Am I having a miscarriage? Advise please!

[NarcolepsyQueen]

I am 7 + 2 pregnant. I have just been to the toilet, and when I wiped there was watery red blood. I am unsure what to do. I phoned the hospital, and they put me through to gyn ward. There is no sonographer on over the weekend. She suggested I went to A&E (?!) If the bleeding becomes very heavy, but if it carries in like this to make a GP appointment on Tuesday. Does this sound right? Is this the start of a miscarriage, or is this a threatened miscarriage? I hate the uncertainty! Help please!

That's really tough for you. It could really go either way - I have had the same in a pg which is now my ds, but also had this when I did subsequently miscarry. Does your hospital have a pregnancy support unit (aka early pregnancy unit)? They are the ones who can do early scans, or check your hcg levels over two days to see if they are going up or down. Tuesday does seem a long time to wait to see anyone. However you may well find that that is the last blood you will see and all is well. (You haven't had sex today or have thrush or a uti at the moment?)

Thank you igggi! No sex, thrush or uti. Tuesday just seems like a very long time to wait, I agree. There is no Early Pregnancy Unit here sadly (weird - as it is the newest hospital in the country!). If it carries on, do you think it is worth phoning the out of hours GP? (Damn the bank holiday weekend!). Just feel so helpless!

Bleeding in early pregnancy is v common. Just to agree with iggi every time I've had sex I've had slight bleeding, which tends to arrive approx 2-24 hours after the event. I went to the Fetal Assessment Unit at 7 weeks because of bleeding - some Health Authorities require you to have a referral from a midwife or GP before you can go. I know it's v v hard, but bleeding is extremely common & doesnt necessarily mean anything horrible. Good luck - let us know how it goes x

Yes def phone out of hours gp - they can be really helpful

This could be a miscarriage starting or it could be cervical erosion. The latter is very common, and it's a symptom of the pregnancy 'bedding in'. I had it with both my pregnancies at exactly this stage and now have 2 healthy DC aged 8 and 5. Watery red bordering on pink fluid was exactly how I would have described it. Red, oxygenated blood of the type that you would get if you cut yourself is not a good sign. This is tricky time for you but try and relax, lie down, get your DP to look after you. As soon as your GP is available, get him /her to refer you to the early pregnancy clinic for an early scan. At your stage you should just be able to see a heart beat and if you do, there is less than a 5% chance of miscarriage.

If you get a lot of crampy type pain, I would present to A&E as there is an outside chance it's an ectopic pregnancy - but don't panic as this is rare.

Good luck.

It could be a miscarriage or it could be nothing. I've had two ectopics, one miscarriage and am now 38 weeks pregnant. I had light bleeding with all of them at the start. And, horribly, there isn't very much that anyone can do if it is a miscarriage.

If you start bleeding heavily then definitely go to A&E. They still won't be able to get you a scan until the sonographer is back after the weekend, but don't let them fob you off without agreeing to one either.

If the bleeding remains light, then you could go to A&E anyway, but, you might find yourself waiting for a long time at the hospital - on a weekend bank holiday, this is not much fun. Your GP may also refer you for a scan too - if your GP is usually fast at giving appointments then it might be worth waiting for them.

Whichever you decide, the best advice I can give is to stay off your feet, avoid any heavy lifting, and rest. If you have been quite active then a miscarriage still isn't your fault, but you should look after yourself - don't do anything that you might irrationally end up blaming yourself for later, in other words.

I hope you're ok. Bleeding in early pregnancy is horrible, and there's nothing you can do at this stage but wait. I've got everything crossed for you, and I really hope the bleeding has stopped.

It's really tough having to wait like that. Take good care of yourself. Do you have someone with you for support?

In my experience, OOH GPs can be a bit hit or miss. The last time I had to see one for bleeding was useless, but evidently they're not all like that.

It also might be worth phoning up NHS 24 and just asking how you go about getting a scan as soon as?

Oh - thank you all so much for your support. You are all being so lovely that it is making me weepy! Thank you for such excellent advise too. My DP is here with me (along with DD 7 and DS 11months. I don't have any paid - which I take to be a good sign. However - I didn't have any bleeding with my other twi, so bracing myself for the worst. Just to confirm the plan: if the bleeding increases and I also get pain - go to A&E. If the bleeding continues like this then phone out of hours GP. If the bleeding stops, is it worth going to the GP on Tuesday anyway?

Yes, I think so. If the bleeding stops, I'd still try and get an early scan - seeing that little heartbeat flashing like a Christmas tree light is one of the most wonderful sights you'll ever see! I would expect this bleeding to be on and off. Most important thing is to go to bed and try to rest and relax. Get your Mum/ best mate/ whoever to help with DC when DP presumably back at work.

Thank you Fulhamup - I will keep my fingers crossed and try to take things as easy as I can (just moved to a new area - so don't know anybody and also work full time whilst also looking after DS!)

Pleasure NQ. Let us know how it's going. Thinking of you.

Thank you. A little more bleeding last night. A little brown today. I still don't have any pain.

At 7 + 2 it could be breakthrough bleeding which is hormonal and quite normal - it happened to me at 7 + 4 and 8 + 3 and I went to the GP in a panic. He was very unworried (and perhaps not very useful) but I'm now 23 + 5 and all is great. The GP's advice was to do nothing unless a) it came with pain, b) it came with clots or c) it was filling more than 1 sanitary towel per hour - in which case I should go to the early preg unit - I guess for you if it hit that stage then A&E is your only option in case it's an ectopic. I really hope this helps but I'll also keep my fingers crossed for you.

A little brown is fine. Please try not to worry. Call GP and insist on referral for early pregnancy scan first thing tomorrow morning.

pain = A&E. might still be fine though. see my story below.

no pain = probably from sex, pregnancy implanting/taking root, could be anything really. bleeding is soooo common.

ALSO: if you or DP's blood type is Rh-negative, every time you have a bleed you need to go to A&E regardless, because you'll need that injection to ensure you don't create antibodies against the baby.

fwiw i had a bright red bleed at what i thought was 8 weeks (was probably 10 weeks) and slight back pain... went to A&E... cervix closed and heartbeat strong. Dr said it was likely from sex (we were a bit enthusiastic the night before...!) and we are still going strong at 21 weeks.

friend of mine had a massive, dripping down leg, bright red bleed at 6ish weeks, she thought there was no way it wasn't a miscarriage. her son is now four...

you should go to the GP anyway. let him/her check cervix and perhaps order a scan etc to check for erosion/haematoma/whatever.

Morning ladies. Thank you so much for your messages. I had some more watery red this morning. Still no pain or clots. Perhaps I was just very lucky the last two times as I had no bleeding! Just really concerned it is a MM. Just tried doctors, but their answer machine is still set for bank holiday message. Will try again and go and see them. So very worried! The not knowing is a killer isn't it!