out how that worked plus the boppy on top of the couch was too high for me to just sit down on.

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  • It will sound odd but I don't really remember the after delivery clean up. It was fast and from what my DR said I had a lot of blood but I really don't remember that part. I did have a cathater(sp) in so for 1/2 a day or so after delivery the pee went there. Gross I know. But I didn't seen any blood in that.  When I had that taken out I did use those giant maxi pads from the hospital and the ones I had at home. I bled for a long time and the first week or 2 it seemed like I changed the pad 2 or 3 times a day. I bled off and on for 6 weeks. I do remember that waering the pads sucks but it was not that bad. Well for me anyway.

    And at my 6 week PP appt with my OB she asked if I had a blood transfusion after delivery since I she didn't do my delivery. I said no why. And OB said in my chart it mentioned a lot of blood loss during delivery. But again I really don't remember seeing any of it.

    I guess that's the no drug delivery for me. I was just thankful for it to be over and had a tiny but healthy baby. 


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  • Reading this thread is making me cross my legs.  But please..carry on!  This is good info.
  • imagenykola:
    Reading this thread is making me cross my legs.  But please..carry on!  This is good info.

    I have a gross little story if you really want me to carry on??

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  • image~Lynchie~:

    imagenykola:
    Reading this thread is making me cross my legs.  But please..carry on!  This is good info.

    I have a gross little story if you really want me to carry on??

    *sigh* Yes, please!

  • lol!   I find this story more funny/gross than scary actually.   But right after the baby came out Dh was so excited that he went to grab the camera and accidentally dropped my leg (he was holding it while I pushed) the dr yelled at him so he quickly picked it back up but when he lifted it back up blood squirted all over him!   The look on his face was priceless, pure shock and terror lol!
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  • I felt like I bleed for freaking EVER. I was still spotting at my 6 week check. The first 1.5 weeks was like a faucet. I was really sore and couldn't really sit down without a pillow or sitting on one cheek for awhile. My V was all puffy and swollen. Oh the things we go through to have a baby.....sigh.
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  • image~Lynchie~:
    lol!   I find this story more funny/gross than scary actually.   But right after the baby came out Dh was so excited that he went to grab the camera and accidentally dropped my leg (he was holding it while I pushed) the dr yelled at him so he quickly picked it back up but when he lifted it back up blood squirted all over him!   The look on his face was priceless, pure shock and terror lol!

    Right...so I'm thinking my husband will NOT be holding my leg then..lol.  The man I married would not do well being squirted by blood from my bajingo.  He can handle many things, but assuredly NOT that..lol

    Wowzers. You have a good man! :-)

    One of my besties was ready and raring to go at 6 weeks pp, but her husband made them wait an extra few weeks to do the deed because he was so traumatized by the "poop pellets" he saw shoot out of her butt when she was pushing.  He couldn't "get in the moment."  Hysterical.

  • My DH fainted and missed the gorey part and didn't have to or get to see any of the pushing. He was wheeled in the room in a wheel chair right as DS was pulled out and they rushed DS over to the little table and scale. So I guess that is good that he didn't have to see that part. And no blood got him. I had to hold my own legs which sucked.

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  • ah the joys of a c-section.   :)

    They came and squished loads of blood out of me the night after my section.  I remember feeling TONS of disgustingness gushing out of me.   But once I went home on day 4 or 5, I barely spotted much at all... And I could sit just fine.  No swollen va-jay-jay, no traumatic pooping on the table.   

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  • I would equate it to a period that lasts a month instead of a week, passes clots, and is about 2-3 times as heavy. Just like with a period, though, it's obviously very heavy in the beginning (in this case after giving birth) and then slowly starts to taper until it stops. Don't stress too much! It really isn't that big a deal... I think knowing what to expect makes it easier to deal w/when the time comes, b/c then you know everything is normal (as opposed to a woman who knows nothing and just thinks everything will return to 100% normal as soon as the baby's out! Some women don't even know what afterbirth is, so... yeeah, they're gonna be freaked.) Just expect to bleed! :p
  • I always joke that you don't get a period for 10 months, but you make up for it after having the baby.  Nykola, I am glad you are asking these questions....because this was one of those things no one was really honest with me about and I was shocked that I bled for a little over 6-weeks after having my son.  It was like it was the secret no one wanted me to know about...now I tell everyone who wants to know!
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  • it was alot in the beginning and I suppose this is already a TMI post, so here goes....

    WHen I got home, I put an old towel around the base of the toliet in the bathroom I was going to use exclusively... it was very messy at first.  Just the act of pulling off your undies caused some spillage onto the floor.  yeah, WAAAY to much TMI 

    Luckily it only lasts a short time, and things "dry up" pretty quickly.  Not 100%, but back to normal I guess.

    DH remembers the floor at the hospital when they got up up to use the bathroom for the 1st time about an hour or 2 after she was born.  yeah, huge blood trail from the bed to the bathroom.  2 nurses came in and wrapped the bedding up around me and both hold it while you waddle there.  He says he wishes he had never seen that part!  lol  Then they change the bedding while you get  cleaned up.

