Bleeding months after having my baby

[JCochran524]

I had my second baby back in August 2007 (almost six months ago) and I am still bleeding off and on.  I bleed for 5 weeks then stopped for a few days.  Then I had my post baby exam (my doctor said all was well), and I started bleeding again (lasted for 6 more weeks).  By this time my baby was 3 months old.  From this point on I have been bleeding every other week.  I bleed one week, have one week off, etc.  The longest I have gone without bleeding since my baby has been born is a week and half.  I have had very minimal cramping with the bleeding.  I honestly wonder if the slight cramping I am feeling in my lower back and abdomin is from carrying a toddler and an infantaround all the time.  I have had some headaches, but again that could be lack of sleep.

I bleed for a long time after my first (3 months straight, then every other week to every two weeks until my first baby was 4 and a half months old) before I started what seemed like a true period when my baby was 5 months and one week old.  I say "true period" because this was my first time to have lots of cramping, bloating, headache - all the symptoms I have always had in the past during my period.  My first cycle was a little over 40 days.  I got pregnant again during my second cycle (when my first born was 7 months old).  

Could getting pregnant so quickly have caused me to bleed more this time around?  I'm not taking any birth control pills and I am breastfeeding.  I'm neither under or overweight and I try to eat health and maintain an semiactive lifestyle.  Could my hormones be out of wack?  All this bleeding is driving me insane!  What can I do to make it stop and get back to being normal again!?    

[Keith Downing, MD]

Hello,

I think you need to go back to your ob/gyn to be evaluated.  Your bleeding may be due to retained pregnancy tissue, hormonal abnormalities (e.g., thyroid hormone), or a new pregnancy.  

Best regards,

Dr. Downing