Abundant menstruation after cesarean section: why is it dangerous? Is it normal to have heavy periods after a caesarean?

Each woman is individual, and the process of restoring the monthly cycle after childbirth is also individual. But, as a rule, the first menstruation after a cesarean appears at the same time as after a normal birth.

The recovery of periods after a caesarean section depends more on whether you are breastfeeding your baby or not. With breastfeeding, the first menstruation usually appears much later than with artificial feeding.

In the absence of lactation, menstruation after a cesarean section will not take long - they appear already 2-3 months after the operation. Whereas with natural breastfeeding, the monthly cycle is restored longer, depending on the frequency of feeding and other physiological features.

Allocation rates

Regardless of when menstruation begins after a cesarean section, the first discharge is usually quite plentiful. An increase in the volume of secretions, as a rule, is observed in the first couple of months after the restoration of the cycle. If this trend continues, you should pay attention to this and consult a doctor.

The causes of heavy periods after cesarean can be hormonal changes in the body, structural features of the female reproductive system, or myometrial hyperplasia after cesarean.

Do not disregard too meager periods after cesarean. In any case, your gynecologist should prescribe certain methods of examination, and, if necessary, prescribe treatment.

If you are alarmed by the frequency of the onset of menstruation, that is, they occur more often than once a month, this may indicate probable violations of uterine contractility caused by surgical trauma and the negative effects of painkillers.

But do not panic ahead of time. Full recovery of the monthly cycle occurs only after 3-4 months. Before that, menstruation can “jump” - either start later than expected, then suddenly repeat after 2 weeks. The body has just begun the recovery process.

Periods or lochia?

Do not confuse discharge immediately after cesarean and menstruation. The first (lochia) - accompany every woman, regardless of whether the birth was natural or an operation was performed.

After childbirth, the process of purification takes place in the uterus. After all, everyone knows that after the placenta has passed, a rather large wound remains on the wall of the uterus. During the healing process, it bleeds. Especially heavy bleeding is observed in the first two or three days after childbirth. These days, a woman can get up to one hundred milliliters of spotting per day. Further, the volume of secretions decreases, their color changes and gradually, as the wound heals, they become yellowish-white and soon completely disappear.

How long the so-called menstruation goes after a cesarean depends, again, on the characteristics of the body of each particular woman. For some, this process takes 2-3 weeks, while for others it stretches for 2 months.

After the discharge is completed, doctors recommend that you undergo a preventive examination by an obstetrician-gynecologist to make sure the absence of inflammatory processes and other troubles, as well as to confirm the normal contraction of the uterus and its return to its original state.

Menstruation and lactation There is an opinion that during menstruation it is impossible to breastfeed a child. But this is nothing more than a myth. Milk during menstruation does not change its taste and nutritional value. The only thing is that the first couple of days, its number may be slightly reduced. Do not worry and get upset, because soon the volume of milk inflows will be restored, and everything will fall into place.

A caesarean section is a surgical intervention in a woman's body, so it is more difficult for him to recover in this case than with natural childbirth, there is a greater risk of complications. But menstruation after caesarean occurs at about the same time as after a normal birth: after 6-8 weeks.

Menstruation after caesarean will begin at about the same time as with natural childbirth

The difference between postpartum discharge and menstruation

Bloody postpartum discharge can be mistaken for heavy periods during cesarean, but their cause is different. Such secretions are called lochia, they always come after childbirth, natural or operational. Lochia occurs due to the fact that at the place of attachment of the placenta to the uterine membrane there is a wound that bleeds. With a caesarean section, the healing period of the uterus is longer due to the fact that there is a postoperative suture.

At first, the discharge is profuse, bloody, with clots. In the early period after childbirth (both conventional and caesarean sections), their volume can reach 500 ml. Discharge increases when the uterus contracts: when walking, breastfeeding. Gradually their number decreases, the color changes to brown, then to light. If the lochia stops abruptly, this may indicate a bending of the uterus, in which case the help of a doctor is needed to avoid endometritis. Normally, the duration of lochia is from 6 to 8 weeks, then the discharge returns, the same as before pregnancy, and menstruation can already begin.

A woman should appear to a gynecologist one and a half to two months after a cesarean section. Your doctor will do an exam and take swabs to make sure your recovery is going well. And also to monitor the condition of the uterus and the postoperative suture, an ultrasound scan is done.

Lochia are separated in the days following the birth

When does menstruation appear?

The time after which a woman has her period during cesarean is strictly individual. It is impossible to predict exactly when the menstrual cycle will improve. There are many factors on which it depends:

• breast-feeding;
• age - a young body recovers faster;
• the course of pregnancy - if it was normal, recovery is faster, if with complications, then slower;
• the psychological state of a woman - any stress affects the menstrual cycle;
• lifestyle, quality of nutrition, alternation of loads and rest.

