The postpartum period, also known as the puerperium, lasts from the delivery of the infant until about 8 weeks after the delivery. Most of the anatomic and physiologic changes a woman experiences in pregnancy will have returned to the normal state by this 8-week time. The new mother will experience many changes during this postpartum period. The most important changes will be discussed.
The uterus rapidly returns to the normal, nonpregnant size over the first few weeks after delivery. Following delivery, there is a heavy, bloody vaginal flow, known as lochia, for several hours, which transitions into a reddish brown discharge by the fourth day postpartum. This discharge then transitions to a yellow-brown mucous discharge, lochia serosa, which lasts until approximately 25 days after delivery. However, 10–15% of women will still have some lochia serosa at the time of their 6-week postpartum visit with their obstetric provider.
Many women have an episiotomy or spontaneous laceration at...
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Suggested Reading
Epperson, C. N. (1999). Postpartum major depression: Detection and treatment. American Family Physician, 59(8), 2259–2260.
Johnson, R. V. (Ed.). (1994). Mayo Clinic complete book of pregnancy and baby’s first year. New York: William Morrow.
Gabbe, S. G. (Ed.). (2002). Obstetrics: Normal and problem pregnancies (4th ed.). New York: Churchill Livingstone.
Morrow, M. H. (2000). Postpartum depression. In R. Rakel (Ed.), Saunders manual of medical practice (pp. 636–639). Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders.
Suggested Resources
Postpartum Support International: http://www.postpartum.net/
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© 2004 Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers
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Frey, K.A. (2004). Postpartum Period. In: Encyclopedia of Women’s Health. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-306-48113-0_348
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-306-48113-0_348
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