Redheads unite!

[animaldoctor]

Good morning ladies. Last week at my appointment, I met a new OB (have been working through all of the practice's docs). He opened the door, took a look at me and said "A redhead! You know what that means!" I thought that he was referring either to our legendary tempers or that fact that we often can require more anesthesia, but he said that redheads are bleeders. That wasn't the most comforting thing to hear!  So naturally I took the next step and polled my one redheaded colleague, and yes, she had bleeding issues with her births.

So any STM+ that are also red headed do you feel there is any truth to this? For the record, I am not worried about it, just curious!

[smilesp]

I'm a redhead and I haven't heard that we bleed more but I have heard we sometimes need more anesthesia than non-redheads. I know this has been true for me at the dentist.

[CTri17]

A little more. My mw has me take 2 alfalfa pills daily, my 2nd birth had nearly no bleeding ,so I am doing it again this time, Im not a full fledged redhead but have a lot of red in my hair

[rocksforludo]

Never heard this but I'm a redhead as well. I don't know if I bled more than others but my epidural did wear off pretty quickly with DD. I actually ended up not minding that as I could move and get into different positions. Anyway, I like this thread just to know who the other redheads are!

[veganontuesdays]

My mom is a redhead and did for sure mention this to me about her experience giving birth to me. She was kept in the hospital longer as well.

[limad]

Wow, I've never heard that! If I bled more than usual with DD I didn't know it.

[sarahbmcd]

I'm a redhead but a FTM so I have no idea! Now, I'm a little worried!

[Deleted]

I am a natural redhead.  Vaginal birth for DS1, emergency c/s for DS2.  No one said anything to me about how much I bled/didn't bleed nor has anyone made any sort of comments during this pregnancy (and I have seen a few different doctors).  I suppose it is subjective and relative to whom they are comparing people.

[animaldoctor]

@bearvg,there have been studies showing that redheads require approx 20% more local anesthesia. We are genetically different than our blonde and brunette counterparts. I used to have an article about it (yay science) but can't find it right now. I don't know why the bleeding occurs but I plan on looking into it!