What does lochia mean?

Speaking of lochia, many women who have not given birth don’t know what it is. This is also a very normal phenomenon. After all, lochia only occurs in women who have given birth. In order to let more female friends understand the entire menstrual cycle of women, this article will analyze what lochia means. I hope that female friends can have a better understanding of their own physiological knowledge after reading the introduction in this article.

In fact, the so-called lochia is the vaginal bleeding that occurs in women after giving birth. Its symptoms are very similar to menstruation, but it lasts much longer than menstruation. Some women's lochia can even last as long as a month. This is the most typical difference between it and women's menstruation.

After giving birth, the decidua of the uterus, especially the decidua at the placental attachment, falls off, and tissues containing blood, necrotic decidua, etc. are discharged through the vagina, which is called lochia. The duration of lochia varies from person to person, with an average of about 21 days, a short duration of 14 days, and a long duration of up to 6 weeks.

There are three types of normal lochia:

(1) Bloody lochia is also called red lochia. It contains a lot of blood, small blood clots, a small amount of fetal membrane, vernix caseosa and necrotic decidua. It has a bloody smell and is dark red in color, like menstruation. It lasts about 3 to 4 days.

(2) Serous lochia has a reduced amount of vaginal discharge, reduced blood components, light red color, and contains more necrotic decidua, cervical mucus, vaginal discharge and bacteria, which lasts for about 1 to 2 weeks.

(3) White lochia is a smaller amount of vaginal discharge that contains a large number of white blood cells, necrotic and degenerative decidual tissue, and epidermal cells. It is named because of its viscosity and white color. It lasts for about 1 to 2 weeks.

The duration of lochia varies from person to person. Generally speaking, most people can be clean within one month after delivery. When observing lochia, you should pay attention to the following three aspects:

(1) The amount of lochia should become less and less. An increase in bloody lochia indicates that the uterus is not contracting well or there is residual placental tissue in the uterus, which requires immediate treatment. If the amount of serous or white lochia increases and lasts longer, it usually means that there is an infection in the uterine cavity and you should go to the hospital for examination and treatment.

(2) The color of lochia should become lighter and lighter. If it gets deeper and deeper, it indicates that there are residual placenta or fetal membranes in the uterus, infection or poor uterine contraction.

(3) The smell of lochia can range from bloody to no smell at all. If there is a foul odor, it usually indicates an infection in the uterus.

After knowing what lochia means, some women may think that only new mothers who give birth naturally will have lochia. In fact, lochia will appear regardless of whether it is a natural birth or a caesarean section. Lochia is a way for women's uterus to protect itself and is the best way to eliminate some postpartum blood congestion that is harmful to the uterus.