18 days after delivery, lochia is dark red

Lochia refers to the blood, mucus and other substances that flow out of a woman's lower body after a normal birth. It is a relatively normal phenomenon. Generally speaking, bloody lochia will begin to appear three to four days after delivery. Its color is brown-red and it also has a certain bloody smell. Serous lochia will appear four to six days after delivery. Generally, lochia will stop automatically after about a month. If the lochia is abnormal, it means that the mother may have some health problems!

1. Is it normal for lochia to be dark red?

If the lochia is dark red, you should observe it promptly and go to the hospital for examination if necessary. After the fetus is delivered, the secretions from the mother's vagina contain blood, necrotic decidual tissue and cervical mucus, which is called lochia. 3-4 days after delivery, the lochia is bloody, with large amount, brown-red color, and contains a large amount of blood, small blood clots, and necrotic decidual tissue. After 4-6 days, the lochia will become serous, its color will become lighter, and it will contain less and less blood. After 7-10 days, white lochia will appear, which contains a large number of white blood cells, decidual tissue, epidermal cells and bacteria. The lochia basically stops in about a month. Normal lochia has a bloody smell, not stinky. Gynecologists point out that if there is a bad odor, or there is too much red or white lochia and it lasts too long and recurs repeatedly, then it means that the lochia is abnormal.

2. What color is postpartum lochia?

One is bloody lochia. This is the secretion discharged within 1 to 4 days after delivery. It is large in amount, bright red in color, and contains blood, decidual tissue and mucus. It is similar to menstruation, or slightly more than menstruation, and sometimes contains blood clots. The second is serous lochia. This is discharged around the 4th to 6th day after delivery. It is light red in color and contains a small amount of blood, mucus, more vaginal secretions, and bacteria. The third is white lochia. This is the white or yellowish lochia discharged one week after delivery. It contains a large number of white blood cells, decidual cells and bacteria. It looks like leucorrhea, but there is more of it than usual.

3. How to identify abnormal lochia

1. Be alert to increased bleeding in two situations. If the amount of bleeding increases just after delivery, it may be caused by poor uterine contraction, birth canal laceration, placental retention and abnormal coagulation function. This situation is "postpartum hemorrhage" rather than lochia. This often happens in hospitals, and the situation can be averted with timely treatment from medical staff on site.

Another situation is that the amount of bleeding suddenly increases 2-3 weeks after delivery, or even heavy bleeding occurs. This may be due to poor uterine involution at the placental attachment site, residual placental membranes or decidua, or infection of the uterine incision.

2. Be aware of the fluctuations in the amount of lochia. Abnormal lochia is generally dark purple in color, such as uterine prolapse or flesh color, with a foul odor. It may be accompanied by fever, abdominal pain, uterine tenderness, and may last too long and recur repeatedly. The causes of this situation are generally due to cervical erosion, cervical polyps, or even cervical cancer.

If the lochia duration is simply prolonged, exceeding the normal time, and the amount is small, without an increase in amount or change in color, and without odor, it is also considered abnormal. The causes of this situation may be poor uterine involution, poor maternal constitution, qi deficiency, and endocrine disorders. For poor uterine involution, the doctor will pay attention to whether there is any intrauterine operation during delivery, whether the placenta and fetal membranes have been examined, and how the uterus is involuting.