Bleed site

[Lithgow2000]

Hi

I feel completely lost and abandoned with no advice or indication of what to expect.

I've had spotting from weeks 8-13 on and off with a couple of light bleeds. Both bleeds were after abdominal ultrasounds.

Baby is fine and has been checked several times. The bleed site was missed on two previous ultrasounds but a doctor in the antenatal unit finally found it and said it was small.

I guess if it's small, i'm confused why the prolonged bleeding although I acknowledge I'm lucky these have been light bleeds. Is there anyone who went through something similar and can share how long the bleeding lasted? I was told earlier on that bleeds usually resolve themselves in a few days.

Mentally it's draining being so on edge all the time. All I've been told is to go back if it gets any heavier.

Thanks in advance.

This was me, I had regular spotting, occasional light bleeding and one heavier bleed. I'm 24 weeks now and haven't had much of anything in the last few weeks so it does seem to have resolved itself. They decided during a scan at 16w that the spotting was most likely due to a low lying placenta, by the time of my 20w scan it had moved back and that did tie in with the spotting resolving.

I know exactly what you mean about it being mentally totally draining, there were days I felt I couldn't even get up I was so scared the bleeding would suddenly get worse. Unfortunately some women are just bleeders but it doesn't always mean anything is actually wrong.

Hi

I had this although it resolved around the 12 week mark. It was so scary and depressing so I totally sympathise. I had spotting and a couple of heavy bleeds (the first one I was filling pads within minutes). My baby boy is now 11 weeks old so there is hope. The subchorionic hematoma support group on Facebook was helpful x

Sounds like a subchorionic hematoma? I had a relatively small one, yet during my biggest bleed I was sitting on the toilet and blood was pouring out of me like a tap! It is really scary at the time, but usually they do resolve completely in the second trimester.

Thank you! The extent of the information i got was 'there's a bleeding site which can cause miscarriage but it's small. There's nothing we can do about it' now the continued bleeding is just such a worry x

Thank you for sharing your story. Nobody has been forthcoming with information or help and the two doctors who saw me kept mentioning the M word. I just wish they'd have been more reassuring since it's small or give me an idea of what a 'bleed site' actually is. So glad yours has cleared up x

Thank you for sharing. I hope mine does eventually start to clear up too. I'm not sure what to expect or what is normal. I'll try and find the Facebook page thank you xx

@Lithgow2000 hematoma actually only increases the risk of miscarriage very slightly. Please listen to this podcast, it really helped me at the time when I was so so worried https://m.soundcloud.com/user-472702094/first-trimester-bleeding-and-subchorionic-hematomas-with-dr-mackenzie-naert#c=696

I should also add that I was prescribed progesterone “just in case”. I had a history of early miscarriages so coupled with the bleeding, they thought it was best for me to be on it until 20 weeks x

Thanks so much! I wish they'd have been a bit more reassuring knowing the stats. I was told to just pray for the best which really broke my heart. I'd just seen my little on on the 12 week scan 🥹🥲

Thank you! Do you mind me asking who prescribed the progesterone? And was your bleeding heavy? I have had an early miscarriage years ago and they never mentioned progesterone

@Lithgow2000 the fact that you got to 12 week mark is really assuring. I think you will be just fine! It was actually a doctor abroad that prescribed it as I was abroad at the time but I believe you could have it prescribed by your GP or in EPU as the criteria is previous miscarriage + bleeding in current pregnancy. I had 2 episode of very heavy bleeding (bright red, pouring out of me like from a tap- sorry TMI). Other times it was more of a spotting but sometimes the spotting was pretty bad like lots of dark blood on the pad sometime with clots. It was also pretty much non stop for the first 12 weeks with some odd days when I didn’t bleed much.

Thanks again. I'd be so lost without helpful people like you. I guess the lack of advice or prescriptions means they're not overly concerned about it. Which makes me feel a little frustrated that the doctor told me to pray for the best walking out the door 😞
I haven't been told to take it easy or asked to do anything differently and was just left with the advice to come back if it gets heavier

I know that NHS care is terrible when it comes to miscarriages/early pregnancy issues. I was kind of lucky to be abroad visiting family at the time as the doctor there actually recommended bed rest and signed me off work for 2 months. Apparently there is no evidence that bed rest makes a difference but it made me feel like I was doing something, plus I couldn’t have worked anyway due to how stressed I was by the whole thing.