Gynecologists note that it is lactation that most affects when menstruation appears during cesarean. They can begin when the baby completely stops breastfeeding, or they can begin during the introduction of complementary foods. Menstruation may occur during lactation, this is also normal and indicates a strong sexual constitution. Usually, if a woman is not breastfeeding, her period after a caesarean section will occur in 5-8 weeks.

The establishment of a regular cycle suggests that the body has recovered after the birth of the baby. However, this does not mean that he is ready for a new bearing of a child - you can think about this no sooner than in 2-3 years.

Breastfeeding delays the onset of menstruation

What to pay attention to

Some signs indicate problems in the body of a young mother. The following symptoms should not be ignored:

• Too scanty periods with caesarean. This happens if the uterus contracts too weakly, because of this, blood is retained in it, which leads to inflammation.
• Abundant menstruation for more than two cycles. It could be uterine bleeding. If the pads last only an hour, you need to urgently consult a doctor.
• Too long, more than seven days, menstruation after caesarean.
• The appearance of a sharp unpleasant odor of discharge, especially if the temperature rises, there are pains in the lower abdomen. This indicates the onset of the disease - endometritis, an infectious or purulent process. In such cases, immediate medical attention is needed.
• Inflammation is evidenced by redness and pain in the suture area, discharge from it.
• Frequent periods after caesarean section. It is normal if the cycle at first becomes shorter and will be from 14 to 20 days long, but in the third cycle this already speaks of pathology.
• Irregular cycle even after six months. Most often, the cycle in women who have given birth becomes more regular, pain during critical days and before them becomes less or disappears. If the cycle does not normalize, this is a reason to contact a gynecologist.
• Prolonged spotting before and after menstruation.
• Curdled discharge and itching. This is a symptom of thrush, which is dangerous in the postpartum period.
• No periods for more than a year, even while breastfeeding

If the pad lasts only an hour, it's not about menstruation, but about bleeding

How to help the body recover

Regular periods after a caesarean section will mean that reproductive health has been restored, and the woman will be able to become a mother again in the future. To make this happen faster, you need to follow some rules:

• You need a balanced diet, enough sleep and rest, walk.
• You can not do douching, take a bath - only a shower.
• Tampons cannot be used.
• For about 6-8 weeks after a caesarean, that is, until the end of the postpartum discharge, you should not have vaginal sex. Before resuming sexual activity, you should visit a gynecologist and discuss the method of contraception.

It is necessary to protect yourself from a new pregnancy, which can occur when the first menstruation passes with a caesarean or even if they are absent during breastfeeding. Lactation does not protect against unwanted pregnancy! You can bear the child no earlier than two to three years after the operative birth. If conception occurs earlier, it can lead to miscarriage, damage to the uterus, and even endanger the woman's life.

Although a caesarean section has a greater risk of complications than a natural birth, the recovery process is similar in both cases. Menstruation after cesarean occurs after such a time, as in normal childbirth, lactation has the greatest influence on the time of their onset. A woman should carefully monitor her health in the postpartum period and consult a doctor if she notices any abnormalities.

Abundant periods after cesarean are considered the norm. But sometimes it happens that the periods go too long, or they are so plentiful that they can be compared to bleeding. These cases require immediate medical attention.

Women often experience irregular cycles after giving birth. What to do if the first menstruation after cesarean is very plentiful? This and other questions can only be answered by a competent specialist who has all the necessary information.

Childbirth is a serious test for the female body. After the birth of the baby, all the organs of the young mother are restored for some time.

As you know, throughout pregnancy, women do not have menstruation. They do not resume immediately after childbirth, but some time later.

As a rule, at least 6-8 weeks pass from the moment the baby is born to the onset of menstruation. But this period is more relevant for those women who do not breastfeed. When feeding in the body of a young mother, hormones are produced that do not allow the inner lining of the uterus to be rejected. As a result, menstruation in nursing mothers may come much later than those who did not breastfeed the baby or fed very little. For some breastfeeding women, the menstrual cycle resumes only 8-12 months after childbirth. Contrary to popular belief, the method of delivery does not affect the timing of the restoration of the menstrual cycle.

Sometimes women have to deal with very heavy periods after childbirth. It is most commonly seen in those who have had a caesarean section. If menstruation is just profuse, then this should not cause much concern. Abundant discharge from the uterine cavity is quite natural. This is especially true in cases where the menstrual cycle resumes too quickly. After childbirth, the uterus recovers for a long time. Therefore, it is not surprising that menstruation can be quite plentiful. But it is important to remember that the duration of menstrual bleeding cannot exceed 7 days. If a woman has heavy bleeding that lasts more than a week, she should see a doctor immediately.

