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Lots of things can cause benign first trimester bleeding, usually your cervix being engorged with blood or inflammed will do it, s_x will do it, low-lying placenta or a bleed behind the placenta will do it too. Shoulda seen it on U/S tho, unless it was really out of site, and then an ER MD (as opposed to an OB/PN) could possibly miss it. I've had placenta previa twice and often have a trickle of bleeding. Usually stops around second trimester. Good luck, hope you find answers, but you may not. Statistics says that if you see the baby's heartbeat your chance of miscarriage is reduced to less than 5%.

I can't remember the technical name for it, but lots of times blood clots form in the first trimester. So you may have just pa__sed a clot. Since you saw the heartbeat, that is a great sign!

Hi Deborah: I had been spotting for a few days around the 7 week mark, and then I started bleeding quite heavily. I had recently gone through a miscarriage and was convinced it was happening again. I went to the emergency and they checked me and then did an ultrasound. They found the heartbeat, but also found a small tear, between the placenta and the sac. They told me that it was called a subchorionic hematoma and it happens usually when there is a blood clot, or broken blood vessel and it gets in between the placenta and the uterine wall and can cause bleeding, and cramping. They said my tear was fairly small and that it should heal on its own but recommended no s_x until bleeding stopped for 2 weeks, and no major exercise or lifting. I think if it was anything major they would have notified your doctor and he would have seen you right away. How many weeks along are you? Do you have any cramping? I had quite bad cramping in my back until the bleeding had stopped completely which is typical with a tear. They should have been able to detect a hematoma through ultrasound. Not sure of course if that is what you have but it is apparently quite common. Good luck.

Thanks for the posts... the ER doctor pulled out a HUGE blood clot, but still didn't have any answers as to why there was so much blood. The doctor who let me go said it was very common for bleeding like mine to happen, and that if it happens again, unless accompanied by major cramping or losing too much blood, then I shouldn't bother going back to the ER. I thought that was quite uncaring of a doctor... I guess they have so much to do, they only want "real" emergencies there. After my last miscarriage, which was a real emergency cause I almost bled to death... I thought I was supposed to be there... so glad it didn't end the same way. About the baby's heartbeat... that's great, but my last miscarriage was at 10 weeks and I had seen the baby's heartbeat then too. So, although I know it's supposed to be reduced, with my fibroids, I don't think it matters much in my case. Thanks for the info Buff... I'm going to chedk into all that stuff. I'm thinking the same thing as you, Ann... because there were a few small clots and then the doctor pulled out the big one, so hopefully that's all it was, but the blood had to come from somewhere??? And they mentioned nothing about a tear, Karen... so, I don't think that was the problem. Since I found out I was pregnant, my husband has said absolutely no s_x for us this time... he thinks he caused the miscarriage the last time, so he's playing it safe... and I'm off work, so I'm doing nothing but lying around the house these days... thought it would be great, but I'm bored out of my skull. I'm just over 7 weeks now... no real cramping, though some discomfort. How far along are you now, Karen? Thanks again ladies... it's always helpful to have others to share this with, it makes me feel less alone. :o)

Hi Deborah: Hope all is still well. That seems strange that they can't tell you why you are bleeding but I guess sometimes they just don't know. I had some blood clots too and after that the bleeding diminished more everyday until it went away about a week and a half later. I know how scary bleeding is, especially since having a recent miscarriage. Hopefully your doctor will be able to give you more info when you see him. I am 12 weeks on Friday! Yahoo! How sad that you saw the baby's heartbeat last time but still miscarried. Did they find out a reason why? Did they think it was chromosonal or from your fibroids? I am not sure what fibroids are. I have read that s_x cannot cause a miscarriage so your husband shouldn't feel guilty but I know how he feels. My husband and I had s_x a few nights ago and I started bleeding again a day later so no more of that for a while. I have another ultrasound next Thursday and hopefully they will tell me the hematoma has repaired itself. I agree, these forums are a great way to feel more connected and less alone.

