AF worse after having a child- what were your experiences?

[fireshifter]

Tell me about how your AF changed after having a baby. I am so discouraged about mine. I switched to cloth pads after DS was born. I didn't have any AF for 6 months due to Breastfeeding.

I used to not really care about AF, but now it is much more painful. I get a lot more cramps, bloating, diarrhea, longer heavier periods with more clots. I feel crummy the first three days and instead of period lasting 3 days, it lasts more like 6 now.

I know there's a vitamin therapy some people use to help with this. Anyone know what it is? Also I'm just trying to make sure I'm normal. I can't go to a midwife right now as we have no insurance so I'm just wanting to get some personal experiences to feel better about what has happened.

TIA

Jen D

[Om Girl]

Jen-
My personal experience with PPAF was that it was heavier, crampier, clot-ier (I think I just made a new word) and was longer But, it didn't last but 6 months for it to even itself out and become shorter, lighter and non-clotting. HTH.

[MaryLang]

Yes, PP AF was very painful for me. Its been 15mnths and it is just now getting back to normal.

[1babysmom]

I was always told that for *most* people AF was a lot better after having a baby. This was definately not the case for me. The 3 anovulatory ones I had at first were AWESOME! I couldn't believe it...I've always had horrid, heavy, crampy, painful, long periods, so I was THRILLED to have "easy" ones after having DD. Ha...once I started O'ing again they were just back to normal...heavy, long, and painful. Guess it's in my genes. HOWEVER, I'm on CD4 of a new cycle, and this period is really different...it's nearly over now (usually they're at LEAST 6-7 days, even though the last couple days are very light and then spotting) and wasn't nearly as heavy (I only needed an overnight pad ONCE...and usually, even combined with my Diva, I leak with those!), and I only had cramps the first day. Weird. FTR, this was my 6th ovulatory AF since having DD.

[Ducky5306]

mine is way better now... never any cramps, bloating, PMS, etc.. guess i got lucky? it was kinda bad for the first PP AF but after that its been fine and shorter too (3 days total)

sucks

[MamaSong]

Okay, I'm glad I'm not the only one! My AF is SO INTENSE now! Lots of big clots and I feel so wiped out. I am actually going to start taking Vitex to try to ease some of my PMS and get a bit more regulated. There are other herbs you can take too. At least I went 18 months before she returned, lol!

[mamatosaskia]

I was just going to post a similar question. My dd is now 3 and I got my first ppaf at 18 months pp. I have had the HEAVIEST periods since then. My cramps are much better than they were before dd, but I bleed through super-plus tampons in less than an hour. I have asked the nurse practioner about this and she said that after a baby some women have a "new normal". I also have clots now and never had that before.

I have just finished my first cycle on vitex, to see if this will help regulate things. Oh, I am also nursing my dd still, though only once, maybe twice a day. I think my hormones might still be wacky.

Curious if anyone has asked their dr/midwife about this?

jj

[ParisAnne]

I have to say mine did actually get better after having dd. I went 13 months w/out AF while breastfeeding dd. I don't remember what it was like right after it came back, it's been a while now. It became fairly regular right away. I still have cramps, but most months they seem easier than I remember them being before. The period itself is easier for sure, I only bleed for two and a half days on average. Light bleeding the first part of the first day, moderate for two days, then tapers off to spotting. I used cloth pads most of the time.

[airmide_m]

I don't know if I could survive periods any worse than I have now!! I sure hope I am one of those who has it get better rather than worse. I can't believe how many doctors proposed childbirth as the main way to reduce my cramps (when I was no where near in a situation where it would have been responsible to TTC).

You might want to look into getting your thyroid and hormones tested. I know imbalances in both of those are known to cause heavier, longer, clottier flow and more cramping. Here's a thread with more info. Just so I don't have to type it all out again lol sorry...my post is the second one

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=690168

also this is the big thyroid thread:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=493320

[Yaliina]

As I recall, after ds1, mine went back to normal fairly quicly- within 6-8 months (maybe- it was a long time ago). But after ds2, they got really aweful, long, HEAVY, and painful. I don't know if maybe they would have returned to normal eventually, but I went ahead & got an IUD when ds2 was about 1, and now they're extremely light (TMI, but I don't even "fill" one of those paper-thin pany liners every couple of days). But they last like 2 weeks now. Oh well. At least they're not painful any more either.
Good luck- hope they get better!

[Rio Mama]

I'm having the worst PMS & bleeding of my life now - this is month four of hormones out of control (after only having dropped one feeding for a few days...: ). Completely different than with my first baby. Of course, I was on the mini-pill then. The doc asked today if I wanted to take something for it, but I figured there must be some tried and true approach.

[marieangela]

I only had a few months of af after ds1 was born. It took 20 months for my first ppaf and it was much better than ones I had before. I used to get horrible cramps, but didn't get them those few months. Now, after having ds2, it took 21 months for my first ppaf. The first one was really wierd for me, just a few days of spotting, and the second one was pretty normal, but without the awful cramps.

[Meiri]

Mine have changed over the decades, not always in relation to a pregnancy.

After DS, 1st pregnancy, the bad cramps I used to get went away.

After my late 30s, they've been okay, monster heavy for a day, then tapering off, sciatica/cramps beforehand rather than during, regular except for the occasional short or long month then back to regular again.

My point is that things change. Give yourself time and they'll probably settle down again.

[Orono Mom]

My first few after having DD were really, really heavy... much lighter now. I used to be a 35+ day cycler (due to PCOS), now I am on a 21 day cycle- totally weird for me!! Also seems like I bleed for more days now than I used to, but very lightly.