16 weeks bleed, EPU won’t see me

[Pinkpepper9]

Hi all,

I woke up this morning with a bright red bleed with clots, but without pain. I left a message with the Early pregnancy unit at the hospital and got a call back a few hours later. As I’m not experiencing any pain they advised me to just keep an eye on it, and to only phone back if I get any pain. They said they would normally offer me a scan but due to coronavirus they can’t offer this option unless I had heavy bleeding and pain.

Has anyone else had a bright red bleed with clots at this stage? It has since settled down to a light brown bleed. This is my 1st pregnancy and I’m really anxious, My 16 week midwife appointment will be over the phone and my 20 week scan isn’t for another month when I should be 22 weeks pregnant.

Any experiences (positive or negative) will be much appreciated.

Hi Pinkpepper, sorry you’ve experienced this, you must be feeling very scared.

I had a huge red bleed at 14 weeks with a couple of smaller ones that followed in subsequent day’s. No real clots, maybe some stringy bits (sorry if TMI). I had a scan a couple of days ago at 18 weeks and all is absolutely fine. They think it’s likely it was a hematoma or maybe a cervical ectropion.

Good luck and if the bleeding increases or you feel any pain, ring back and be pushy. X

I’ve had bleeding (without pain) at different points in both my pregnancies and it’s been fine for both of them. I was told to rest when I had bleeding so good luck and rest up.

Same as coffeeorwine had a gush of bright red blood at 14 weeks followed by a few more bleeds that week. Called 111 and they told me to go a&e was eventually seen by epu and they checked cervix and booked a scan few days later, I had no pain and they found no reason for the bleeds. I had 2-3 weeks of brown spotting until it stopped completely and currently 24 weeks with a healthy baby. If you are concerned call again or 111 and see if they advise going to a&e. Good luck x

When is your 16 week mw appointment? If it’s soon, I’d probably hold out until then and tell your mw. She maybe able to refer you to epu.

@coffeeorwine @user1493413286 @LuckyC27 thank you all for your replies. I understand that everyone’s experiences are different but it’s reassuring to hear that it doesn’t automatically mean the worst. I’m just going to keep monitoring and hope for the best. I was told not to attend A&E if I have any bleeds, but I will insist EPU scan me if I get any more red bleeding!

@Lavenderpurple I have been told this will be over the phones but I haven’t heard anything yet. I’ll give her a call on Monday, hopefully she can refer me!

I had a massive bleed at 16w - ended up being admitted into hospital and lost nearly two pints of blood but despite that, everything was fine. I bled on and off up until 18w when it suddenly just stopped happening. I would insist on being seen though personally. Hope everything goes okay.

I guess the issue really is that a scan would be for information only and not treatment based. Ie it won’t affect the outcome either way at this stage but would give you information only. So it’s not worth the actual risk for staff or you to attend a scan. If the bleeding worsened or continued or you felt unwell etc then that may change things and you might get seen. But sadly I guess it’s a case of rest up and time will tell. Sorry.

@kirinm blimey that’s horrible, hope you’re ok! Did they investigate the bleed?

@Isadora2007 of course, I 100% understand their perspective, I’m just very anxious that’s I’m bleeding for an unknown reason. Just would like to know why it’s happening and where it’s coming from. As you say, just need to rest and wait it out

I thought EPU was for before 12 weeks.
I was told after that talk to the hospital, my notes had numbers on the front. They can refer you for a scan, can you do that?

Where I live EPU only said MW or GP referral, yours obviously differs but I think you need to be seen

Yeah they did investigate but never found the cause (which seemed ridiculous to me). They said it can happen and sometimes it lasts the whole pregnancy and sometimes it just stops (which I really didn't believe) but it did just stop.

I know a scan won't tell you anything but it will offer reassurance and that is usually something they'll consider. I'd definitely be asking.

Yes as Chumpchop said - you may get a better response from your maternity assessment, my EPU seemed to close on evenings it was crackers! I wasn’t scanned at all bleeds but the midwives were very happy to get a doppler out to reassure me, and said even if I had brown bleeding but it increased, I was welcome to call them for advice. To echo kirinm - mine randomly turned to brown and then stopped all together at about 17 weeks, touch wood no more so far.

It is totally easier said than done but I would try to rest and monitor. X

@ChumpChop @coffeeorwine ah everywhere is different it seems, my EPU is up to 17 weeks and we are advised to call them directly for any concerns. It’s definitely reassurance I’m after right now, my next scan is over a month away. The bleed has slowed down to a light brown bleed, but if it starts up again I will push to be seen. Thanks for your replies :)

@kirinm wow I can’t believe they couldn’t give you a reason, sounds so scary. The EPU said some women do just bleed but I don’t find that reassuring! I’m glad it came to a stop for you and I hope mine does the same. I’ll wait and see what happens over the next few days as the bleeding has slowed down.