lochia

American  

[loh-kee-uh, lok-ee-uh] / ˈloʊ ki ə, ˈlɒk i ə /

noun

Medicine/Medical.

plural

lochia

1. the liquid discharge from the uterus after childbirth.

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lochia British  

/ ˈlɒkɪə /

noun

1. a vaginal discharge of cellular debris, mucus, and blood following childbirth

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Other Word Forms

• lochial adjective

Etymology

Origin of lochia

1675–85; < New Latin < Greek, noun use of neuter plural of lóchios of childbirth, equivalent to lóch ( os ) childbirth (akin to léchesthai to lie down; lie ² ) + -ios adj. suffix

Example Sentences

Although postpartum uterine contractions limit blood loss from the detachment of the placenta, the mother does experience a postpartum vaginal discharge called lochia.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

The sanitary pad is used to absorb the lochia after confinement, and needs to be changed many times during the day and night; fully five or six dozen will be required.

From The Mother and Her Child by Sadler, William S.

After the birth of the first infant the lochia failed to flow, no milk appeared in the breasts, and the belly remained large.

From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Pyle, Walter L. (Walter Lytle)

The lochia were sowed on the 18th; there was not the slightest trace of growth the next day nor the day after.

From The Harvard Classics Volume 38 Scientific Papers (Physiology, Medicine, Surgery, Geology) by Various

It is also used there as an emmenagogue and diuretic, in intermittent fevers, dropsy and suppression of the lochia in women recently confined.

From The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines by Thomas, Jerome Beers