Understanding Bleeding in Early Pregnancy: Causes & What to Expect

Varying levels of bleeding are experienced by women during pregnancy and whilst not considered normal it doesn't necessarily mean anything bad is happening to your pregnancy or your baby.

Bleeding in the first trimester

If you experience bleeding in the first few weeks of pregnancy and it is brown rather than bright red it could be old blood from when your baby (as an embryo) burrowed into the lining of your uterus. Other things that can cause bleeding is irritation of the cervix - particularly due penetrative sex or vaginal pessaries (such as Crinone progesterone pessaries used to support many IVF pregnancies). This type of bleeding may be bright red but shouldn't be excessive - ie coming in gushes. Bleeding from either of these two causes is very common and typically poses no threat to your pregnancy. Often bleeding occurs for no discernable reason - i.e. your doctor can offer no explanation and your pregnancy may be in no danger whatsoever. This has happened to numerous women I know (including myself) who have gone on to have completely normal pregnancies and deliver healthy babies.

When should you be worried?

If you are bleeding significant amounts (ie you need to use sanitary pads) or gushing out then you should definitely contact your doctor. If it is after hours and the bleeding continues then you should consider going to the maternity or delivery suite of the nearest hospital (or, of course, the emergency department).

If you are bleeding and have strong or sharp cramps that are stronger than normal menstrual cramps you may be miscarrying. Whilst there is usually very little that can be done to prevent this you should contact your doctor or your nearest hospital.

If you have one sided cramps together with brown bleeding (that may have more of a juice-like consistency) and you have not had your pregnancy confirmed as being in your uterus (by having an ultrasound) then you need to contact your doctor or hospital immediately.

Whilst one-sided cramps are not completely uncommon in pregnancy, if they are combined with bleeding (particularly if accompanied by faintness, nausea and shoulder pain) then ectopic pregnancy is a possibility. In this situation you CANNOT afford to wait and see...ectopic pregnancies are life threatening and a true emergency situation. They can also affect future fertility so it is worth being cautious with this one. Want to find out more about your pregnancy? then visit Carina Woods' site and find out more about bleeding during the pregnancy.