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In the field of obstetrics, lochia is the vaginal discharge after giving birth, containing blood, mucus, and uterine tissue. [1] Lochia discharge typically continues for four to eight weeks after childbirth, [2] a time known as the postpartum period or puerperium.
Infections of the vagina such as vaginosis and of the uterus may produce vaginal discharge, which can be an irritant when it comes into contact with the vulvar tissue. [ 65 ] [ 66 ] Inflammation as vaginitis , vulvovaginitis and vulvitis can result from this causing irritation and pain. [ 67 ]
In neonates, vaginal discharge sometimes occurs in the first few days after birth. This is due to exposure to estrogen while in utero. Neonatal vaginal discharge may be white or clear with a mucous texture, or it may be bloody from normal transient shedding of the endometrium. [9]
Vaginal discharge, termed "lochia", can be expected to continue for several weeks; initially bright red, it gradually becomes pink, changing to brown, and finally to yellow or white. [66] At one time babies born in hospitals were removed from their mothers shortly after birth and brought to the mother only at feeding times. [67]
After birth, the fundus contracts downward into the pelvis one centimeter each day. After two weeks the uterus will have contracted and return into the pelvis. [ 9 ] The sensation and strength of postpartum uterine contractions can be stronger in women who have previously delivered a child or children.
I had scar tissue (potentially from the C-section, the episiotomy during my second birth, or both) the size of 16-ounce water bottles pushing on all of my nerves in the pelvic region.
After a vaginal birth, the rugae are not visible and the walls of the vagina are smooth. By the third week postpartum, the vagina has become much smaller and the rugae begin to reform on the vaginal walls. Six weeks after birth, the rugae have returned to approximately the same size as they were before the birth.
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