Pregnant and bleeding. Help!?

Question

I recently found out that I am pregnant. Last night my boyfriend and I had sex and this morning I woke up with a blood stain on my underwear. I became very upset and spent the entire day in the Emergency room, getting lab work and ultra sounds done.

The doctor left me with nothing but unanswered questions. She said that my cervix was closed which means that I am at risk of a miscarriage but am not experiencing one at this time. yet she also said that it was possible i was having a miscarriage. Another possibility is that the baby was conceived very recently (Nothing was detected in the ulterasound tests) which explains the low pregnancy level (I think it was only in the 70's)

the start of my last period was Dec. 25, 06. i have been going through an emotional roller coaster all day and would like some imput on what could be happening. i am to go back in two days to get some more blood work done to see if my pregnancy levels have dropped or increase. i can't wait that long!

Answer 1

Hi there Katie. I understand exactly how you feel. I would feel the same way. I am going to try to share some things with you that I have found and hopefully they will be a comfort to you. I hope so!
First of all I know what you mean when you say you cannot wait that long! Do they have any idea how many hours (not to mention MINUTES!) are in two days? It must feel almost heartless for them to tell you to wait that long. I understand what they are saying though, it will have to be at least two days for the new numbers to have any significance. If they check them again say tomorrow, it will not really mean anything.
Honey, the fact that your cervix is nice and closed is fantastic news. * IF* you were having a miscarriage your cervix would be opening to expell the contents of your uterus.....it isn't , and that is good!
I am assuming that you are NOT actively bleeding, I am sure you would have said so if you were. More wonderful news. Odds are that if you were having a miscarriage the bleeding would have continued and by now would have gotten heavier and heavier. You would probably be passing some clots...you aren't. It sounds to me like it has stopped entirely....that is awesome.
You also do not mention being in pain. If you were having a miscarriage you would be having cramps much worse than the ones you have when you have your period. You did not say anything about being in awful pain so I am thinking that there again, we have great news going on!
Now...if you had just gotten up this morning and found blood in your panties, I would be worried. BUT, you tell me that you and your boyfriend had made love....bingo. Reason for the bleeding.
The pregnant cervix is very tender and soft. Rubbing against it or bumping against it is liable to make it bleed a bit. It does not endanger the baby, it does not endanger your pregnancy, it does not even really hurt your cervix! It is just that it is tender and irritable right now. Have you ever had a pap smear and then spotted? It is sort of the same thing....it is not really significant.
Now, that brings us back to what the doctor said. She is just doing her job. Her job is to look for problems, her job is to "leave no stone uncovered" so to speak. She has been trained to look at every situation with the goal of trying to find any and all reasons that it could be happening. This is a good thing sometimes. If you were in pain you would want her to take aggressive action to try to find out what was wrong. If your new baby was sick, you would want her to find out what was wrong! She is only taking that same attitude with this bleeding. If she had sent you home with the same things that I just told you, she would not be doing her job.
Okay, so she has done her job and I am sure that you will go back and let her test your hormone levels in a few days too. She will tell you then what she thinks. I am sure the levels will be rising and she will then feel comfortable telling you that you have nothing to worry about. She felt it would have been premature to tell you that now as she does not have enough evidence to say that.
I really want to tell you also that since your last period was on December 25th your pregnancy is still very new. When you read all those charts or look at the fetal development guidelines there will always be a two week difference between what they say and the actual age of your baby. Medically speaking, right now they would say that you are starting your second month. It is the difference between gestational age and conceptional age. Actually though your baby is only twenty four days into its development....you are very newly pregnant. Your baby is still called an embryo and is not yet 4mms long. That means it is less than 1/8 of an inch long. During this next week of development its tiny heart will actually begin to beat. Right now the tiny baby parts are not there yet, the embryo is still made of things like the neural groove which will become the spinal cord, somites which will be the future vertebra and heart tubes which are beginning to fuse so that a little heart can form and by the end of this week begin to beat. Your little one still has a long way to go, it is no wonder that even an ultrasound can not detect his or her small presense yet. You will be amazed at the difference a few weeks will make. In a short time your doctor will be able to let you hear your baby's heart beat without an ultrasound. It is really a miracle that a simple blood test can find the pregnancy hormone HCG already. I am trying to help you remember that your pregnancy is still very new and has a long way to go.
I do not feel that you are having a miscarriage. This just does not sound like the course that a miscarriage takes. Usually once a miscarriage is underway it does not stop and start. It continues on its way until it is over....this is not what is happening to you.
I feel strongly that the little bit of spotting that you had was a result of making love, your cervix is touchy, it is nothing for you to worry about.
I hope I have given you som thing to think about that will reassure you that all is well and things are going along just the way they are supposed to.
If you can, try to get the book "What to Expect When You Are Expecting" it is a wonderful book and will answer a lot of the questions that you will have in the coming months. Feel free to write to me and I will certainly write back.
Be strong sweetie. You are a mother now (of a very tiny baby!) and us mother's have to be strong! I will be thinking of you.
Bright Blessings
Lady Trinity~

