Still on and off bleeding and clots after 11 weeks???? Retained placenta??? (TMI)

Hello ladies..

I had my baby almost 11 weeks ago and, as the title says, i have not officially stopped bleeding since. I have probaby had about 10 days all up of no bleeding at all.
Have been feeling a little odd the last week or so... actually thought i may be UTD again but would also describe the feeling as "pre-menstrual".
This morning i thought AF had started, had some brownish blood, but then at lunchtime i passed a clot... It was about the size of a 50c piece but thicker and looked more like tissue than blood. I have had no bleeding since.
I asked my Dr at the six week check about the clots i was still passing and she said that sometimes there are pockets that can trap old blood. She checked my uterus and said it had fully contracted back to normal size.

Has anybody else had this?? I had a PPH after the birth (the placenta got stuck and had to be manually 'helped out'!) and the midwife was not 100% that the placenta was completely intact as it was 'unhealthy looking' (bub was 12 days overdue).
I haven't had any smelly discharge or pain so could it be leftover placenta after this long?
Would like to hear similar experiences....

TIA x

I would go and get it checked out - even if you have to see a different doctor.
Something similar happened to me, bleeding on and off and then more closts (big ones actually) and I went back to the OB at about 5 weeks and it turned out I had an infection. I didn't have any other symptoms and a course of ABs cleared it up (no retained placenta).
I'm sure the length of time that women bleed for varies a great deal, but the clots might be a worry. :hug:

With my first DD I bled for 10 weeks - was passing clots about the size you mentioned at 6 weeks still, and then it tapered off to brown / old discharge, but it hung around FOREVER! I was getting so sick of it. I rang the hospital each time I had a clot as I too was worried about retained placenta, but I had no other symptoms, and they always said not to bother coming in unless the clots were really really big (like a tennis ball, they told me!) or I had a lot of new blood loss. At the birth my placenta was fine and they thought it had all come out.

This time round with my DS, I only bled for 3 weeks. SOoooo much nicer. I have since read that low iron iron levels can cause prolonged bleeding, and this could certainly be the factor for me as I have great iron levels now. I'd also like to think that having a physiological third stage may have helped?

They say that 6 weeks is the average, so there will always be some women "above average" like us to counter balance those lucky ones who barely bleed at all...

Good luck...I so understand what its like. ;)

I had a similar situation after DS birth. Needed manual removal of placenta, I bleed for around 4 weeks then it went to a light brown discharge/bleed. Went back to the hospital after 6w then 8w they checked me over but were not concerned as it was such a small amount.
Anyway at 12 weeks it was still hanging around and becoming very annoying I was still wearing panty liners/light pads (and I didn't feel right IYKWIM), I went to GP who organised an US. The US showed up retained placenta and I went in for D&C the next day. The private Gyno/OB who did the D&C was very concerned it had been left for so long and told me I was lucky as i could have had a bad outcome.

I would suggest getting a US to be 100% sure. I had to really push for someone to listen to me, but glad I did (to bad it took me so long).

Good Luck, i hope you can get it sorted sooner rather than later!!

Hello Ladies.. Thanks for your replies..

Thought i'd let you know the outcome.. I stopped bleeding again after that time but about a week later it started up again, this time red and heavy. Went for an u/s and they discovered 'retained products' so had a d&c yesterday..

Hopefully all will be well from now on!
x

Hope all's well now :hug:

I had my daughter in December last year and had a very difficult labour with the use of suction cap, forceps and an episiotomy. As if that wasn't bad enough, I was still bleeding fresh blood three weeks later but I was told that this was probably normal so soon after delivery. I also had such severe pelvic pain that I had to hop around on crutches during this time, which was very depressing when I was learning to care for a newborn. No doctor or physio could diagnose the exact reason for my limping. Then one morning when I went to the loo, I felt that something was hanging out which I initially thought was some toilet paper getting stuck. I had a look with a mirror and to my horror realised that something "meaty" looking was hanging out of my vagina. I rang the hospital in a panic and they referred me on to my obstetrician. I was able to see him straight away and to his great surprise, he found that my entire amniotic sac had been left behind in the uterus....how this could have happened in the first pace I will never know as I have been told hospital staff are supposed to check everything. He removed it straightaway at his surgery and about two days later my bleeding eased right off to almost nothing and eventually turned into a yellowy brown discharge which was normal. I was also able to ditch the crutches, two days afterwards as well, so obviously my pelvic pain and walking difficulties was somehow interlinked to the sac being left behind. This mistake by hospital staff could have caused me to either haemmorage or cause a serious infection.... I will stop rambling now, but I would say get yourself checked out by a trusted doctor straightaway for peace of mind. All the best!

hi all, i had my second daughter 12 weeks ago, normal pregnancy and baby arrived on her due date but i had a retained placenta and had to have it manually removed. i have bled constantly for the past 12 weeks also lost very large clots at about 4 weeks with alot of blood and have a scan arranged for saturday but tonight i lost a very large mass of ????(i really dont know) just waiting for the out of hours doctor to call me back.

doctor called me back and said to go get checked over by the out of hours gp which is a 30 min drive taking 2 children which i didnt fancy as they are both in bed so i going to see my own in the morning and if i have any problems i can call them back tonight.

Geez proudmumof2..... that doesn't sound good at all. It seems to me like you could still have some placenta left in there...you really shouldn't be bleeding this long after giving birth... your uterus should be completely empty of any sort of blood products. Make sure you get it checked out asap... a huge good luck with it all!

thank you bubblesmum i have seen my gp today and have been given the same 2 antibiotics i was discharged from hospital with after the birth, i have still got to go for my ultrasound on saturday to make sure there is nothing else in there, but so far today no bleeding which is a huge relief! im still pretty uncomfortable but can live with that for now.

Hi Ladies,

I am just after having my second child. :D
I bled for 16 weeks with my first and then fell pregnant with my daughter straight after..
15 weeks after delivery-to-this-day- I'm still bleeding. Everything was perfect through out my pregnancy and I had both babies naturally, both great births.
I can't go on bleeding, the smell is horrible and it's very depressing. :shakehead:

Going for a US on Tues..
This isn't right is it? Should I be bleeding this long??

Hi..

If there is a smell i would be worried about infection. I guess you will find out after your u/s but it sounds like you may need some antibiotics and maybe a D&C if you have retained products. Goodluck x

Thank you. Stupid question but will a D&C hurt?

Not stupid at all... They put you under a GA so you don't feel a thing and recovery is very quick. Good luck x