What to do About Heavy Bleeding After Birth
If you experience worrisome and heavy bleeding after birth, lie flat and place an ice pack over your uterus just above the center of your pubic bone while waiting for a return call from your doctor or while en route to the emergency room. Or place the ice pack against the episiotomy site if the pain and bleeding seem to be coming from there. Usual causes of bleeding are failure of the uterus to contract sufficiently, retained fragments of placenta, or infection. Your doctor will examine you to see if any of these problems have occurred or if what you are experiencing is just normal postpartum vaginal discharge.