Lochia

Lochia is expected postpartum discharge, but its pattern also gives a rapid bedside view of placental-site healing and uterine contraction. Read it as a cluster: colour and stage, amount and trend, clots, odour, fundal tone and position, uterine tenderness, temperature, vital signs and symptoms of reduced perfusion. Colour alone cannot make heavy bleeding safe; a boggy uterus or rising pulse changes the priority immediately. Quantitative blood loss exceeding 500 mL after vaginal birth or 1000 mL after caesarean birth within the first 24 hours meets the postpartum hemorrhage threshold and requires immediate escalation. These values are not waiting points when bleeding is brisk or the patient is unstable. An RPN performs the assessment and immediate measures permitted by provincial and employer policy, notifies the RN and obstetric team as required, and records the findings and response.