I had my baby a week ago! 
A couple of minutes after he came out, I was bleeding some in the birth pool. I looked at the amount and was not concerned, as it didn't seem to be getting any worse- just as if a gush had happened and then stopped.
I waited for the placenta to come out- 20 minutes? half an hour? I don't know, time doesn't behave normally in birth. But it wasn't too long. When it came out, a palm-sized clot and a palm-sized piece of broken off placenta came out at the same time. So clearly that was the cause of my bleeding.
DH and I both noticed that this placenta was smaller than the one from my second birth. Later when I looked at it more closely, I was able to see where the broken off chunk had been, but the whole thing seemed kind of fragile! You know how it should feel smooth and plump, kind of like a piece of boneless chicken? The maternal side of it felt sort of shredded, like if you were to cut that chicken against the grain. There were no other chunks out of it, but it was hard to tell if little bits were missing. It almost felt like it wanted to fall apart in my hands... I'm very grateful to it for growing my 8# 11 oz baby, and not failing us before the end.
My bleeding has not been excessive, in fact it's lighter than after my previous births. No big clots, and some days I have almost no bleeding at all (like today). BUT, on day 5 and also this morning, a thumb-sized clot came out with some little bit of tissue attached. One looked like membrane, one, uh, something else? So obviously there were/are some fragments left behind.
I have no symptoms of retained placenta; I feel fantastic. You can imagine how much I do not want to go in and get an ultrasound unless I'm having an issue...
Are there herb tinctures I could take just in case, that will help expel anything else that might be in there?
A couple of minutes after he came out, I was bleeding some in the birth pool. I looked at the amount and was not concerned, as it didn't seem to be getting any worse- just as if a gush had happened and then stopped.
I waited for the placenta to come out- 20 minutes? half an hour? I don't know, time doesn't behave normally in birth. But it wasn't too long. When it came out, a palm-sized clot and a palm-sized piece of broken off placenta came out at the same time. So clearly that was the cause of my bleeding.
DH and I both noticed that this placenta was smaller than the one from my second birth. Later when I looked at it more closely, I was able to see where the broken off chunk had been, but the whole thing seemed kind of fragile! You know how it should feel smooth and plump, kind of like a piece of boneless chicken? The maternal side of it felt sort of shredded, like if you were to cut that chicken against the grain. There were no other chunks out of it, but it was hard to tell if little bits were missing. It almost felt like it wanted to fall apart in my hands... I'm very grateful to it for growing my 8# 11 oz baby, and not failing us before the end.
My bleeding has not been excessive, in fact it's lighter than after my previous births. No big clots, and some days I have almost no bleeding at all (like today). BUT, on day 5 and also this morning, a thumb-sized clot came out with some little bit of tissue attached. One looked like membrane, one, uh, something else? So obviously there were/are some fragments left behind.
I have no symptoms of retained placenta; I feel fantastic. You can imagine how much I do not want to go in and get an ultrasound unless I'm having an issue...
Are there herb tinctures I could take just in case, that will help expel anything else that might be in there?
But she scared DH, so I posted to see about alternatives. Thanks again, I appreciate it!