If the menstrual flow is too thin and has a bright scarlet color, a woman should immediately contact a gynecologist. Such bleeding can be very dangerous. The repetition of menstruation a few days after its end should also be alarming. All these cases must be considered on an individual basis. Competent recommendations can only be given by specialists after a thorough examination of the woman. A doctor should also be consulted in cases where the nature of the discharge seems rather strange to a woman. The issue of preserving women's health must be approached with a certain degree of responsibility. It is better to visit a doctor once again than to undergo further treatment for diseases that have passed into a neglected form.

The first period after a cesarean can be quite painful. But women who breastfeed, on the contrary, very often note the painlessness of the process. This is due to hormonal characteristics, as well as to the peculiarities of physiology.

Heavy periods after a caesarean can be dangerous. The fact is that large blood losses lead to iron deficiency in the body, after which anemia can develop in a woman. To prevent its occurrence, it is very important to diagnose the problem in a timely manner and begin treatment.

To reduce the amount of discharge, doctors prescribe drugs to their patients that help improve blood clotting, as a result of which bleeding can be stopped. After such therapy, a woman is prescribed drugs that increase the iron content in the blood. They help to avoid the occurrence of acute iron deficiency.

You can replenish the level of iron in the blood in a natural way. To do this, a woman needs to walk a lot, eat right, include foods that are rich in iron in the diet. But this option is more suitable for those whose blood loss was insignificant. To quickly fill iron deficiency after bleeding, you need to take special drugs. The most effective injections of complex agents containing iron.

The most important thing that a doctor can do is to identify the cause of the bleeding and eliminate it as soon as possible. As a rule, heavy periods, turning into bleeding, indicate that the inner surface of the uterus is damaged. It is possible that neoplasms appeared on it. There were cases when pieces of the placenta remained on the walls of the uterine cavity. To eliminate the cause of bleeding, doctors sometimes prescribe curettage of the uterine cavity to their patients, but in most cases, more gentle methods can be dispensed with.

Abundant menstruation after cesarean section can be triggered by ongoing inflammatory processes. Sometimes the nature of the discharge can also be affected by the lifestyle that a woman led during pregnancy and after delivery. Experts assure that women who are faced with this problem need to be more attentive to their own health. They need to undergo medical examinations, eat well and lead a healthy lifestyle. It is very important to normalize your own psychological state. Young mothers should not be nervous. Sometimes it is stress that can provoke heavy bleeding during menstruation. To henceforth menstruation was more meager and painless, you can start taking sedatives of natural origin.

The reason why menstruation after childbirth can be very painful and quite abundant, the gynecologist can only establish after the patient undergoes an ultrasound examination of the uterine cavity. This procedure allows you to identify all existing violations.

Very heavy periods after cesarean can be a danger to women's health. That is why it is necessary to urgently consult a doctor, without waiting for bleeding. Sometimes the timeliness of treatment saves from the development of a number of serious complications.

Today, more and more babies are born by caesarean section. Of course, for both the woman and the newborn, a natural birth is the most preferable option, but sometimes an inevitable operation is required to save lives. Then begins a very long recovery postpartum period. Often at this time, women are faced with such a problem as heavy periods after cesarean. This becomes a cause for serious concern, so it is worth understanding the reasons for this phenomenon - in most cases it is absolutely safe. One way or another, only a gynecologist can exclude the likely development of infection in this case.

What is the cause of heavy periods

During the first months after childbirth in the female body, there is an active restructuring of the mode of functioning. On average, menstruation after a caesarean section, in those women who are not breastfeeding, begins after 8 weeks after the birth of the baby. For others, they come later or at the end of breastfeeding.

But often women note heavy periods after cesarean, when the volume of menstruation before and after childbirth is significantly different. In some cases, heavy periods after cesarean may be associated with:

- postoperative hyperplasia of the myometrium;

- hormonal changes in the female body;

- the characteristics of the organism of a single woman.

One way or another, normally heavy periods after cesarean come only the first two times. But if after two cycles a similar situation is observed, then you should immediately consult with a gynecologist to prescribe additional studies, thanks to which it will be possible to prescribe a suitable treatment.

What affects the arrival of menstruation after cesarean

The time and nature of menstruation after cesarean section is influenced by various factors, among them:

1. Features of the course of pregnancy. In the absence of complications, the reproductive system is restored as soon as possible.

2.Age. The younger the female body, the sooner it will recover after the birth of the baby.

3. Nutrition and lifestyle of women in general. In order for the body to return to normal as soon as possible, a balance of these factors is required.

