Post birth bleeding. How bad is it?

mrsweeber · December 2012

I've heard a range of it was like having your period for 6 weeks-I thought that I had been gutted and was slowly dying. I know that everyone's experience will be different, but just wondering what your personal experience was. (and just how many pads I should be stocking up on!)

emriley84 · December 2012

Mine wasn't bad at all. The first day was pretty heavy, but after that it was like a light period. I think after a week or so I just wore pantyliners until maybe about 3 weeks.

fivefeetsmall · December 2012

mrsweeber:
I've heard a range of it was like having your period for 6 weeksI thought that I had been gutted and was slowly dying. I know that everyone's experience will be different, but just wondering what your personal experience was. and just how many pads I should be stocking up on!

I wanna know this too! Some people have me terrified with their horror stories, while others are like eh its no big deal. I feel so unprepared in this regard and in so many others.

lightgetsin · December 2012

Mine was very heavy for the first week, like changing a pad every hour or two heavy and then turned to a period amount for 3-4 weeks.

SarahRae85 · December 2012

My experience: I bled pretty heavily for the first 2-3 days. The hospital provided thick maxi pads and told you to double up on them. I soaked through them and had gushes every time I stood up. The nurses also massaged my stomach and you could feel it gush then, too. Sounds gross, but you're wearing hospital gowns and mesh panties and it works well.

They also give you a little squeeze bottle of water to use to wash yourself off with during bathroom trips so you don't have to wipe (plus, the warm water feels really good, lol).

I don't remember exactly how long it lasted. It was 4 years ago, but the worst was over by the end of the first week and it was nothing more than a light period with occasional heavy moments for the week or two after it, and then just a few weeks of spotting, if that.

jmayamama · December 2012

My sister bled for less than 2 weeks....me, like 6 or 8. Ugh.

lkm2006 · December 2012

Not bad.

I know I wore pads, which I hated, for a week or two. After that is was very light and I could get away with a panty liner.

I had stopped bleeding completely by my check up at 5 weeks.

FWIW, they told my sister that over doing anything would cause the bleeding to get worse. At least right at the beginning so make sure you take it easy!

mcooper014 · December 2012

SarahRae85:

My experience: I bled pretty heavily for the first 2-3 days. The hospital provided thick maxi pads and told you to double up on them. I soaked through them and had gushes every time I stood up. The nurses also massaged my stomach and you could feel it gush then, too. Sounds gross, but you're wearing hospital gowns and mesh panties and it works well.

They also give you a little squeeze bottle of water to use to wash yourself off with during bathroom trips so you don't have to wipe (plus, the warm water feels really good, lol).

I don't remember exactly how long it lasted. It was 4 years ago, but the worst was over by the end of the first week and it was nothing more than a light period with occasional heavy moments for the week or two after it, and then just a few weeks of spotting, if that.

OMG!!!! I had no idea this happened!!

Juelsr · December 2012

This felt like a bad parting gift... First couple of days were rough, with slightly smaller than golf ball size clots... I must have skipped over that section of the books I had read. Big pads for a about a week, then panti-liners for a few weeks after that. Definitely stock up on the big pads that you would normally never wear, and then taper down on size and supply.

mrsweeber · December 2012

Thanks for all of the response and advice. I feel like the more knowledge I am armed with (at least on something like this), the less likely I am to completely freak out as it's happening. Should give me plenty of brainspace to freak out about other things

ebp913 · December 2012

emriley84:
Mine wasn't bad at all. The first day was pretty heavy, but after that it was like a light period. I think after a week or so I just wore pantyliners until maybe about 3 weeks.

I think I stopped wearing liners around 2 or 3 weeks. It was so not bad at all. I wouldn't stock up too much. You can always go or send someone out to the store for you.

stilts1 · December 2012

I would buy a package of the largest, thickest pads you can find at the store (think overnight pads) and then also ask the hospital for a TON of the ginormous pads they make you use while there. When you see them for the first time you'll think it's a joke, but seriously, those giant pads are awesome. I only bled for about 3 weeks total, but I saved my unused pads/mesh panties for this LO. Also, take a couple cans of the numbing spray and wash bottles home from the hospital. You're going to get chared for them anyway. Might as well take them with you!

earthspirit · December 2012

I love this site! I may not have ever nown about this before giving birth...this is something that I want to be prepared for! Thanks ladies!

cellomusic11 · December 2012

It starts as being like a very heavy period and the tapers off.

cottingham3 · December 2012

I have had two csections and my experience was not bad. As others have said the first 2 to 3 days are the worst. I had heavy bleeding while in the hospital with gushes when standing, when the nurses would push my tummy, and with urine cramps during nursing. I was told nursing made your uterus cramp and return to normal helping to move the post birth bleeding along quicker.

