Secondary Postpartum Hemorrhage: A Doula's Story
birth | Fort Worth doula, Megan Carr, with her firstborn
Content Warning: The following account (and links) to a graphic, first-hand account of secondary postpartum hemorrhage.
“I was shocked but also annoyed as it was about 11:00 pm at that point and I was just trying to get to bed because I knew my baby would be waking up soon to eat and I wanted to hurry and get to sleep before that happens.”
What is Secondary Postpartum Hemmorrhage?
Secondary postpartum hemorrhage refers to excessive vaginal bleeding between 24 hours and six weeks following childbirth. <———— Go back and read that last part again… six weeks!!
“About 5 minutes later the on-call nurse calls me back …. and very sternly told me I needed to get in the car immediately, put the hazard flashers on, drive safe and fast and go directly to the hospital…
A few things to note: after the phone call with the nurse, I finished blow drying my hair, cried about not wanting to go, or take my brand new baby to the hospital and spend his first Christmas in the hospital…”
Here’s the thing, folks: new mamas often feel the weight of the world, pushing them to be MORE. We’ve lost all traditions that teach us how to mother the mother. Instead, we’re expecting many, many women to be back at work, often times sooner than we could legally separate a puppy from its mother. Think about that folks.
