How long are the first periods after childbirth, what should be

obstetrician-gynecologist, reproductologist of the international medical center “ON CLINIC”

The timing of the restoration of the menstrual cycle after childbirth largely depends on whether a woman is breastfeeding a baby and how often. After the birth of a child, the hormone prolactin is activated in a woman, which stimulates the production of breast milk. High prolactin levels in the postpartum period prevent the maturation of eggs in the ovary and thus block menstruation. If the woman is not breastfeeding, the cycle is restored 1–3 months after delivery. In the presence of breastfeeding, the restoration of the cycle occurs after 6-10 months, but menstruation may not begin until the end of the feeding.

The duration, character, color, consistency of menstruation after childbirth are individual for each woman. They may remain the same as they were before pregnancy, be more abundant or, conversely, scarce. The first menstruation after childbirth is not yet evidence of the restoration of a stable and menstrual cycle, after which there may be a break of several months.

If a woman is breastfeeding, her period may be absent until breastfeeding is complete. But if the baby is already one year old, the work of the ovaries will be restored against the background of lactation. If the baby is bottle-fed, wait about three months after giving birth.

Do not confuse menstrual flow with lochia. Lochia is a postpartum discharge that can last up to 5 weeks.

How long is the first period after childbirth? As a rule, they have a character familiar to a woman – they last 5-7 days, they cannot be called meager or too abundant. But sometimes there are also some changes. This applies to the length of the cycle, which can become a couple of days shorter or, conversely, longer.

Often, women note that after giving birth, their periods have become less painful. In the first few months, the cycle may skip slightly – for example, in one of the months, menstruation suddenly does not come. This is considered a variant of the norm, the body comes to life after childbirth.

There are signs that should alert a woman. This is when you need to see a doctor.

• Menses began immediately after the cessation of lochia and have a pungent unpleasant odor. This may indicate inflammation inside the uterus caused by placental remnants.

• The discharge became very abundant. It is necessary to check if this is a symptom of endometriosis or endometrial hyperplasia.

• Despite the fact that the woman is not breastfeeding, her period does not start. This is a signal of imbalance in the hormonal system.

Even if menstruation after childbirth has not yet resumed, it is necessary to carefully protect yourself. The popular omen that it is impossible to become pregnant during breastfeeding has no scientific basis. It is impossible to predict at what point ovulation will occur.

It is necessary to carefully monitor the nature of menstruation after childbirth, so as not to miss dangerous symptoms. Self-care is a guarantee of women’s health.

What should you pay attention to and what should alert a woman?

• Heavy periods, which last more than 10 days, are interpreted by the doctor as bleeding. In this case, it is necessary to identify the cause of the bleeding and prescribe the necessary therapy. Menstruation is considered to be abundant when a woman loses more than 50 ml of blood or there is a need to change the pad every 2 hours. 

• Changes in the color of menstrual blood after childbirth and the appearance of clots may indicate hormonal imbalance. It can also be a sign of inflammatory processes in the organs of the reproductive system.

• Soreness of menstruation. After giving birth, it is worth contacting a gynecologist if the woman did not present such complaints before pregnancy. Such pains may indicate infectious and inflammatory diseases of the uterus and ovaries that developed in the postpartum period.

• Unnecessarily scanty periods for 3 menstrual cycles or more. These symptoms may indicate hormonal disorders or postpartum endometritis.

• Irregular menstruation six months after its recovery. It is worth consulting a doctor to exclude ovarian pathology.

• Prolonged menstruation for more than a week, accompanied by weakness and dizziness.

• With the appearance of pain in the lower abdomen, a rise in temperature, the presence of an unpleasant odor from the genital tract, a change in color and abundance of vaginal discharge, a visit to the doctor is necessary to exclude infectious processes.