[dot2dot]

I am not currently pregnant but I often replay my son's hospital birth and wonder how things could have gone better, or how can I be more prepared for my next birth? My specific question is in regards to hemorrhaging. My mom did this with all three of her children. After my son was born, the nurse noticed me bleeding a lot more than "normal" and gave me a shot (methogen? sp) My mom said she never felt any after pains from uterine contractions, and I didn't either.<br><br>
I am wondering about what causes hemorrhaging. Can it be a genetic issue? What can I do to minimize my chance of this happening in the future? Since I did give birth in a hospital, I am assuming they pulled out the placenta. I remember shortly after the delivery I asked when the placenta would come and they said it was already out. Could this cause hemorrhage, or at least increase the chances? I drank a lot of Red Raspberry Leaf tea in the months prior to my due date because that was all I knew of.<br><br>
I would really appreciate if anyone could share information on this topic, or at least point me in the right direction. I would ask my dr, but am afraid of just getting an answer like "If something happens we have drugs to stop it." I want to adress the reasons for hemhorrage, not the result!<br><br>
Thank you for any help you can provide. I am sorry for intruding on your forum, hope you do not mind!<br><br>
Dot<br><br>
Edited to correct errors caused by a nursing baby!

 

[stayinghome]

You can come here anytime!! I don't really have any answers for you, but there are midwives who frequent here and they will have some imput i'm sure. I hope the next time around it's not even an issue for you! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/hug.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="hug">

 

[lovebugmama]

I'm not sure why you were hemorrhaging and I have no medical training, so I can't help you there. I do know that immediate breastfeeding (even just nipple stimulation and/or sucking without much success) will release oxytocin, which will cause your uterus to contract. These contractions help to shut off some of the blood supply to your uterus, which helps control the bleeding. It also makes the placenta detatch from the wall of uterus so you can push it out yourself (lots of potential problems can occur when it is pulled out). So, putting your baby to the breast right away can help, unless, of course, you have some other medical condition.<br><br>
HTH a little. I'm sure you will get lots of more "medical" responses.

 

[onlyboys]

Did you have any pitocin to augment or induce your labor?<br><br>
With my augmented labor (water broken > 24 hours) I hemmorhaged.<br><br>
With my 2 non-pit labors, I didn't bleed excessively at all. Not a medical opinion--merely my experience.

 

[mamallama]

It sounds like you did the best you could, with the red raspberry leaf tea. That's an excellent first step. Don't beat yourself up, mama.<br><br>
A very common cause of hemmorhage is iron anemia. You probably had bloodwork around the 30th week or so to evaluate your hemoglobin & hematocrit. If you were on iron supplements, you can probably assume you were anemic or borderline. If you want the actual numbers, you can request your records from your careproviders.<br><br>
In the future, a diet rich in iron (beginning asap--before you conceive if it's an issue with you) is a great first step in preventing postpartum hemmorhage. Iron from natural sources is much more easily absorbed by the body than are iron supplements, but either way, it takes time to build up. If you find that you are anemic, <i>The Wise Woman's Herbal for the Childbearing Year</i> by Susun Weed has a lot of good information on preventing hemmorhage.<br><br>
As far as the placenta goes, in my neck of the woods it is routine to give pitocin as soon as the baby is out to speed up the delivery of the placenta. They do this across the board, even if the labor was completely unaugmented, even if the mom is completely unmedicated. They don't ask or announce it, they just do it. Under those circumstances, the placenta comes out quickly, within a couple of minutes, without yanking. Maybe your dr did yank, I dunno. My experience has been that most don't, but you certainly know your careprovider better than I do!