Pregnancy Complications: Right-Side Cramp & Bleeding in 26 Weeks

Question
I am 24 years old, active and healthy pre-pg, Continued to work out and walk regularly until yesterday, before conception I was 5'4" and 123 lbs. Current weight at 26 w, 4d was 138.5 lbs.

This is my first child. Until now, this pregnancy has been completely by the book. Sunday night during intercourse, I experience a sharp cramp in my right side, sex was stopped, and it was at that point that we notice a lot of bright red blood with what appeared to be some tissue mixed with it. We called the on call dr and he advised us to relax and come in the next morning. The blood turned to a darker shade by morning. We went in for our visit and they checked my cervix and determined that I was 1cm dialated at 26 weeks, which concerned the dr. We were then sent to Duke for an ultrasound to measure the length of my cervix. That dr reported that it was above 3cm, which was good news. I have since been put on bedrest for one week and I have to go back to my dr on Monday to be checked again. Everything happened so quickly yesterday that I am now thinking of questions...

Should I be able to return to work, full duty next week? Is there anyway to determine what caused me to dialate early? Should I be completely concerned, or is there a chance that I will go to 35 weeks or further and only be 1cm dialated? Will I continue to dialate? What can I do to prepare my baby just in case the worst happens?  

Answer
Obviously, any time the cervix starts to dilate prior to the onset of labor, we are concerned. However, if the cervical length on sonogram was longer than 3cmc,  there is no cause for alarm. Certainly, if you start to have contractions that occur more than 10 minutes (from the start of one to the start of the next), you should be evaluated. Make sure that you drink plenty of water. If you are no longer bleeding, you need not stay on bedrest and can return  to work. What type of work do you do? I would not do anything that involves straining. I would avoid intercourse unless your doctor says it is O.K. I would recommend serial sonography to assess further dilatation of the cervix.  However, if you do not have any more bleeding or if your cervix remains at greater than 3cm, you do not have to worry.