Bleeding after caesarean
You might have some bleeding for up to 6 weeks. Check with your doctor, nurse or midwife if the bleeding gets heavier rather than lighter, you have a sudden heavy blood loss or large clots after the first few days, the blood smells bad, your uterus feels tender or sore, or you're still bleeding after 6 weeks.
Even though you’ve had a caesarean, you’ll still have bleeding from your vagina after birth. This is normal bleeding from where the placenta was attached to your uterus.
To deal with the bleeding, you’ll need to have plenty of maternity sanitary pads handy, both in hospital and when you come home. Avoid using tampons in the first 6 weeks after birth because this could increase your chance of getting an infection.
The bleeding might be quite heavy in the first week, like a heavy period. It might also be heavy after exercise, when you first get up in the morning, and after breastfeeding. You might see some small blood clots on your pad.
If you’re soaking through a pad in one hour or seeing a lot of blood clots, immediately call your local maternity hospital, or your doctor, midwife or child and family health nurse.
After the first week, your bleeding should gradually get lighter and change from red to dark-red to brown to yellowish-white. You’ll probably be able to use regular sanitary pads around this time. You might have some bleeding for up to 6 weeks.
How long do you bleed after C-section?
