Sub-Chorionic Hematoma: how much bleeding is 'normal'?

[QueenAngst]

I'm about 9 weeks and I have spotted and bleed this entire pregancy from before my BFP.

At 5.5weeks I had big red bleed. A scan at the EPU found a bleed in my uturus but away from the sac. The red blood turned brown (and bitty, like bits of a scab!) and the bleeding slowed down.

At 8 weeks I had a tiny red bleed, I went back to the EPU and was told I have a SCH on the sac. It's not huge but it's definitely visable.

I'm now having light pink watery bleeding. I also have mild cramps but have had these throughout the pregnancy.

My question is, how much bleeding is normal with a SCH? I've bled a small amount of fresh pink blood or dark brown blood everyday from week 4. This is exhausting and I'm just waiting for the worst to happen.

I had this too. It started before I knew I was pregnant - thought it was a period. Then had a very heavy bleed at 5 weeks - Went to EPU and they thought it was a miscarriage but rescanned at 6 weeks and all was fine. I then continued to have mainly brown spotting for two/three weeks and it then subsided. 12 week scan showed it had all gone.
I guess it depends on the size of the clot. But if it is away from the embryo then that is a good sign.
Good luck!

Thanks boat. I'm worried because I bleed everyday. And I have cramps (which I've had on/off from the start). Today I've convinced myself all my other symptoms have vanished. It's like I'm bullying myself. Must think the worst!

I'm determined not to have another scan until 12 weeks (if I get that far) as there's nothing they can do anyway.

Queen I'm in the same position. 12+1 with a SCH above placenta. I've had spotting and light bleeding of every colour throughout and two HUGE bleeds in the past week - gushing blood and clots passing. Everything seems to have stopped now but I'm just waiting for it to start again. I'm off work at the moment as I have a very physical job and it's also possibly unsafe for me to drive the 40 minutes there, as the gushing comes on with no warning.

I also have cramps and backache every day, but I've had them every single day of the pregnancy regardless of whether I've been bleeding or not, so they aren't necessarily related. It can be a normal symptom of pregnancy for some women.

The constant waiting for something awful to happen is the worst, isn't it?

And to answer your question, I've been told by the EPU that I only need to come in if I have a heavy bleed, heavier than a period. They seem remarkably blase about it...

It's SO stressful Bue! It's reassuring that your EPU were calm about it. My sonographer was very blunt and told me it could end badly - although she had zero bedside manner. I saw a midwife after this who told me some women simply bleed and for them it is normal. Then I read the Internet... Mistake!
Good luck.

Yes, HUGE mistake! Unfortunately this is making it impossible for me to enjoy the pregnancy as I am convinced it will end at some point soon Hugs to you!

I had this with my first pregnancy, they told me it could be a problem but that this was very unlikely and I should contact them if I was worried or had a very heavy bleed. It was absolutely fine in the end and I think these are more common that you'd think. Stay away from Google and don't feel silly ringing or going in for advice or a check up whenever you feel anxious

I promise to stay away from Google. Internet off now!
Good luck to all with SCHs. They are shit!

I hope that I can make you feel a bit better by telling you my story so far.

I started bleeding at 9 weeks, just light spotting, but was scanned and found to have a SCH. I wasn't told until my 12 week scan that I had a large bleed that was 'concealed' showing up on the scan. At 15 weeks I started spotting again. I had a lot of pain and was concerned about more concealed bleeding but wasn't scanned. At 16 weeks I had a bleeding like a heavy period and there was some concern but a heartbeat was found so I was told not to worry unless it became heavier. That night I bled so heavily that I was blue-lighted in to hospital. I was scanned at that point and found to have a MASSIVE concealed haemorrhage still sat there.

I had two more massive bleeds and multiple occasions of heavy bleeding. On scan, the area of bleeding covered the entire anterior wall of my uterus 'from fundus to os'. A SCH is considered large if it is half the size of the foetus. The larger the SCH, the worse the prognosis. And yet, at 19 weeks I had my last bleed. When I was scanned at 20 weeks, there was no more SCH. Our chance of this happening was slim. We were told to prepare for a late miscarriage. I'm now 25 weeks.

There is an increased risk of pre-term delivery but it is a higher chance, not a foregone conclusion.

SCH can cause extremely heavy bleeding but generally speaking there is a good outcome.

Sorry you are going through this OP (and others). I think these occur in about 1 in 100 pregnancies, so although not normal, relatively common. While there can be bad outcomes, hang onto the fact that the odds of the baby being OK are in your favour. Your bleeding sounds "normal" for an SCH to me but any bleeding or spotting is terrifying and the endless watch-and-wait is terrifying. For what it's worth, mine spotted pink or brown constantly from 6 til 11 weeks with two small (didn't seem small, I was terrified, but others have had heavier and not miscarried) red bleeds, and the SCH took until 20-22 weeks to finish reabsorbing. I had regular reassurance scans - some people find them helpful, some don't, for me they were a sanity-saver but it was an ivf pregnancy so regular monitoring and scanning was familiar and therefore oddly comforting. Do what you think will most help you regarding whether to scan. Mine had a good outcome, he is nearly 1 now. Stay away from Dr Google, but you know that! Distraction is your friend, but it's not easy. Good luck.

Thanks for all the reassuring stories

Yes, thanks very much all. And good luck to everyone going through this.

I had this. started at 11 weeks.

I bled do much I was sure there was no way the baby could have survived it.

I lost clots the size of Mars bars.

at one point I was so white I looked like a corpse.

It went on for weeks to varying degrees. my baths looked like a shark attack.

but dd was ok. She hung on in there. It's not over til it's over
so sorry your going through this it sucks beyond belief.

I was told I had a haemorrhage at week 6 after passing brown and little bit of red blood. I’m now 7+1 and had a heavier red bleed with a clot, it’s slowed down and now I’m getting thick clumpy brown discharge, not a lot maybe about the size of a 50p coin when I wipe. But very lumpy. Is this normal with a haemorrhage???