When she took to social media three weeks ago, former Citizen Television news anchor Janet Mbugua opened a Pandora’s Box that the society would rather mask.
Her seven-minute video, aptly titled Some of the Things They Don’t Tell You About Childbirth, was an instant Facebook hit. In the video, Janet talks about her experience with lochia, the vaginal discharge after giving birth — known in medical circles as puerperium — which contains blood, mucus, and uterine tissue. Many may cringe at this but it is an expected discharge which typically continues for four to six weeks after childbirth, the postpartum period.