My periods were late and darker, four months after a stillbirth. Why?

Question

Hello doctor,

Four months back, I had a full term stillbirth. I am trying to conceive again. My menstrual cycles are 28 days, and I bleed for five days. This month, my periods were late by two days, and I had bright red blood for two days. The home pregnancy test was negative. What to do?

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I am sorry about your previous loss. Even though you have delivered, your hormonal balance will take few months to stabilize. Also, the normal blood loss during delivery or cesarean section, the mental stress of delivery, and the incidents occurring after that affects the brain's control over the hormones. This is nature's method of getting you to rest and gradually improve your health.

During this period, your cycle will be abnormal, and you may have either no periods or irregular bleeding on and off or heavy bleeding with altered blood. You should have a complete baseline investigation before going in for next pregnancy, so till then use condoms.

Delay pregnancy by 8 to 10 months, as the body will build back all lost iron, proteins, and vitamins. Do take these as medication with doctor's prescription.

Hope I have clarified your queries, do write back. All the best.