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Bleeding after birth goes on for weeks, changes colour, stops and starts — and nobody tells you what's typical for your day. Enter your birth date and describe what you're seeing. You'll get what's usual at your exact stage, whether anything you've described needs a call, and how soon.
Step 1
How did you give birth?
Step 2
Go by what's on your pad today, not what it was.
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Are you breastfeeding?
Step 6
These change the answer, so please check each one.
Where you are
This bleeding (called lochia) happens after every birth, including C-sections, as the womb heals where the placenta was attached. These are typical ranges — yours may be a little faster or slower.
| Roughly when | Colour | What's typical |
|---|---|---|
| Days 1–4 | Bright or dark red | Like a heavy period. Clots are common in the first 2–3 days. |
| Days 4–12 | Pink or brown | Thinner and more watery, with fewer or no clots. |
| Day 12 to about 6 weeks | Yellowish or creamy white | Little or no blood. Traces can last up to 8 weeks. |
It's also common for bleeding to get heavier for a while when you're more active, when you breastfeed, and when you first stand up in the morning.
Based on: Cleveland Clinic — Lochia · NHS Healthier Together — Blood loss after birth · ACOG — Conditions to watch for after childbirth · AWHONN — Post-birth warning signs
Usually up to about six weeks, and traces can carry on to around eight. It starts red, turns pink or brown after a few days, then yellowish white. It happens after a C-section too.
It's common for bleeding to pick up again after a busier day, and a period can also return from several weeks after birth, sooner if you're not breastfeeding. But bright red bleeding that comes back and keeps going, or gets heavy, should be checked by your midwife or doctor.
Clots are common in the first two to three days. After that they should become fewer and smaller. Clots the size of an egg or bigger, or large clots later on, are a reason to call your provider.
Not yet. Use pads until your postnatal check, because tampons raise the risk of infection while you're healing, and pads let you see how much you're losing.
Soaking a thick pad in an hour or less, blood that keeps flowing, or clots the size of an egg or bigger need a call straight away. Feeling faint, dizzy or having a racing heart while bleeding is an emergency. This can happen up to 12 weeks after birth.