Is it normal to lose blood after a baby is born?

Losing blood is a normal part of the process after a baby is born, but there can be problems if there is a large blood loss.

After the baby is born, the uterus carries on contracting. This causes the placenta to come away from the wall of the uterus. Here, the muscle fibres of the uterus wall are arranged in a criss-cross pattern. As the uterus contracts, they close around the mother's blood vessels and limit the amount of blood loss. The placenta and membranes are passed out of the uterus into the birth canal and are delivered.

At this stage, there is some blood loss, but if there has been a problem with this process it may become excessive.

The process when the placenta and membranes come away from the uterus is called ‘the third stage of labour’ or simply ‘third stage’. Third stage can be left to occur naturally (a ‘natural’ or ‘physiological’ third stage) or it can be accelerated with the use of drugs (a ‘managed’ or ‘active’ third stage).

For more information on third stage go to our Third Stage pages.

For more information on Postpartum Haemorrhage (PPH) go back to our PPH Frequently Asked Questions.