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  • image~Lynchie~:
    lol!   I find this story more funny/gross than scary actually.   But right after the baby came out Dh was so excited that he went to grab the camera and accidentally dropped my leg (he was holding it while I pushed) the dr yelled at him so he quickly picked it back up but when he lifted it back up blood squirted all over him!   The look on his face was priceless, pure shock and terror lol!

    hahahahaha! That's hilarious!!! My DH would have LOST IT! :-) I think this story may have just made my day a little bit better!

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  • Nykola, I am so thankful for you asking this question because I was wondering the same thing. I think the TMI is great and I feel more prepared. I just hope no blood goes on DH. He will literally pass out and die. He couldn't handle looking down with his 3 other kids were born. He did once and he passed out and got all white. Poor guy.
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    imageIkesHawaiian06:
    Well since I had a c-section, they cleaned me out pretty good, so I didn't have the heavy bleeding that I've heard women who deliver vaginally do. I had to use the ginormous hospital pads for heavy bleeding for a week and a half tops and then got away with regular pads and panty liners for two to three weeks after that.

    Exactly the same!

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  • Everyone is different....But with my second I was close to needing a transfusion.  :-(  Passed out, scarily low blood pressure, nurses rushing in, etc.  Scary stuff.  But all is well now!
  • imageasianbymarriage:
    I would equate it to a period that lasts a month instead of a week, passes clots, and is about 2-3 times as heavy.  ... Just expect to bleed! :p

    Ok - I understand the heavy flow part (and the sore girly parts), but does it have the severe abdominal and back cramps that accompany periods? (I'm normally curled up on the couch or in bed with a heat pack for a couple days and lots of drugs.)  Or is that just all wrapped up in the generally discomfort of having a baby?

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  • imageAnnetteWalker:
    My DH fainted and missed the gorey part and didn't have to or get to see any of the pushing. He was wheeled in the room in a wheel chair right as DS was pulled out and they rushed DS over to the little table and scale. So I guess that is good that he didn't have to see that part. And no blood got him. I had to hold my own legs which sucked.

    So husbands really do faint in the delivery room, eh?!  I thought that only happened on tv! j/k  I'm curious...if he fanted BEFORE the gory stuff, then what did he see that made him woozy?  Or was it just the overall hospital room experience that set him off?

  • this is fun now that I went back to read the rest of the posts!  lol

    I think Annette's DH fainted when they tried to give her the epi...since it didn't work.  Poor Annette!  I wouldn't even let DH leave to use the bathroom while in labor!

    It does hurt to sit for weeks, and my best piece of advice, is even if you feel better, keep taking the midol they give you!  I stopped after a few days since I felt pretty good.  Oh lordy good gos, I swear it felt like the stiches were being pulled out with every move I made.  KEEP taking the midol!

    The bleeding is also why I highly recommend getting a package or 2 of cheapy granny Hanes undies for when you get home.  I was having to change them each time I went to the bathroom with the spillage I was talking about in an earlier post.  You don't want to get your good undies stained.  FYI!

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  • imagenykola:

    One of my besties was ready and raring to go at 6 weeks pp, but her husband made them wait an extra few weeks to do the deed because he was so traumatized by the "poop pellets" he saw shoot out of her butt when she was pushing.  He couldn't "get in the moment."  Hysterical.

    My DH walked out in the middle of pushing because of this. He had a look on his face I'd never seen before and almost passed out in the hallway. He just wasn't prepared.

    My advice...swipe all the BIG ole' hospital pads. So not sexy but necessary! 

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  • One of the things they also look for in the little pee/blood catcher is the size of your clots.

    When I went to the bathroom for my second time, I emptied the little catcher thing when I was done and I got in trouble. They want to see it first. The nurses have a tough job.

    They give you baby diapers with an ice pack on the inside after delivery and it is a god send. If you were to duplicate that at home, they tear the top of the diaper and then put lose ice inside. You don't really sit in the hospital, you are more reclining.

    They also come in and check the healing progress while you are there. You pretty give up on modesty, you really freaking don't care. That is until your baby is a couple of months old, and you actually have time to reflect. Then you realize that people were looking at your business all the time.

    The crampy feeling that you get when you have your period is different with the pp period. It definitely is more contraction like pp.

    Here is my pp tmi...

    I was upstairs going to the bathroom and realized there was no tp. Oops. I tried to get the fam's attention, but they were downstairs, tv on, etc. I would've done the quick run of shame to the closet to get more tp but... I had a clot hanging down into the toilet that wouldn't dislodge itself. I shimmied, I shook, I bounced. No luck. I ended up sitting on the toilet for like 20 minutes stomping on the bathroom floor and yelling for someone to please bring me tp!

