Uterus massage is it necessary? & PPH?

[dust]

From memory (which isnt great being 5yrs ago and the brain after just giving birth etc)
and alot from what ive been told from DH.

I delivered bub, drug free i had some artificial water breaking (after my waters broke) as it broke and some of it didnt and was hanging around bubs head and the exit..

I laboured standing up, i couldnt stand still, it was painful to lay down.. my body was saying 'move and keep moving and we can deal with the pain' so i did..
I did have alot of internals (all requested by me) partly because with each shift change the midwife did not believe i was that far into labour and another at the end again because altho i didnt feel any urges to push there came i time where i just knew i could push (i think they were weirded out that i was smiling??!! and calm??!!)

I pushed/delivered standing up bent over the foot of the hospital bed.
i dont remember what happened much after that.. but the cord was clamped, bub taken away crying to get dried, checked?(she scored a 9) and bundled up in blanket.. meanwhile i was on the bed asked if i wanted the synotocin for the placenta (which i thought was normal to have??!! i gave my consent)

Im not sure when the pushing on the tummy happened..the placenta was delivered heaps quick and was checked.. i do know that they kept pushing on my tummy and blood kept coming.. hubby says the midwifes (2-3 now in room) looked quite worried and one left to get someone more in charge or with more experience was asked to come in and check.. the bleeding eased up, i was never told there was a problem.. i grazed only.. (im not sure what that meant) but my labia minora was torn on 1 side(is that the 'graze?') By the time they were looking it, it had stopped bleeding and they were happy not to stitch up and so was i!

clearly if i did PPH i would have been told and put on a transfusion and had to lay still or something??
was the pushing or massaging of the uterus really neccessary? how could i clot if all the blood is being pushed out (if thats why they do it) Is there any reason why i cant do the massage myself? is the massage necessary when breastfeeding?
At my whatever-week-checkup all was fine and good with uterus size.
Its something thats been on my mind all these years and im not sure i want anyone touching my belly after the bub is out.. im wondering if how i laboured and delivered had anything to do with how much i bled?
I wasnt told anything about the bleeding (i can understand why) but DH was left to worry and wasnt told anything either..

id appreciate any help and links if u have any! TIA
srry if ive put this in the wrong place..

[Trillian]

As far as I know palpating your stomach after birth isn't necessary in a normal situation. After 3 of my births I did have them give a quick push down just above my pubic bone as I was birthing the placenta. I did have a retained placenta after my third birth and subsequently a PPH, and they did do a lot of palpating in that instance trying to get it to come free. Lucky you getting asked if you wanted syncto for the placenta though - most of the time you just get jabbed before you even realise (and it is an option to say no too).

With a PPH you don't always need a transfusion though - some women recover on their own with no issues at all. I did have a transfusion as my haemoglobin levels weren't rising at all. You don't need to have a lot of rest or lay down either, just take is easy really, but you would do that after bubs anyway. You wouldn't necessarily have been told either, different hospitals will have a different idea of what constitutes a PPH - for some it is a loss of more than 500mls, others it is less than that. So maybe they were happy that you stopped bleeding and they didn't think it severe enough to call it a PPH, who knows. Have you thought about requesting a copy of your notes at all? It would be written in there.

[Tanstar]

Im not too sure about the pushing bit, because I had a c/s and had a PPH of 600mL and no transfusion but had to take iron tabs for 3 mths after the surgery, so it must vary per person I guess. HtH!