Once I was home I wore normal pads for a few days and then just liners for spotting. All in all it was probably only for about two weeks after delivery. Someone mentioned the squirt bottles for washing down there. They are mainly for those who deliver vaginally so that you won't have to wipe. But they work great for csections too so you don't have to bend and you feel much cleaner than wiping alone.

mrsweeber · December 2012

earthspirit:

I love this site! I may not have ever nown about this before giving birth...this is something that I want to be prepared for! Thanks ladies!

I completely agree! It's nice to ask close friends, but it's even nicer to have a wider circle of experience!

shibby00 · December 2012

It was heavy in the hospital with gushes when I stood up, then heavy period for a couple weeks, then annoying light spotting for the last 2 wks. It was gone by my check up at 5 wks. FWIW I labored and pushed, then had a cs.

SarahRae85 · December 2012

mrsweeber:
earthspirit:

I love this site! I may not have ever nown about this before giving birth...this is something that I want to be prepared for! Thanks ladies!

I completely agree! It's nice to ask close friends, but it's even nicer to have a wider circle of experience!

Totally agree. I wasn't prepared for how MUCH came when it did. You can read about lochia and all that, but articles (and my mom, my main source for experience at the time) gloss over the gritty parts. It's not pretty, at all, and probably one of the grossest things I've had to experience. But the worst really was over by the time I left the hospital 2 days later and within a week it was nothing to worry about.

doremi29 · December 2012

emriley84:
Mine wasn't bad at all. The first day was pretty heavy, but after that it was like a light period. I think after a week or so I just wore pantyliners until maybe about 3 weeks.

This but my light bleeding only lasted 1-1.5 weeks. Very mild, imo. I was lucky, though.

ann_jeremiah · December 2012

I bled a lot for a long time - 8 weeks-ish??

LJM0521 · December 2012

I bled pretty badly for about 4 weeks with DS1, who left me with a 4th degree tear. Then had light bleeding for another 2 weeks. I bled a lot for maybe a week with DS2, and it was completely gone by 4 weeks.

alohachrissy2 · December 2012

emriley84:
Mine wasn't bad at all. The first day was pretty heavy, but after that it was like a light period. I think after a week or so I just wore pantyliners until maybe about 3 weeks.

This ^ not bad at all and I tore bad so I thought it was going to be horrible..

MSW_721 · December 2012

My bleeding wasn't bad at all. I stocked up on those huge overnight pads and ended up not even opening the package. The bleeding was heavy the first few days but I just used the hospital pads. After that I wore the regular thin ones for a few days then I got by with pantyliners. I did have to wear a pantyliner because of spotting for probably 6 weeks afterwards though. I never had any big clots, thank god, because that sounds awful!

KYmama9286 · December 2012

Not bad but it definitely varies from woman to woman. I don't remember as much about the post-partum stuff with DS b/c we had a lot of other stuff going on with his medical condition but DD is still pretty fresh in my mind. I left the hospital at exactly 24 hours and I would say that after the first 36-48 hours I was able to switch to a heavy style maxi pad (as compared to the boat-like pads they give you in the hospital). Once I was home I just used overnight style long pads for the first week and after that it was regular pads for maybe another week and then panty liners for a few weeks after (but that was more just b/c I didn't want to stain my underwear with the very tiny amount of blood that was left).

One thing I will caution about is the post-partum contractions. I forgot after DS that this happens- when you go to nurse or pump your uterus continues to contract to help clamp things down and shrink it back to size. To be quite honest some of the pp contractions I had with DD were as painful as the real deal and I had to breathe through them. I feel like this little tidbit is rarely passed on to FTM's and it really stinks to think you are done with the painful part of labor only to be surprised by some strong contractions while nursing. It's completely normal though and with DS they weren't too bad (which is why I forgot about it until I was post-partum w/ DD). With DD though they were pretty rough and I was still contracting for a good couple days/week after having her- I've heard with each subsequent pregnancy these get stronger and stronger so I am *not* looking forward to that part of delivery. I am not worried at all about labor (I go unmedicated and I'm kind of excited to do it again-such a rush!) and my recoveries are smooth but those contractions just SUCK lol

chicky1231 · December 2012

the bleeding wasn't bad...the smell was HORRIBLE! The girls in my mom group from my first DD like to describe the smell is bad wet dog smell :P

cgator14 · December 2012

tmsgrl:
Mine was very heavy for the first week, like changing a pad every hour or two heavy and then turned to a period amount for 3-4 weeks.

this!

A&AinMN · December 2012

Mine was pretty heavy for about the first week (I normally have heavy periods though), and then it finally stopped after 7-8 weeks. It would stop for a few days, then would go on a light walk or be up on my feet a lot, then it would start up againa for a few days. I'm really hoping its lighter this time, because I'd love to start up my workouts earlier this time!

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