Subchorionic Haematoma advice / handhold please

[Shazafied]

Hi all,

I just had my dating scan. I’m exactly 13w and all was fine except at the very end I was told I have a SCH measuring 1.9 x 0.7 x 2.2 cm. They were clearly running behind so she just said “we’ll book you for an additional scan at 16w to see how it’s doing” but offered little else in terms of reassurance or information.

This is my second baby, I have a 10m old dd who I constantly need to pick up and carry so resting is not really an option.

I’m totally totally freaking out..... worrying that something terrible will happen. I haven’t had any bleeding or spotting - is that a good sign?

I’ve read that they sometimes shrink / disappear so I hope this happens to me. I’m going to be paranoid for the next 3 weeks now .....

Has this happened to anyone else ? What was the outcome ?

I might call my community midwife ... not sure what she could do but I feel so incredible anxious. I suffer a lot with anxiety and this is going to push me over the edge !!

Thanks for reading

Bump !

I have also had this, that pregnancy is currently demanding his dinner! Definately worth speaking with your midwife to find out further details/ reassurance. I believe it can shrink of its own accord, or can bleed itself out (which happened to me) i would say yours sounds small so hopefully wont cause you any issues!!

Thanks so much for replying . I’m driving myself insane. Almost due to go back to work and have to look after DD1 and I just feel like curling up in a ball and hiding for the next 6 months. I’m glad yours disappeared xx

Same. The outcome started school this term :-)

My SCH was there from the first scan (IVF, so that was at 6+5). It was basically gone at 22 weeks. I spotted through the first 4 months and had a couple of first trimester bleeds, but DS was fine. What remained of the SCH on the 16 week scan must have been reabsorbed. DS born at term safe and well.

It's scary but the odds should be on your side. Distraction is your friend right now. Dr Google is not your friend.

@ceara thanks so much for your encouraging words. You are right about distraction. I’m just praying to god it disappears. I don’t suppose there’s much I can do other than trying to take it easy .

It’s jusg nice to hear from ladies that understand x

Chances are everything will be fine- however stay off Dr. Google! It will always, always lead to more stress and worry!

X-post re google!!

I had one - big bleed at 6 weeks and had a scan which showed an SCH, similar size to yours. I spotted for a week afterwards and haven't had any more bleeding since. They could still see it on another scan at 9 weeks, but by the 12 week scan it had gone. 21 weeks now!

I think that that size is actually very small - I read loads of stuff online at the time and saw lots of posts about SCHs much bigger than that! I think it's very unlikely for a small SCH to cause any actual problems :)

@vuduvu I’m so glad yours has gone. And thank you for saying it’s very small - this is exactly what I need to hear. I’m the sort of person that hears something like this and assumes The absolute worst. I hope the rest of your pregnancy is a joy. The next 3 weeks will be very hard, and I hope to god it’s either gone or shrank in that time. Thanks all

@Shazafied that's what the ultrasound people said to me at the time as well. They were really reassuring - I was super anxious as had two MMCs before this but felt much better after chatting with them, they pretty much said it wasn't anything to be worried about at all.

Hope you manage to find something to distract you over the next few weeks, it's so hard waiting for scans!

I have a SCH that was discovered after I had a huge bleed at 6 weeks. Had a scan and they found a SCH measuring 3.5cm but it was right above the baby so position made it more serious. Had another bleed a week later and ended up back in hospital and scan had shown it had moved away slightly but was the same size and I haven't bled since.

My biggest advice is not to read too much into it. I made my self physically and mentally ill doing exactly that. In the US etc they tend to put patients on bedrest and stuff but there is no research to show this helps and it is also dangerous to be lying down so much because of clotting etc. At my second scan the midwife told me to step away from google and that no matter what I do, the outcome for the pregnancy has already been decided for me. That really helped as I had stopped going to the gym, reduced my hours in work, upped my iron and water intake but really when it comes down to it, what will be will be. Your SCH seems very small so that could be why they didn't go into too much detail. I would definitely see a midwife for some advice. If you have any bleeding or cramping call EPAS straight away. When I bled it felt like a huge gush, almost like my waters had broken and it came from nowhere. Just incase the same thing happens to you and you panic.

I had several, huge and bled terribly until 22 weeks. Was hospitalised several times. She's now 11, and currently carving pumpkins whilst watching the bake off Just be sure to rest.

Hi. I had them in both my successful pregnancies. I didn't get any bleeding and both eventually disappeared. Try not to worry too much. Seeing blood would be alarming I know but from my experience it's perfectly possible that you won't experience any bleeding at all.

