The short explanation
This needs emergency care now. Soaking a pad in an hour or less, together with feeling dizzy, can mean she is losing a large amount of blood, which can become dangerous quickly. Call 112 or take her to the nearest hospital with a labour ward or emergency department without waiting for a clinic appointment. Heavy bleeding days or weeks after delivery is called secondary postpartum haemorrhage. It can be caused by infection or by a piece of placenta staying in the womb, and doctors have effective treatments once she is seen.
What depends on your situation
The parts of this that change from woman to woman. Uncertainty is stated, not hidden.
- While you travel, keep her lying down, take her discharge papers and any medicines she uses, and keep the used pads if possible so staff can see the amount of blood.
- If the nearest facility is a PHC, go there first if it is much closer; they can stabilise her and arrange transfer. Government hospitals provide postnatal emergency care, so do not delay over cost.
What this answer cannot determine
The boundary of online education. These need a clinician who can see you.
- Nobody can judge how much blood she has lost or why from a description. She needs an examination, blood tests and possibly a scan straight away.
Questions for your clinician
Take these with you. You can add any of them to an appointment card.
- What is causing the bleeding?
- Does she need a scan or a procedure?
- Is her haemoglobin low, and does she need treatment for it?
- What should we watch for once she is home?
When to seek help
Clinician-approved guidance for this topic. When in doubt, being seen is never the wrong choice.
Emergency — call 112 now
- Call 112 or go to the nearest emergency department if you soak through a pad in an hour or less, pass clots bigger than a plum, feel faint or dizzy, have a racing heartbeat, or have chest pain or trouble breathing.
- Do not wait for the bleeding to stop by itself or try home remedies first.
Get help the same day
- Even if the bleeding slows on the way, she should still be examined today.
Raise it at a routine appointment
- After she recovers, make sure she has a follow-up check and a repeat blood count as advised.
Sources
The evidence this explanation is built on.
- Postpartum care MedlinePlus (NIH)
- Breastfeeding MedlinePlus (NIH)
Who wrote and reviewed this
Every AskHer answer names its author. A clinically reviewed answer also names the clinician who signed it off — if no clinician is named below, it has not been clinically reviewed.
- Author
- AskHer Editorial (AI-assisted draft) AskHer's editorial team — not an individual clinician Works in English, தமிழ், हिन्दी
- Clinical reviewer
- Nobody yet No clinician has signed this answer off, and no person on the editorial team has read it yet. That is what the “Written with AI assistance” label means. It is queued for an editor to read, and then for a clinician who works in this area. The sources it was drafted against are listed above.
- Review status
- Written with AI assistance — not yet reviewed by a person
- Last reviewed
- Not yet reviewed by a person
- Version
- 1
Correction history
Substantive changes are listed, not quietly edited away.
No corrections have been made since this answer was first published.
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