Final answer:
The combination of pelvic pressure, leaking and discharge, pink discharge, and fever after childbirth suggests a postpartum infection. Though normal postpartum discharges, such as lochia rubra and serosa, occur, the presence of fever is a key indicator of infection.
Step-by-step explanation:
The symptoms described: pelvic pressure, leaking and discharge, pink discharge, and fever (100.4°F) suggest the possibility of postpartum infection. Although lochia rubra (red lochia) and lochia serosa (pink lochia) are normal postpartum vaginal discharges, a fever indicates the presence of an infection rather than a usual postpartum process like lochia or the normal involution of the uterus through uterine contractions. Lochia rubra typically transitions to lochia serosa and then to lochia alba (white lochia) without the presence of a fever.
Female pelvic pain, discharge, and bleeding could point towards other conditions like pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), but together with fever specifically after childbirth, postpartum infection is a more likely diagnosis. It is crucial to distinguish these symptoms from others like postpartum hemorrhage, preterm labor, or placental abruption, which have different presentations and are managed differently.