@Mcdonals234 that sounds really stressful , well done for remaining sane ! How many weeks are you now ? Thanks for the understanding and advice - yes I’ve been very tempted to curtail my activities , but then that’s less to distract me and like you say, it may not make any difference. And with dd to pick up and put down it’s just not possible .... good luck with the rest of your pregnancy xx

@Eddiie, thanks so much, the vision of pumping carving to bake off is very cheering.

@welshmammy Thanks for your reassurance - I really need it to keep me going . Can you remember when they appeared / disappeared ? I read somewhere (don’t worry - I’ve stopped reading now) that late 1st / 2nd trimester ones are worse .... but can’t remember why.

I had one with this pregnancy (currently 36 weeks). It was discovered very early on (at 6 week scan) and disappeared by 16 weeks. Never had any bleeding with. Try not to worry. They usually get reabsorbed. I think the most dangerous time is at the beginning of 1st trimester as the SCH tends to be bigger than the baby and could possible cause a miscarriage when it bleeds. Yours is very small so nothing to worry about it. I bet it will be gone by your 16 week scan.

Good luck, try and relax and I second everyone elses’s opinion - stay away from Google xx

@PJ12 thanks so much ... I can’t tell you how reassuring that is. I’m reading these replies over when I need to “talk myself down”. I wish you the best of luck for the last few weeks of your pregnancy

I had this with continuous spotting in trimester 1 + a couple of really big bleeds. DD is now 5 and thriving!

Echoing everyone else.......I had a bleed at 8 weeks and thought it was game over. I had a scan the next day which showed a small SCH. The bleeding continued and I had a further scan at 10 weeks which showed it had got much larger. I still have the scan pics which show a big blood sac hovering ominously over the little blob - I really thought it was game over and it would bleed out and cause a miscarriage.

But it didn't! The bleeding stopped at 14 weeks and by the 20 week scan it had reabsorbed. The result is a very lovely and bonny 5 months old today 😊.

I really feel for you, it is a horrible worry and I (inadvisably) drove myself mad reading awful stories online where people had bad outcomes. Do not do this! I think it is very rare. As I say, mine was at one point very large - I can't look at the scan pic without feeling a bit tearful - and it was fine. If you haven't had any bleeding I think that is a good sign as well.

Thanks both.@underthewestway that must have been awful . I feel that there is an ominous threatening thing looking over my tiny baby toox alhough fingers crossed it doesn’t enlarge. Thanks for your kind words. Yes I need to keep telling myself bad outcomes are rare and hopefully very rare with small SCH’s x

Yes I had this early on...detected by private consultant and not picked up on in any nhs scans. I was told it was small and likely to be reabsorbed and so I relied on nhs care for the rest of my pregnancy as u do as couldn't afford private and my baby almost died at birth due to undetected malpositioning and suspected placental abruption. No idea if these issues were related to the sch but Dr google suggests they could be. Sorry i dont want to scare u i was just really unlucky but the reason I'm telling u this is that on balance of probability your pregnancy will progress well and if so you won't be routinely scanned in 3rd trimester. Please, please pay for a private scan and don't just rely on the expertise of your community midwife. So many problems occur in the 3rd trimester due to sch or other issues and they go undetected because there's no routine scan provided after 20weeks. Yes it's probably rare to go through what I did...but believe me when you're on the intensive care baby ward you realise that there are lots of other mums who have suffered these rare complications that a late on scan could have detected. I think you will be fine, my baby was in the end,but I would get a late on scan if i were u as i found community midwives to be pretty clueless on anything that's not the norm.

I had a SCH with my dd2 who is now 12! I basically bled on and off until around 22 weeks as it gradually bled itself out. All was fine.

@pols19w thanks for sharing your story , I’ll certainly get regular scans one way or the other throughout my pregnancy... until they tell me it’s 100% gone. Can I ask, for the private scans who did you use ? I was thinking of visiting babybond etc for additional scans but not sure i would trust them . I’d rather be scanned thoroughly by a doctor but no idea where to go for the privately (if I can’t get it through nhs). I’m so glad your baby is fine but what an awful experience for you xxx

Agree about community midwives being clueless if not the norm. Mine hasn’t calmed me back in 2 days.

I don't know if you're London but I had two scans at the Fetal Medicine Centre. It's run by Professor Nicolaides (he also practices within the NHS at KCH) and the scan appointments are with doctors. I would have gone back there for a third trimester scan (prices are a bit higher than babybond though). However, I ended up having an NHS late scan anyway, which my consultant did.

Thanks @ceara. We are just about to get £1k cash back on our mortgage so I’m going to keep that back for scans / private help if needed. Not much though ! I’m not in London so prices might be cheaper . Does anyone mind telling me how much they paid for a private scan with an gyn/obst ? Thanks xx