Jelly-like blob - retained product?

[No.5]

Well first off I gave birth on Wednesday and my bleeding hasn't been all that heavy & has been decreasing each day but I just went to the bathroom and noticed a huge blob of jelly-like consistency I don't know what... Just wondering if anyone could shed some light as to what it could be?

[Rouge]

As in blood like blob? Could be a clot? I had a few of those with Seth, and some of them were a bit scary in size but perfectly normal. If you are worried be sure to see your carer, but I'd say so long as you aren't having excessive blood loss or abdominal pain its probably the usual clotting that can come after birth, oh and take it easy too as I found if when I got too active too soon the clots got worse again.

[Artechim]

I had about 7-8 of those big blobs - they were big blood clots (I am assuming the blob was blood colour). The midwife said it was normal in the couple of days after birth.

[No.5]

Yeah sorry should have said that it was blood coloured.
Thanks for the replies I can throw it out now. I kept it just in case I had to show the midwives or something.
I'll take it a little bit easier in the next few days.

[Nelle]

Oh mercy I had a massive one! The midwife thought mine might have been a bit of placenta, or a clot. (My placenta was apparently quite huge and it fell to pieces a bit inside me, that's why she thought placenta.) Just keep an eye out for any fresh bleeding, that would be worth telling your carers about.

Congrats on your new baby though!

[paradise lost]

I think, (Alan please correct me...?) my midwife said so long as clots were smaller than the size of your palm (like, your whole palm, not "fits in your palm") they are not worth even thinking about. If they were bigger than that i was to mention it to my midwife when she next called (they came everyday after birth for 10 days, but i guess you could call them if they don't call on you anymore) and they'd check for other symptoms. To be completely honest, a lot of my biggest clots came out when i was sitting on the loo and i didn't fish them out to check the size, i just flushed! LOL

Bx

[Nelle]

I'm going to ask a first grade question here - what exactly is a clot? I've only heard it in the context of blood clot in someone's vein...how does that relate to potentially massive things after birth?

ETA: By the way, feel free to tell me not to be so lazy and just google it.

[paradise lost]

Your blood contains a substance called platelets, which, when the blood stops moving or is exposed to air or both, causes it to solidify. This is what prevents us from bleeding to death from a small cut(haemophiliacs are people whose blood lacks these essential clotting factors and they CAN bleed to death from a small cut). After birth we bleed a little through the uterine wall where the placenta was, because during PG a lot of blood gets right to the surface there (where the placenta is joined to the uterus is where all the oxygen and nutrients are passed to baby and the carbon doxide and waste products are passed to mum - the blood never mixes, it's kept apart by a very fine semi-permeable membrane) and it takes a while for the area to return to the pre-preg state. Blood loss is usually low because the uterus clamps down hard after birth, which closes the fibres and helps stem blood flow, but some is still lost. So this blood leaks into the uterus where it pools a little and can form into clots. Because the uterus is internal and not exposed to the air the blood forms clots instead of scabs. Usually a combination of gravity and uterine contractions (especially during a breastfeed, when the sucking makes the mothers body releaze oxytocin which causes stronger contractions, helping to shrink the uterus faster and minimise overall bloodloss (though it might not seem so, as many women get an extra trickle of blood when the contraction first begins - that's mainly what was there being pushed out)) pushes the bleeding and clots out. They are relevant if they are very large because if a small piece of placenta is retained it can prevent the place where it's attached from shrinking/healing properly and so the bloodloss is ongoing, forming larger clots. It needs to be removed then to stop bleeding, and prevent infection, since the piece of placenta is basically a dead product which can "go off" like any other piece of meat.

Bx

[Nelle]

Thanks Bec! Bloodclots 101!

[Alan]

What Hoobley said

If you are still bleeding even if it is a small amount there are lots of little places where blood can pool and then clot. This usually happens when you sit lay still for some time. The clots usually show themselves the first visit to the toilet in the morning or after sitting for a while eg watching TV. If they are small (the size of your palm then flush them. If you have any flu like symptoms keep the clots, take you temp and if it is up call your midwife.