Hi Karen... Things have definitely settled down since the bleeding on Sunday, but I'm still spotting blackish blood all the time. I'm on progesterone suppositories, and one of the side effects of that is spotting... also headaches and nausea... great, eh? LOL It would have been nice to have known why I was bleeding so heavily, but they said it's very common in the first trimester and most times they don't know why it happens. I'm hoping the specialist will be able to enlighten me a bit more next week... but again, they don't know everything. This guy deals with high risk pregnancies, so hopefully he'll have some answers. So, 12 weeks along, eh... you must be happy about that? I hope all goes well for you guys... and as for the s_x, my husband just doesn't want to take any chances that way. He's a bit weird actually and thinks that it's wrong to do that on the baby's head. LMAO Sorry, but I can't stop laughing about that one! Men can be strange creatures. I know any bleeding I had after s_x the last time I was pregnant, my husband felt was his fault. They never did tell me anything about my miscarriage last year... and I was so weak from losing so much blood that I just wanted to go home. So, we have no idea what caused it. I hope all goes well with your ultrasound and that the tear has repaired itself. Thanks for listening, and if you need someone to listen to, I'm always here... I don't have a life anymore!!! My email address is deborah969@hotmail.com. Don't hesitate to write if you want. Take care.

Hi deborah - glad things are settling down for you. No news is good news, right! Yes, I'm very happy I made it to the 12 week mark. Almost second trimester!! I haven't even told my parents yet. I am waiting for my next ultrasound next Thursday and if all is okay I'll tell them then. After miscarrying in February I am being really cautious. Do you have any other children? I have an 18 year old, and nearly 8 year old. I'm starting over that's for sure!! Hope your weekend is stress free.

Hiya Karen... sorry it's taken me sooo long to respond to you. I was on holiday and haven't been around the computer for quite some time. I hope everything is going great for you. How did the ultrasound go? Have you told your family yet? You must be getting quite big now, I would imagine it's hard to hide it. LOL As for me... well, I do have a 14 year old, so I know what it's like to think about starting all over. I'm sure it'll be great though! I went for my nuchal translucency scan last week and it came back with a positive screening... feeling a bit blue with that news. Guess we're going to opt for amnio, but it terrifies me. So, that'll be my next thread on here. Hope all is great with you and that you have a great holiday season.

Hi deborah 969 ! At 8 weeks I too had very heavy bleeding . I was taking an afternoon nap and when I woke up and stood up I had bright rd blood running down my legs . My DH rushed me to the ER where they booked me into hospital and were basically telling me that I had a miscarriage and would need a D&C the next day . The next day the gynae performed an internal and said that my cervix was closed and did an U/S that showed a heart beat . It also showed that the bleeding was coming from my placenta and not my cervix . I was told that ANY bleeding in pregnancy is not a good sign and should always be seen to . I was admitted to hospital and also put on progesterone supositories . I was only allowed home once the bleeding had stopped . All was well after that untill about 16 weeks when it all happened again . i went through the same routine and all sems to be fine now . So take it easy and know that not all bleeds result in miscarriage .. I have a huge belly to prove it !!! So take it easy and take care of yourself ...

Hi Tylersmommy... thanks for the response. Most of my heavy bleeding has stopped and I just have the spotting from the progesterone now. What you went through must have been terrifying. At least the hospital never told me I was having a miscarriage. I never like to see the bright red blood, and hopefully things will just continue normally now. Take care and I wish you the best.

Hi deborah969, I'm glad all is well and that your bleeding has been reduced to spotting. I thought you should know that Karen E lost her baby at 14 wks. Her story is on the May, June and some TTCer's threads...I can't remember which number though, you may have to go back and look for her name...maybe 9 or 10? Anyways, just thought you might want to know. It was very sad for all on the thread to hear her news.

Hi babymakes5... I was so saddened to hear that Karen lost her baby. Thank you so much for letting me know. My heart goes out to her and her family.