Bleeding at 20 weeks

[fingersandtoescrossed]

Hi... I'm about 20 weeks pregnant with my 2nd child and have spent the afternoon at the hospital getting examined, scanned, etc as I had quite a heavy bleed at lunchtime. Would like some reassurance / similar experiences please. I realised I was bleeding so went to the loo and passed what I've been told must have been a clot. I picked it out of the loo to see what it was (sorry if gross / TMI) and it was red, smooth, quite flat, looked like a piece of liver, and about 3.5 inches in diameter. There was also more blood.

I totally assumed I'd lost the baby but on the scan it seemed. They wanted to keep me in overnight but said they assumed I'd want to go home and that was fine, so I did. I'm supposed to go back if fresh bleeding continues, or if I pass another clot. The scan showed the placenta was a bit low-lying but that was all. They examined my cervix and said it seemed fine. Couldn't spot any bleeding on the scan.

Can anyone explain any further or tell me what's likely to happy? Thanks...

anyone? sorry meant to say 'on the scan it seemed OK'

hiya,
i know someone who had a massive bleed at about 13 weeks and they said it was because a part of the placenta had come away and a blood vessel had been broken at the same time, causing this huge amount of blood.
she had more scans, and there was a pocket of blood at one point, but that disappeared after a while and she went on to have a healthy baby at term

so... could be a similar thing I guess? do youhave to go back again or did they seem happy with the scan today?

thanks iwontbite - that's reassuring to hear. I think they were happy with what they saw but at the same time said I had "very significant" blood loss and couldn't find the cause of it, so I guess that's the bit they're unhappy with...

I don't have to go back unless the bleeding continues, which hopefully it won't. However they did advise me to stay in tonight in case I miscarry... hope I've done the right thing in coming home but I think I would have gone crazy stuck in there on my own all evening and night waiting for something to happen.

Sorry you have this worry. It sounds like you have placenta praevia to a greater or lesser degree. If you google it you will find more info or sure you will find plenty on here if you do a search - basically low lying placenta close to or over cervix where it can not adhere so well and risks partially coming away and bleeding. You need to rest and continue to take it easy and go back to them for more info about what that all means in terms of the continued pregnancy/delivery etc. As the uterus expands the placenta can move away due to the expansion "pulling" it up, but this does not happen for everyone. Severe cases need bed rest but I cant say if that is for you or not as obviously they have not given you full or clear information so far. It does sound like there are still positives to focus on for you so don't believe this is all over and lose hope, though of course it is natural to worry. Let us know how you are doing.

slight bleeding still this morning but I'm not even sure if it's fresh or not which is the key thing apparently.

somehow this has all ended up with DH and I having a huge row this morning and shouting at each other and saying all sorts of awful things. how did it come to this

I had bleeding at 23 weeks and went to hospital and spent all morning there. Same as you they wanted to keep me overnight but baby was fine as was my womb and cervix so I went home. I did take a week off work though and rested. ( I took 7 days off which is the most I could do without a doctors certificate) I also had a low lying placenta. I have a scan next week to check up on progress (28 weeks) but I have had no bleeding subsequently and I feel fine. I would definately recommend rest though and don't go back to work until you feel ready. By rest I mean feet up or in bed at least for a couple of days if you can. It's a horrible scare.

How scary, fingersandtoes. Poor you. I'm very sorry to hear this and hope everything will be fine. I don't know anything about this really but it must be a good sign that the scan shows everything is ok, I'd have thought.

Your husband should be completely ashamed of himself, imo. Is he generally unsupportive or is this an anomaly caused by his own worry and stress? Very sad for you that you're having rows at a time when he should be rallying round you and being 100% supportive, even if your worry is making you behave unusually/unreasonably in some way (not saying it is but know that pregnancy hormones combined with worry can make for unexpectedly heightened emotions and behaviour from my own personal experience!). Hope he will be offering grovelling apologies in the near future and that you can go on to have a quiet, restful day and be looked after as you deserve.

I think he's just more stressed and worried about it than I realise... It's just a shame that we can't just support each other. He got angry/frustrated because he asked me in the morning if I was still bleeding and I said I didn't know. (hadn't been to the loo, hadn't looked and I guess I was slightly in denial about finding out...)

I feel he should be more supportive but at the same time maybe I need to understand more where he's coming from too and how he feels...

I wouldn't say he's usually unsupportive, and we rarely argue, but at the same time I think he has quite a blinkered way of looking at things - he thinks his life is hard (which it is in a way - very demanding career) and mine is easy, but mine doesn't always feel easy, working 3 days a week, looking after DD, doing all the cooking, housework, shopping... but that's a whole new thread entirely...

Anyway we're going to take DD to the park now which should help all 3 of us. (DD is poorly and miserable with hand foot and mouth disease at the moment!).

Thanks for the replies and support - I really need it at the moment. xxx