Flying next week...bleeding yesterday...should I go...HELP!

[Margie32]

I desperately need some advice please. I am currently 16 weeks pregnant and everything had been fine up until yesterday. Yesterday afternoon I went swimming and when I got home I noticed some blood in my knickers and when I wiped after peeing - sorry if TMI. Obviously I completely freaked out but as it was late I decided to wait until today to go to the docs and see if the bleeding went away. After a night of getting up every 5 minutes to check my knickers, I had no more bleeding this morning, but we decided to go to the docs anyway. She gave me an examination, we saw the baby and the heartbeat and that was fine (yay!) and she sent off some swabs to check for infection, although she says she thinks that's unlikely as I don't have any other symptoms. She says that I could have been doing a bit too much exertion and burst a blood vessel. Now I'm on 2 days rest and have had no more bleeding since we got back from the docs.

My question is this: next Wednesday I'm booked on a flight to Boston to go to one of my best friends' weddings. None of my friends who are going to the wedding even know I'm pregnant yet, as I was going to surprise them when I got there. Assuming that I have no more bleeding this week, should I still go?

Hi Margie32 I think you should speak to your MW or GP before taking a decision to fly. If it is what your MW said, a burst blood vessel then you should be fine but to be on the safe side I would still speak to MW or GP. Once you have spoken to either of them I am sure you will know what you want to do.

Check your insurance - if you don't tell them about this (it's now in your medical notes), and you fly, if something happens during or after the flight, you could find your self in the USA with NO INSURANCE, as you will be deemed to have invalidated your insurance by not telling them about this. REALLY. You could be left with a bill for many thousands of pounds, even for relatively minor treatment.

I would be asking your GP if the low pressure on the plane is likely to burst more blood vessels - and where was the blood vessel? Placenta? cervix? That might make a big difference to whether it's safe to fly or not.

Ditto to the above - check with your GP, Midwife and insurance!

I'd be a bit worried TBH. If swimming was enough to cause bleeding, flying might be as well.

Are you sure it was vaginal bleeding and not piles?

Thanks for all your advice. japhrimel I'm pretty sure it was vaginal bleeding, as that was what the doc said, but what would be the symptoms of piles? oldmum42 I spoke to my health insurance company this morning who said I would be fully covered for any medical treatment while in the States.

I would love to be able to check with my MW or GP but I live in Spain and things work a bit differently over here. We don't get assigned a MW, and I tried to make an appointment with the doc who looks after our PG yesterday, only to be told that he doesn't have a free appointment until Aug 30th! Hence my desperation post!

It's good the insurance situation is sorted.

Piles - well, in your bottom obviously, but if sure the bleeding was vaginal, could have pile-type veins in there too, or on the labia - symptoms would be a hideous ache in that area (as I know only too well!), but there may be no symptoms. the veins can burst with rubbing or pressure but you'd think an examination by the GP or MW would have seen any problem veins. It's probably harder to see where the bleeding is from if it the cervix (might not be able to see if it's the cervix or if the blood is coming from the uterus). Bleeding from the cervix is fairly common - it's so soft and vascular during pregnancy. I kept getting it after using the exercise bike at the gym, as peddling was pushing my leg against my belly, and must have been pushing into my cervix - scary, so now I just swim a km instead.

Were you swimming or doing water aerobics? could you have been causing friction against the cervix like I was???

Did she take swbs - thrush is one of the biggest causes of bleeding and you don't always have to have symptoms . hth

Hi moonstorm, yes she did take swabs, I get the results next Tuesday. If I did have thrush how would I treat it and could it harm the baby?

oldmum thanks for all your advice, the truth is I'm not entirely sure where the bleeding was coming from, but I had no pain to go with it and am assuming it was from the cervix. The doc said that over-exertion could certainly have caused the bleeding and she told me I had been doing too much swimming, I need to cut down.

I think I have pretty much decided not to fly next week, I just think it's not worth the risk.

Hi Margie, I was wondering how you are getting on, I was on the TTC post MC thread with you, and was so pleased you got pregnant so quickly, I am also 16 weeks.

Not sure if you've been across to the pregnant post MC thread in this same pregnancy section as it's lovely to see the same people there.

Take care and see you soon, BunnyBaby