Subchorionic Hematoma has got bigger for a 2nd time.. am I overrreacting being so anxious?

[EllieJade95]

Hey everyone,

I've done 2 posts on my subchorionic hematoma before, but now unfortunately making a third..

I had a scan yesterday when I was either 11 weeks 6 days or 12 weeks (couldn't get a proper measurement as baby was asleep and scrunched up so was appearing as 11 weeks 3 days but the sonographer said she knew it was bigger than that) and have seen my hematoma has grown again. Initially, when I was first told I had one at 9 weeks 3 days it was less than a cm, then it doubled to about 3 and now it's gone up to 6.4cm - it basically doubles each time I go. A lot of what I read is either about how it stayed small or started off large and didn't grow bigger but I haven't seen many things about it consistently growing and now i'm panicking. She said it's not on the placenta, and is at the bottom of the sack which she is pleased about as this won't affect the growth of the baby/nutrients and I believe it also stops something like placenta abruption (I think?). I have been taking progesterone since the first scan and have been resting and drinking lots of water. Usually, I get some pain and have a bleed but on Sunday I had very intense bad pain and couldn't walk but didn't have a bleed (I think this was because of the progesterone, as I believe it helps stop the bleeding) and just had some brown blood yesterday morning. I know this is the better outcome, as it's more scary to have the bleed but i'm so terrified of it getting larger for the further on I get.

I asked the sonographer if there is more of a risk and she said going by the evidence, there's not but I also know how under researched SCH's are in comparison to other things. She has said she'll request a consultant to book an appointment with me to see if they want to monitor me but all in all, I don't feel any reassurance... they also couldn't tell me why I get such bad pain before a bleed. I asked my midwife and she said it's very common for them to get bigger but not sure if she's saying this to make me feel better.

I'm sad because I have my dating scan tomorrow & should be really excited I have made it this far as I previously had a MMC but I feel like I don't even want to tell people in case something happens, which I know is totally stupid. I always wanted to be confident in sharing my pregnancy etc, especially after my miscarriage but feel like the growing of the hematoma is making me so anxious and concerned for the future.

I'm intrigued to know if anyone has had exp with it getting bigger consistently? Did it ever stop etc? There's part of me that thinks it will just keep going and going...

Thank you x

Hello again. I went through the same kind of emotions and I tried to grab onto the positive bits:

• Risk of miscarriage in general is a lot lower after 12w, regardless of sch or not
• Every day without drama is a good day where the baby is getting stronger by the day. Sch may or may not get bigger, but the baby certainly does! At the end of the day, most sch I think got squeezed out of existence by the bigger baby.
• As your sonographer has reassured you (and me back in the days), the location of the sch doesn't pose much problem to the baby, as any bleeding will just come out of the exit directly without disturbing the baby
• If you still feel anxious, you can book some private scans to monitor it a bit. I bought a 3-scan package for like £170 and went every week or so. Ask the sonographer if there is any sign of active bleeding (think they should be able to tell from the image).
• I also felt like living by the day at the time, and I didn't share my pregnancy news until like 5 months (except that I told my boss at 8w because of the sch bleeding and she allowed me to wfh for a month since then)

Fingers crossed for you! Just take really good care of yourself, keep resting, drinking, eating healthily and try to immerse yourself in those positive thoughts!

Here to hand-hold while you're going through this. My 10yo is proof that sch can turn out fine.
But I do remember the torture of bleeding on and off, not feeling able to enjoy being pregnant or sharing the news. I had loads of check-up scans, but ultimately it was a case of waiting for it to stop, knowing neither you nor anyone else can do anything.
My bleeding completely stopped by around 20wks (as pp said, the bigger baby essentially compresses the haemorrhage), and I was able to relax and enjoy being pregnant.
I won't say relax because that's impossible, but do rest, keep (gently) busy to distract, and if you're worried call your midwife. Don't worry about bothering them, that's exactly why we have midwives!
💐

Hi OP,

just wondering how things are going with your pregnancy ? Going through something similar with mine 🫶🏻

@CG124 hello! Sorry to hear you are going through this - it really is rubbish for anxiety. Mine did get bigger a couple of times but had gone by 16 weeks when I had a private scan and I didn’t have further bleeding from about 11 weeks. I’m now 21 weeks and the next anxiety is feeling movements 😅 I just rested 99% of the time, kept activity very low. I hope yours disappears soon x

Oh I’m so happy to hear everything is well now ! The anxiety is never ending ! When u say you rested 99% of the time did you take time off work ? I’m trying to do as little as possible and letting my OH do most with our 2 year old !

@CG124 I didn’t take any time off work but that was only because I mostly work from home in my job so it’s easy for me to work on the sofa/bed and I just told them I wouldn’t be going in for a while. I was also lucky I didn’t have another child to run around after! What I found interesting was that no one from the NHS told me to rest, I only got that advice from a private sonographer and mumsnet etc. I honestly can look back now and agree that they are mostly harmless & will disappear over time. I think it’s the bleeding that made it scary. How many weeks are you?

@CG124 And what I mean by the NHS was having 3 scans through early pregnancy unit, my 12 week one and also a meeting with a consultant!

13 weeks this Tuesday .. working from home isn’t an option for me but I’m going to try and stick to my desk as much as possible and drive to and from work. Thanks for all your reassurance I think it just makes you not want to tell people until it’s gone ?

@CG124 I know exactly how you feel because I was the same! We told people around 13 weeks because we had the attitude of there was nothing we could do to stop it and for all we knew, I could have it my whole pregnancy. Have you had much bleeding with it?

I had this with my 2nd pregnancy (baby is now 20 and at university). It disappeared somewhere l between 12 and 20 weeks, didn’t come out so must have been reabsorbed by my body they said. At 12 weeks, it was bigger than the baby. There was not even at sign at the 20 weeks scan. I remember what a horrible worrying g time this was, and I know I can’t help allay your fears but just to say that I’m proof it can be ok.