I would call your GP and ask for progesterone quoting the NICE guidelines:
“ In November 2021, new guidelines were published about the management of bleeding in early pregnancy. If someone who has had a previous miscarriage starts bleeding, they should now be treated with progesterone as this slightly reduces the chance of miscarriage. The guideline says progesterone should be given if the pregnancy is in the womb, and potentially normal, until 16 weeks of pregnancy”

If you want to be signed off work, I would say that you are extremely stressed and cannot cope with work. They should sign you off no problem.

Thank you. I think work might be a good distraction and I have a work from home desk job so very lucky.

Should I phone my widwife or GP do you think?

I hate how the NHS deal with this stuff. Yes to you it's a medical situation but that's my baby 😞

I know, I hope you will get some better care going forward. I would try the midwife first and then if no luck maybe GP. Either way, don’t let them fob you off. They pretty much have to prescribe it to you. Also do you have any private scan places near you? I went for regular private scans which really helped with my anxiety.

Thanks again. I'll call my midwife tomorrow and just ask for some clarification on the whole situation. I wish i'd had more midwife interaction at the hospital rather than doctors, they seemed much more patient orientated.

I do have the option for private scans but i'm having to save for private cervical length scans because I had a lletz procedure and the nhs won't check that until 20 weeks. I feel so defeated with all of this 😞

I wasn't even told to have a follow up scan. Do they understand the stress and mental impact of telling someone to go home and wait and see.

I thought with it being small, the baby doing well and being passed 12 weeks along with the fact the bleeding is minimal would warrant a little bit of reassurance.

My first miscarriage was never confirmed on a scan so it seems they don't count it . Urgh

Ok, a few more things to hopefully reassure you.

Re progesterone- you could give Tommy’s a call (a miscarriage charity) regarding who to contact to obtain prescription. I don’t think the miscarriage has to be confirmed, they should take your word for it. Even if you don’t get progesterone though, I wouldn’t worry. The guidelines is to take it up to 16 weeks only anyway as that’s when your placenta fully take over and progesterone makes no difference at that point. You’re not far off that point and even at 12 weeks your placenta is slowly taking over.

I agree, they should have reassure you. Although please bear in mind that any bleeding is technically classed as threatened miscarriage. It’s written all over my notes even though doctors were very reassuring. So don’t pay too much attention to the terminology used.

One more thing- when you look at that Facebook group, a lot of people continued to bleed until 20 weeks or even beyond so it’s quite common for it to continue but things still turn out ok

Thank you so much, i really appreciate it.
The bleeding is basically non existent now and is very light. I'm hoping the small bleed might be coming to an end.

It was the doctor telling me to pray and no positive comments which just destroyed me. I was ok before that x

That's so reassuring. I was told 72 hours but i've yet to find anyone who found it stopped that quickly

72 hours for hematoma to resolve? Whoever said that, doesn’t know much about hematomas. They usually take weeks to resolve for sure.

The early pregnancy unit 🤷‍♀️

Hi, sorry I know this is an older thread... Hope all is ok now?

I'm just freaking out as I've just had some bright fresh blood and a small clot after going to the toilet. Had a healthy 12wk scan a week ago today and was measuring 12+4. Prior to this I had two very minor spotting episodes at 8 and 10wks. They put me on progesterone at 8wks due to previous losses last year. At the 8 wk scan they had a good look but couldn't see any obvious site of a bleed.

I was just beginning to feel more optimistic about this pregnancy and this has happened - on a Friday night no less. Just feeling really worried again 😔 Will be ringing the EPU in the morning but just looking for similar stories.

Hi @SnookyPook sorry you are having this too, it really sucks when you have bleeds like this. Definitely ring the epu to get checked out for peace of mind, but it doesn't sound like the bleeding is too heavy so likely nothing to worry about.

Did they say at the 12w scan where your placenta was? It's common with like low lying to get bleeds like this until it moves back.

Fwiw, when I originally posted on this thread I was 24w. I also used progesterone, and actually ended up needing it my whole pregnancy until 34w. The bleeding did come back but lighter and lighter each time until 28w when I had the last episode of bleeding. My son was born healthy 11 days ago.