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  • imagepinktulips:
    I had a clot hanging down into the toilet that wouldn't dislodge itself. I shimmied, I shook, I bounced. No luck. I ended up sitting on the toilet for like 20 minutes stomping on the bathroom floor and yelling for someone to please bring me tp!

    OMG. ONLY on this board could I read such a thing! ?But seriously, thanks for sharing :-)?

  • imagetheresab:

    imageasianbymarriage:
    I would equate it to a period that lasts a month instead of a week, passes clots, and is about 2-3 times as heavy.? ... Just expect to bleed! :p

    Ok - I understand the heavy flow part (and the sore girly parts), but does it have the severe abdominal and back cramps that accompany periods? (I'm normally curled up on the couch or in bed with?a heat pack for a couple days and lots of drugs.)? Or is that just all wrapped up in the generally discomfort of having a baby?

    No, not in my experience anyway. I'm just talking about the bleeding. You don't have any other period symptoms! Lol. But you will be understandably sore down there for a while!

    Do you guys have pg books? Mine did a really good job of covering all this in detail...?

  • imageasianbymarriage:
    imagetheresab:

    imageasianbymarriage:
    I would equate it to a period that lasts a month instead of a week, passes clots, and is about 2-3 times as heavy.? ... Just expect to bleed! :p

    Ok - I understand the heavy flow part (and the sore girly parts), but does it have the severe abdominal and back cramps that accompany periods? (I'm normally curled up on the couch or in bed with?a heat pack for a couple days and lots of drugs.)? Or is that just all wrapped up in the generally discomfort of having a baby?

    Do you guys have pg books? Mine did a really good job of covering all this in detail...?

    Um...wow. Yeah, of *course* we have pregnancy books. ?I think you can read all the books in the world, but nothing beats hearing about being stuck on the toilet with no tp w/ blood clots hanging from your bajingo. That's the stuff the books don't talk about. ;-)
  • imagenykola:
    imageasianbymarriage:
    imagetheresab:

    imageasianbymarriage:
    I would equate it to a period that lasts a month instead of a week, passes clots, and is about 2-3 times as heavy.  ... Just expect to bleed! :p

    Ok - I understand the heavy flow part (and the sore girly parts), but does it have the severe abdominal and back cramps that accompany periods? (I'm normally curled up on the couch or in bed with a heat pack for a couple days and lots of drugs.)  Or is that just all wrapped up in the generally discomfort of having a baby?

    Do you guys have pg books? Mine did a really good job of covering all this in detail... 

    Um...wow. Yeah, of *course* we have pregnancy books.  I think you can read all the books in the world, but nothing beats hearing about being stuck on the toilet with no tp w/ blood clots hanging from your bajingo. That's the stuff the books don't talk about. ;-)

    Lol, true that... but they do mention "post-partum bleeding" and "clots", etc. You definitely can't get more up close and personal than all the TMI on the bump! :) And that's great, but there are a lot of Qs asked on here where I wonder whether the poster has done *any* research at all. I'm not talking about your Q, nykola, I'm just sayin...

  • Yeah I gotcha. ?In my case I know all about locchia from the clinical perspective in the books. But I wanted the inside scoop. ?The bloody details, if I you will. heh.
  • imagecinema_goddess:

    imagenykola:
    Lynchie - I WELCOME TMI in this regard. I want to be fully prepared.

    Word.  You always see and hear about the birth, but the post-birth stuff seems to be swept under the rug. 

    Someone on one of the national boards mentioned that they bought a bunch of actual baby diapers (size 1, I think) and put them in the freezer right before she left for the hospital.  They were frozen solid by the time she came home, and she used them as her heavy bleeding pads.  She said that the cold felt really good on her swollen and torn up lady bits. 

    They did this as Swedish for me.  Actually, they cut the diaper open and put crushed ice in it.  Sooo nice.  And the diaper catches the ice as it melts.

    I didn't know about the PP blood so I made such a mess the first time I stood up after delivery.  The heavy stuff only lasted for about 2 weeks.

  • I wish I'd seen this post before I had my LO! I highly suggest putting DH under strict orders to never reveal to you whether you pooped on the table or not! I was in too much pain and focusing too hard to notice whether it happened or not, so why find out after the fact!  

    In the hospital afterward DH would fill latex gloves with ice from the ice machine, and then I would wrap some tissue around it and put inside the ginormous pads you get. It felt really really good.  You're not sitting in the hospital at that point, just reclining in bed, and the cold feels wonderful. The mesh underwear they give you are hideous, but they are the sh*$! Take as many as you can.  I wore them at home until the heavy bleeding stopped.  

    My pp bleeding lasted almost 12 weeks. It was heavy for 5-6 weeks and then was lighter for the next 6 weeks. I've never clotted well and bleed easily though, so maybe that's why. I second the pp who said to keep taking your ibuprofen even if you don't feel too bad.  It's important to stay on top of the pain.  I quit taking mine pretty quick because I felt ok, but as soon as it wore off...ow.   

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