PPH and REDHEADS?

Specialties Ob/Gyn

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Hi everyone! I'm doing a little assignment on myths vs research in the workplace. Can you help me out? I work in a very large tertiary care centre where we have 600 births a month. It is a teaching hospital where lots of research is conducted. However, I often encounter the belief that women who are red-heads tend to bleed more excessively. This belief results in these women haveing their iv's in longer etc. I'm just wondering if anyone else has encountered this and what you feel about it? Thanks for you help!!

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

MGS04 therapy may have had something to do with your boggy uterus--- more so than your being a redhead. MGS04 does cause smooth muscles to relax, including those of your uterus. It's not unusual to see this in Mag patients, and we watch for it . Also, depending on your reasons for being on Mag, for example, if you were pre-eclamptic, you may have had platelet abnormalities (that go with pre-eclampsia)---thus more bleeding than average.

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MGS04 therapy may have had something to do with your boggy uterus--- more so than your being a redhead. MGS04 does cause smooth muscles to relax, including those of your uterus. It's not unusual to see this in Mag patients, and we watch for it . Also, depending on your reasons for being on Mag, for example, if you were pre-eclamptic, you may have had platelet abnormalities (that go with pre-eclampsia)---thus more bleeding than average.

Sorry Deb, I should have written it out - I had morphine sulfate after my c-section, not magnesium sulfate. I guess that's a good lesson to me why we always have to write it out on our verbal orders at work (we give both in my unit).

No pre-eclampsia (thank goodness), just a baby that wouldn't fit.

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

rofl ok.......big difference....ty for clearing that up. btw, it's not at all uncommon to see 500- 800cc blood loss in csections........but more like a liter ---now that is a concern.

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In my google search for information about "redheads and postpartal hemorrhage" I found this thread

in my textbook there is a "Clinical Tip: Women who are natural redheads tend to experience heavier bleeding after childbirth" - but I couldn't see anything specific in the References, so I was going to ask:

is there any source that provides information about the number of redheads, or percentages?

or what might be the happening in these redheads?

I've read all the previous posts.

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Specializes in ED, Pedi Vasc access, Paramedic serving 6 towns.

There is apparently scientific proof that we (red heads) are harder to anestitize (sp), so the bleeding problem could also be true. I am a red head, but have not had surgery or children, so I do not know first hand.

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

As a natural 100% redhead, I don't bleed badly at all. Both my births resulted in very low blood loss, 250ml w/lady partsl delivery of son; 400ml w/c-section delivery of daughter. I had my gall bladder out two months ago----no bleeding then. Major pelvic surgery; little to no bleeding noted on chart. Even when I cut myself, I bleed minimally most of the time. My periods are very light and have been since my teens (first 2 years where bad).

BUT pain, whole other issue. It takes a LOT of medication to get severe pain under control for me. I have had so many people give me enough feedback to know that either as a redhead, I follow that theory that we have pain issues, or I am just a total whimp. I do know after multiple varying surgeries and dental work, time and again, it has taken a LOT of meds to numb me or to dull pain. I have heard dentist, anesthetists, doctors, and nurses remark how much it took to get me comfortable. I wish it were not that way for me. But so it is.

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

I don't see enough true redheads to know for sure yet. But if you have a yellow skin undertone -- regardless of hair color or race -- I will be leaving your IV in for a *bit* longer. I have seen it happen too many times with patients that have that particular characteristic.

Arwen's $.02

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I'm bringing this up again because I, too, am trying to find any real-life research on this topic. I didn't believe this wives tale at all, planned for an all-natural birth, ended up with PPH and an emergency cesarean (with an epidural that only really numbed one side--yes, I could feel them cutting into me), transfusion, the works.

Redhead, fair, nope on the freckles though.

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Specializes in NICU.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1351323/

Not directly applicable, but an interesting sidenote.

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Another red head OB nurse. I had two lady partsl deliveries, no excessive bleeding with either one. Infact, my second birth I didn't even have an IV! I have never had a redheaded PPH. I wonder if this old wives tale was started because of the rarity of redheads to begins with... I think only 2% of the population here in the US. My point is, you have a PPH, she happens to be a readhead, so you remember it. Kind of like throwing salt over your shoulder... nothing bad happens, so the salt worked!

My mom is also a redhead, BTW. Two lady partsl births, no PPH.

Sarah

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Specializes in Obs & gynae theatres.

I work in gynae theatres as well as doing c-sections. The majority of our surgeons are of the opinion that redheads do bleed more. I must ask them why......

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