4. Lactation, which is called the most important factor in the question of when to wait for menstruation after a cesarean. After all, it is accompanied by the activation of the production of the hormone prolactin, which provokes lethargy of the ovaries and at the same time stimulates lactation in a woman. As complementary foods are introduced, the amount of prolactin in the female body also decreases.

What are periods after caesarean?

The past operation cannot pass for a woman absolutely without a trace. At the same time, it is precisely by the nature of menstruation that one can judge the presence of certain violations.

Normally, for the first time, very heavy periods come after a cesarean. This can be observed during the first two cycles. During this period, such a phenomenon will be absolutely normal and will not be evidence of a deterioration in the condition. But if this phenomenon does not go away after the specified time, then you need to urgently contact a gynecologist, because this may be evidence of hyperplasia and other diseases.

It is possible that the first menstruation after childbirth will pass without ovulation due to insufficient recovery of the body. But already in the next cycle, the work of the reproductive system will be full.

Menstruation after caesarean as a cause for concern

Experts identify several signs at once, which should certainly cause a woman to contact specialists, in particular:

- termination of lochia after childbirth earlier than usual, which may be evidence of a bending of the uterus, which in turn provokes endometritis;

- heavy periods after caesarean section for more than two cycles;

- an unsteady cycle after six months after the operation;

- the scarcity of menstruation, indicating insufficient contraction of the uterus;

- discharge after childbirth with an unpleasant odor;

- discharge of a curd consistency, accompanied by the appearance of itching;

- Too frequent periods.

Usually, women who gave birth by caesarean section are certainly sent for examination to a specialist already after 1.5-2 months after childbirth. At this time, the gynecologist will be able to assess the course of the recovery period and the process of tissue healing. But this does not negate the need to monitor the nature of menstruation in order to timely seek help if necessary.

In this article:

Many women are interested in such a completely legitimate question: when does menstruation begin after a cesarean section? In order to be able to answer this question, first of all, it is worthwhile to understand a few main points.

Firstly, it all depends on the individual characteristics of each female body: for some, menstruation occurs a little earlier, for someone a little later, but in general, everything lies within the normal range.

Secondly, performing a caesarean section in no way affects the appearance of menstruation. They begin to appear in the same way as if the birth was going on naturally.

Thirdly, the appearance of menstruation also depends on how exactly the mother feeds her baby. If this is exclusively breastfeeding, then the onset of the menstrual cycle should not be expected earlier than the end of the feeding period, which is approximately a year and a half. If the mother does not breastfeed at all, then menstruation usually occurs 2 or 3 months after the operation. With a mixed diet, they can come in 3-4 months.

In some cases, there are heavy periods after a caesarean section. Usually this is due to changes in the female body at the hormonal level and its characteristics. However, you should not panic right away, since only the first two times can be heavy periods. However, if this trend continues, then you should consult a doctor.

Periods or lochia?

After the birth of a child, the female body begins to recover. Time for this is given by nature from 6 to 8 weeks. During this period, specific bleeding begins after a caesarean section. However, this is not yet menstruation, with which they can easily be confused. Over time, the composition and quantity, as well as the color of the secretions, changes.

Allocation rates

For about the first week, lochia will ooze profusely in red clots and can look very much like real menstruation. The volume can be up to 500 ml. It is worth noting that the discharge can increase when walking, breastfeeding, palpation of the abdomen, because it is at this moment that the uterus is able to contract better, getting rid of all that is superfluous.

Then, within 4-5 weeks, the lochia begins to acquire a brown tint, and their number decreases. In the end, they are very meager and smearing. After 6-8 weeks, the uterine mucosa has completely recovered, while the discharge is very light.

It is worth remembering that the intensity and nature of the discharge depends on the ability of the uterus to contract. After the operation, this process may be slower, because some muscle tissue is damaged. Therefore, in order to stimulate the uterus for better contraction, medications are used: oxytocin or other similar ones.

In this case, a woman must fulfill certain conditions:

• Go to the toilet regularly, as a full bladder makes the uterus contract worse.
• Feed the child only on demand.

But it happens that the discharge begins to acquire an unpleasant and pungent odor. In this case, you should not postpone a visit to the gynecologist. In most cases, this indicates that inflammatory processes have begun in the uterine cavity. Moreover, it is worth noting that the risk of endometritis after caesarean section is higher than during natural childbirth.

Also, in some cases, itching may occur in an intimate place, and the discharge may acquire a curdled mass. This already indicates the presence of thrush, which may occur due to the use of antibiotics, which are usually prescribed after surgery.

It is also worth paying attention if the lochia has abruptly stopped. This may indicate a bending of the uterus, and if they are not removed, then the development of endometritis cannot be avoided.

By and large, after surgery, the main thing is to observe personal hygiene and then the risk of various pathologies can be minimized.

Useful video about menstruation after childbirth