bleeding at 22 weeks

[issywoo]

i had bleeding episodes over 3 days last week. the blood at first was brown and then was dripping red. i guess i lost about 3-4 tablespoons. i had a scan which confirmed my cervix was closed and the placenter was high but that the bleeding was coming from behind the placenter. i have taken the week off work but am unsure if this is serious or not. i'm next due to see the obs when i am 25 weeks unless i bleed before. does this mean the placenter is not working properly and the baby will be small? will it affect its intellectual development? i had a c-section last time - will i again? how long should i rest for and what kind of rest? sorry for all the questions but i'm so worried about it all - thanks

I don't know issywoo but I'd go to your hospital midwives for a check up to put your mind at rest.

hello issywoo
perhaps it's a haematoma (bruise)? did the midwives say anything like that at the scan? I have one behind the placenta that caused bleeding every couple of weeks for a few months but then seemed to get smaller and hasn't caused any problems for a while. Midwives told me that it's 'abnormal but common'and one midwife said it might be caused by the placenta implanting particularly vigorously but I'm not sure how scientific that was. Anyway, no-one said anything about any other problems related to growth etc.
There are also several posters on mumsnet who had bleeding right through pregnancy and went on to have perfectly normal babies with no complications.
I was told to just rest, not pick up heavy stuff, avoid sex and orgasms until the bleeding had stopped and then carry on as normal.
I know it's really worrying but the fact that you aren't booked to see the obs for a few weeks suggests that your medical team are not very worried - its a shame they couldn't explain things more to you sooner though - how about phoning your obs or midwives for more advice?

thanks morocco, i feel a lot better now. i presumed they didn't want to see me b4 25 weeks because the baby isn't viable until then. they told me not to have sex until 25 weeks but my gp said they'll want to monitor the babys growth regularly. is placental abruption the same thing as you have? how many weeks were you when it happened and when it stopped and what was the cause? every little ache and pain now worries me.

Hi

I had a hematoma - I started bleeding when I was 6 weeks and never really stopped until I delivered at 42+1! I had regular growth scans and was admitted 3 times due to pretty heavy bleeds. The rest of the time the bleeding was ranging from light brown right through to copious amounts of bright red. Scans always showed nothing but perfectly healthy baby and he was!! 8lb 7oz so didnt affect growth and is now a lovely, healthy, thriving nearly 8 week old.

Just wanted to reassure you as I know how awfully scary it is to bleed when pregnant.

Becca
xxx

thanks for your reassuring message becca. once the doctors knew you were bleeding what did they advise you to do. did you have to have bedrest? if so, for how long? i really want someone to tell me what i should and shouldn't do - i don't want to be house bound if i don't need to be. i have a 2year old whom i now don't pick up at all so ever since it happened i have been very careful not to use my tummy muscles, i did complete bedrest for 10 days and now i'm doing short hours at work but i think i saw a small tinge of blood last night.

I bled at 21 weeks with my son, I was scared stiff and went to hospital where they checked me out. I had to return next day for scan and placenta was fine. Bleeding stopped but I felt "achy" inside. Because baby was large I had to have elective cs at 37 weeks, and 4 days before my op. I started to bleed again but this time was at hospital. The consultant was happy that I was okay and gave me his number if I felt worried over the weekend. (The beauty of BUPA). Ds was 8lb 12 so no growth problems there!
Good luck.

I bled at 21 weeks with my son, I was scared stiff and went to hospital where they checked me out. I had to return next day for scan and placenta was fine. Bleeding stopped but I felt "achy" inside. Because baby was large I had to have elective cs at 37 weeks, and 4 days before my op. I started to bleed again but this time was at hospital. The consultant was happy that I was okay and gave me his number if I felt worried over the weekend. (The beauty of BUPA). Ds was 8lb 12 so no growth problems there!
Good luck.