Picture this. As a new mother, you are changing your newborn baby girl’s diaper only to notice spots of blood. What would go through your mind? Will you be just calm about it? Would you accuse your spouse of defiling your child just like *Stacy, who almost separated from her husband?
“I accused him of “touching” our daughter. He almost left me,” she says laughing nervously
Stacy was at home about to bathe her daughter. When she was removing her diapers she noticed the scary blots.
“I froze. My mind was racing. I was going crazy. Because in my mind, I was 100 per cent sure she was defiled. In my house, it is just my husband and I. I did not have a nanny. So if I did not do it, it had to be him. I walked to the siting room and accused him. He had this look, I will never forget. The look of shock and disappointment. How could I accuse him of something like that?” she admits.
Her husband wanted to take the baby to the hospital with her, but she refused. She would later come back and ask for forgiveness after being told that it was normal.
For 36-year-old Grace Wanjiku, it was a moment of numbing shock. “At first, I thought the blood was from the stool because she had stomach pain...The normal stomach pain for newborns. But when I checked further, I noticed the blood was coming from her vagina. I screamed. I thought my baby was dying,” she says
She, however, rushed the baby to the hospital and was told that it was normal. “I was furious, because, why was I not told that vital information during clinic visits and after delivery? This should be first of the things a mother is told, immediately after the gender reveal scan. I was so furious,” she says.
Grace has now made it her responsibility to inform new “girl moms” and mothers expecting daughters that, the little ones might spot their diapers.
35-year-old Mercy Mwende thought her one-day-old baby had started menstruating.
“I was still at the hospital; when I saw the blood I screamed. The doctors came and explained it to me,” she says
However, it was different for Maryline Njuguna, who says the doctors informed her after delivery.
“When I saw the blood, I was not shocked. The doctor told me it might happen, so I just cleaned her. You can imagine if I was not aware, I could have gone crazy,” she says
The Standard asked 10 women if they knew about “false menstruation.” Four were unaware, two were aware about it, though it had not happened to their daughters, one was aware and when it happened she wasn't shocked, while three found out when it happened to their babies.
Experts say the bleeding is normal. A baby is exposed to high levels of sex hormones, like oestrogen during the gestation period. These hormones help a baby develop their sex organs.
The hormone levels will drop once the baby is born, hence the newborn baby girl can have vaginal bleeding.
Midwife Nerea Ojanga, says every newborn baby girl has a discharge, but a few would have spots of blood. She always tells mothers about the changes.
“This thing can break homes; a mother can think her partner has touched the baby. This is why I always inform expectant mothers about what to expect, during and after delivery,” she says
Nerea adds that newborns’ privates should be washed delicately. “A baby girl’s vagina should be washed gently with just cotton and water. Due to hormones, they can even have milk in their breasts,” she says
Apart from baby girls, Nerea says baby boys should not be left in hot water during births. “The bath should be a quick one, because making them sit in hot water can interfere with their reproductive health in future,” she says
Dr Saudah Farooqui, an obstetrician and gynaecologist, says false menstruation is a rare phenomenon, which can happen even up to two weeks after delivery.
“This happens because of oestrogen that passes from the mother to the baby through the placenta. It may last three to four days, but it’s not normal if it lasts for longer than a week,” she says
Dr Farooqui says the blood is a little more than spots but not heavy like periods of an adult.
Reproductive health specialist, Junior F Mukudi, adds that in newborn baby girls, "false menses" or pseudo menstruation can occur, characterised by vaginal bleeding shortly after birth. This phenomenon is typically caused by the withdrawal of maternal hormones from the baby’s system.
False menses in newborns usually occur within the first few days to the first two weeks after birth. This timing correlates with the period when maternal hormones are leaving the baby’s system, which typically happens shortly after birth.