Answer 2

Well first of all try not to stress too much because that is not good for you or a baby. Secondly it could be one of a few things going on. Inplantation Bleeding is normal early in pregnancy. So is some bleeding after sex. When i had my two miscareges i bled alot i mean a real lot. Also Just because they could not see much on the ultrasound does not always mean something bad. If you are just barely pregnant not much will show up anyway. They told me i lost my youngest daughter when i was 6 weeks pregnant because the ultrasound showed nothing but she is now 2 years old.. So after all that if you are not cramping and not Bleeding still i would relax untill you go back for your next HCG level. And if it is bad news just remember it is nothing you did these things happen trust me but there is hope after. We had 2 miscareges and now i am 6 months pregnant with a healthy baby boy... Good luck and Blessed be

Answer 3

Big hugs to you for all you're going through right now. Some women experience spotting or even a bit heavier bleeding throughout the first trimester of pregnancy and end up carrying to term (that happened to me with my second child.)

The doctor is testing the levels of HcG hormone in your urine. With a healthy, normally progressing pregnancy, that hormone goes up steadily in the earliest days of the pregnancy (HcG is the hormone a home pregnancy test detects.) The doctor will know what type of levels to look for; they look generally for a strong level, then the levels must increase at a certain rate every so many days. The doctors will know more when they compare your HcG level in two days with the sample they just took.

I know waiting has to be the hardest thing for you right now. I had a "miscarriage" (or so I thought) standing in line at the drugstore and called my husband to come get me. My doctor had me ride it out with Motrin at home and it was probably among the hardest 2-3 days of my life. So I know the pain, confusion, and despair you are feeling. Also remember your body is dealing with processing additional hormones from the pregnancy right now.

Can you try to take it easy the next couple of days and really baby yourself? Have your boyfriend get you some fun magazines like Us and People and curl up with some tea and try to get some rest. Best wishes to you.

Answer 4

A closed cervix is required to sustain a pregnancy. U/S test require a foetus to be around 5 weeks old to view, the embryonic sac, and heart rate around 6-7 wks. The fact that nothing could be seen at this stage may suggest that the pregnancy is new. A small amount of bleeding can occur at early pregnancy and the pregnancy can progress to be healthy and safe. The next blood test will confirm if your pregnancy has been sustained. Try to relax and have a healthy diet. Good luck.

Answer 5

The exact same thing happened to me about 5 weeks ago when I was 7 weeks pregnant. I am now 11 weeks and everything is going along fine. I know how you feel. I was an emotional wreck too. Now I am feeling better, but still worried (which I think is normal). I dont know for sure what your situation is, I can only comment on my own. Just have an hCG blood test every few days to measure your hormone level -- if the numbers are increasing thats a goof sign. Good luck to you.

Answer 6

Sweetie... there could be a lot of reasons.
Now I don't want to scare you.... but you could be miscarrying.
I know that when I came out pregnant on my 2ND time, I was scared also. When I went to the ER, they pretty much gave me the same news.
The only advise that I could give you is to relax and to lay down with your legs propped up.
Don't lift anything over 2 pounds, no sweeping, vacuuming, cleaning, ANYTHING!!!
Also, if you do have sex, use a condom.
Your probably asking why?!
Well sperm is like patoisin. It can trigger labor contractions.
That's why some doctors say that if your baby is late on it's due date, having sex can help start up contractions.
But it would be best to NOT have sex right now.
Don't stress yourself out a lot right now either.
I know that it's hard not to when your worried. It was hard for me too.
But a lot of woman do miscarriage during the first trimester.
I just hope that you aren't one of them.
I will pray for you and I hope that all will go well for you and your little one.
God Bless and Good Luck...

