No matter how and where you give birth to your baby, you can expect what is known as lochia in the first few days and weeks after birth. This old-fashioned word refers to the bleeding that occurs when the placenta separates from the uterus. This palm-sized wound will bleed quite heavily - much more than you are used to from your period. In addition, the uterine lining that lined your uterus during pregnancy will come off after birth. In addition to blood, your lochia will also consist of this lining, lymph and some bacteria.

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So-called afterpains will then help your uterus to shrink day after day. The muscle contractions also cause the blood vessels to become a little narrower and the actual wound area to become smaller. If you have given birth to your first baby, you will usually only notice this as a slight pulling sensation. Women who already have children in particular will often find these afterpains to be much stronger and more painful. A stabilizing belt, a warm, moist wrap, a stomach massage or a tea that promotes shrinkage can help here.

It takes about four weeks for the healing to be complete, but sometimes it can be quicker. If you are breastfeeding, the release of oxytocin will stimulate your uterus to contract and shrink, so that the wound shrinks more quickly and the excretion is accelerated. In the case of an abdominal birth, the placenta is removed immediately after the baby is born and the wound is treated, so you will bleed significantly less overall.

You will only experience really heavy bleeding in the first few days - after that, it changes in both quantity and color. A normal bleeding pattern looks like this:

In the first few days, your lochia is blood-red, you bleed heavily, it is very liquid and consists mainly of blood, uterine lining, vernix caseosa and remnants of the amniotic membrane.

After about a week, the intensity of your lochia will noticeably decrease, it will become a little thinner and more brownish. It consists mainly of blood serum, lymph and white blood cells.

After about two weeks, your lochia will be light and more like spotting. It will be brownish-yellow in color and a little firmer and greasy in consistency. During this phase, you will mainly be passing out mucus, bacteria and tissue residue.

The last phase of your lochia is rather watery and very weak. Here your body secretes some wound fluid - which is why it is whitish in color.

Because your cervix usually closes again after two to three days after birth, the blood doesn't flow out quite as quickly. This means that it can clot around mucus or remnants of the amniotic membrane. You can feel and see this in the form of blood clots in your pad. These so-called clots can sometimes be relatively large, but are completely normal and no cause for concern. They are often accompanied by a pulling sensation in the uterus, which usually shrinks again significantly once the clots are removed.

Your midwife will closely monitor your bleeding and the involution of your uterus - by asking questions as well as by feeling. Therefore, take a quick look at your pads before you dispose of them so that you can tell her as accurately as possible about the amount and color of your lochia. This is why it is important not to wear period underwear but pads in the first few days after the birth - on the one hand, the amount of blood is much too heavy, but on the other hand, observing your bleeding is so important for your midwife to be able to best assess your body's involution processes.

Under no circumstances should the bleeding stop abruptly in the first week. You should definitely have your midwife or gynecologist clarify possible causes for the blockage of the lochia as well as the increased occurrence of clots. As a first aid measure, the best way to support your uterus in this case is to lie on your stomach. This position is also very helpful in the event of afterpains. To do this, lie down on a thick pillow, place it directly under your stomach and stay in this position for 15-20 minutes two to three times a day. If the bleeding does not start again within 24 hours, seek professional advice. A stomach massage can also do you good.