Bleeding During Pregnancy: What to Do
The passage of blood from the vagina is a cause for panic in every woman who is pregnant. Bleeding is after all, one of the main symptoms of a miscarriage, or spontaneous abortion (which means the body terminates the pregnancy without external efforts or initiation such as drugs or mechanical abortive devices). If a woman bleeds at any time during her pregnancy, she needs to check the discharge for its color, amount and consistency. Blood that is characteristic of miscarriage is usually bright red. It may start off as spotting, but may become like that of a menstrual period. If the blood is accompanied by clots or tissues that look like liver, a miscarriage is definitely occurring. The bleeding is usually accompanied by pain, similar to menstrual cramps or even worse. Here are emergency steps to follow as soon as you experience bright red spotting, or even cramps:
- Call your doctor, any medical professional, or the emergency room of the nearest hospital and describe your symptoms in detail. This will help greatly in your assessment.
- If you are actively bleeding stay home while you wait for medical help to arrive. Lie down and put a hot water bottle on your lower abdomen to relax and relieve you from pain. You may take a Tylenol for pain relief.
- Do not attempt to drive yourself from wherever you are to the hospital. Bleeding can cause you to lose a lot of blood, and you may become hypovolemic (less than normal blood volume) in the process. When this happens, you may feel light-headed and may even lose consciousness.
- Be sure to wear pads to absorb the bleeding. If you are within the first trimester, or early second trimester, there may be passage of tissues and large clots. Squat on a clean container to save these as specimen. Your doctor will evaluate these tissues to determine 1) the cause of the miscarriage and 2) whether you have passed all the uterine contents. Retained fragments in the uterus is dangerous as they will cause bleeding and infection if not taken out through D&C.
- Do not eat or drink anything while you are bleeding. This is because you may need to undergo dilatation and curettage (a surgical procedure wherein the doctor scrapes the remains of your uterus to “clean” it to prevent infection and complications).
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