Definition of "lochia"
lochia
noun
plural only
Normal post-partum vaginal discharge; blood, mucus, and placental tissue that are discharged from a female's vagina (similar to menstruation) for several weeks after she has given birth.
Quotations
Variations in the quantity, quality, or odour of the lochia not unnaturally excite great alarm in the mind of the patient, who regards any deviation in this secretion as a proof of serious disease. Yet very remarkable differences do occur, without any morbid affection of the uterus or vagina.
1866, Fleetwood Churchill, On the theory and practice of midwifery
In three or four days the distinctly bloody character of the lochia is altered. They have a reddish watery appearance, and are known as the lochia rubra or cruenta [...]
1884, William Smoult Playfair, A Treatise on the Science and Practice of Midwifery, volume II (fifth edition), part III, chapter IX
For the first three or four days after delivery the lochia are red; [...] three different types of lochia are distinguished: ‘lochia rubra’ or ‘red lochia’, ‘lochia serosa’ ‘serous lochia’, which appears five to six days after delivery, and ‘lochia alba’ meaning ‘white lochia’, the final lochial discharge [...]
1998, Giovanni Maciocia, Obstetrics & Gynecology in Chinese Medicine, page 609