Answer 7

I had a bit of bleeding throughout my pregnancy - at 8 wks, 12, 16, 32, and 36 wks (always when my period used to come). I ended up have a healthy baby boy born at 39 1/2 weeks gestation. I understand that sometimes you may have bleeding sfter intercourse because the cervix is more sensitive. You'll have to wait and see - Good luck.
Pip

Answer 8

First off, relax. Getting upset will do no good and could cause more problems for you.
The day after I found out I pregnant with my daughter, I started bleeding. I had blood work done to check my HCG levels. The levels were very low (I think in the 50's). I was told that I either was newly pregnant or I was losing the pregnancy. Another blood drawl was scheduled for two days later. When that was done, the levels were where they should have been for as long as I was according to my LMP. The doctor assumed the bleeding was implantation bleeding but he couldn't explain the low HCG levels.
I continued to bleed throughout my pregnancy. The reasons were everything from an irritated cervix to a UTI. I never cramped but did pass clots. It was very emotional. But I ended up going over my due date and delivered a healthy baby girl. She is now 4.5 years old and the light of my life.
So from my experience, I would say that you bleed from either implantation bleeding or an irritated cervix from having sex.
You want your cervix to stay close until your in your third trimester. If your cervix isn't closed, then that is when miscarries do occur. If this is the case, you would have to have a Cervical Cerclage done.
As for the low HCG levels, it could be like my pregnancy. I do hope that the doctor has scheduled a repeat blood test for in a few days. Below is HCG levels I found. Good luck and I will keep you in my prayers.
At 14 DPO, the average HCG level is 48 mIU/ml, with a typical range of 17-119 mIU/ml.
At 15 DPO, the average HCG level is 59 mIU/ml, with a typical range of 17-147 mIU/ml.
At 16 DPO, the average HCG level is 95 mIU/ml, with a typical range of 33-223 mIU/ml.
At 17 DPO, the average HCG level is 132 mIU/ml, with a typical range of 17-429 mIU/ml.
At 18 DPO, the average HCG level is 292 mIU/ml, with a typical range of 70-758 mIU/ml.
At 19 DPO, the average HCG level is 303 mIU/ml, with a typical range of 111-514 mIU/ml.
At 20 DPO, the average HCG level is 522 mIU/ml, with a typical range of 135-1690 mIU/ml.
At 21 DPO, the average HCG level is 1061 mIU/ml, with a typical range of 324-4130 mIU/ml.
At 22 DPO, the average HCG level is 1287 mIU/ml, with a typical range of 185-3279 mIU/ml.
At 23 DPO, the average HCG level is 2034 mIU/ml, with a typical range of 506-4660 mIU/ml.
At 24 DPO, the average HCG level is 2637 mIU/ml, with a typical range of 540-10,000 mIU/ml.

Answer 9

Alot of people bleed after they have intercourse. I bled at first just from having an orgasm! Especially in the first trimester. If I over did it in anyway...I had some bleeding. Most of the time it was when I woke up in the middle of the night or in the morning and went to the bathroom...there would be blood on the tissue. I'm glad to say that it stopped after I hit the second trimester...however, I have always had some tannish discharge on my panty liner.

Anyway, calm down and try not to worry. This is why I'm telling you this. My doctor was worried about me too...but I'm 18 weeks now and everything is going okay now.

Good Luck and God Bless

Answer 10

I bled lightly after an internal ultra sound since my pregnancy was so early on they couldn't do the standard belly ultra sound...I went to the hospital freaking out..but it turns out that a little bleeding after an internal is normal. How heavy was this blood stain? if it was light I wouldn't be overly concerned..especially if there has been no more signs of bleeding...actively bleeding would alarm me far more. You have to remember with our society being so litigious doctors have to cover their butts by giving all possibilities.Which is why they sometimes leave patients confused and concerned. If she really thought you were losing your baby she most likely would have kept you. Of course I am speculating...I am not a dr myself. But if you are not comfortable..get a second opinion. Have you spoken with your regular obstetrician yet? Good luck...and try not to stress to much over this...it can make things worse. *hug* I hope....and I really do think..everything will be fine.