Early pregnancy bleeding
‘Early pregnancy is considered the first trimester, which spans from the first day of your last period, to the end of week 12. So bleeding during this time is ‘early pregnancy’ bleeding.’
Bleeding is fairly common, but should always be investigated
Roughly a third of all pregnant women experience early pregnancy bleeding, and most of them go on to have a very healthy baby. As soon as you notice anything untoward, however, it’s best to have it checked out as soon as possible. In fact, if you notice bleeding at any time during your pregnancy, you should always contact a health professional.
Early pregnancy bleeding causes
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Implantation bleeding
When the fetus implants in your womb there may be some light bleeding called ‘spotting’. This may happen when your first period after conception would have been due.
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Bleeding after sex
If you find yourself bleeding after sex while pregnant, this may be because of ‘cervical ectropion’, which means the cells on your cervix have changed. Rest assured this is completely normal, and completely harmless.
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Miscarriage & ectopic pregnancy
Both situations will cause bleeding, and undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy can be life-threatening, so whenever bleeding is present we need to investigate immediately.
Early pregnancy bleeding assessment
To find out what’s causing the early pregnancy bleeding we may need to perform a vaginal or pelvic examination. An ultrasound and blood tests may also be required to determine your hormone levels.
Sometimes the reason for the bleeding is not found, but we need to eliminate the worst case scenarios at the very least, and if the bleeding is not severe, we’ll make another appointment and monitor the situation.