Monday, January 5, 2009

Subchorionic Hemorrhage

At 10 weeks and six days into my pregnancy I started bleeding. Bright red blood. I assumed I was having a miscarriage. It happened in my eleventh week with my second pregnancy. The same thing, bright red bleeding and the passage of tissue. It was the weekend, of course, when the doctors office is closed. So we called the E.R. and mentioned the symptoms. They said it would take a couple of days for the miscarriage to happen and I should only come in if I started to bleed profusely. I called my doctor on Monday morning and told her I miscarried. She wanted me to come in and get an ultrasound to make sure.

The hospital is a 40 minute drive through the mountains. I felt weak from loss of blood and emotionally spent. I had grieved the loss and expected the worse.



The ultrasound technician saw me in the hall way, limping toward the room. He asked me if I had come to get my knee checked out. (My uncomfortable gate was due to the fact that I had a full bladder which is required for this kind of ultrasound.) We told him why we were there and he had me lay down on the bed and turned the monitor away from me. He started looking around and then turned the screen toward me. "There's your baby right there."



There was a strong heartbeat and a wiggling little baby. I couldn't believe my eyes. My diagnosis: Subchorionic Hemorrhage. There are three levels of hemorrhage; mild, moderate, and severe. Mine turned out to be a moderate hemorrhage. I couldn't find much information on the Internet about this, but did find this web page. It is also known as subchorionic hematoma, which means the placenta was tearing away from the lining of the uterus. My diagnosis: 50/50 chance of keeping the baby.

I went home and slept for three days. This was around Thanksgiving time. Our plans changed and instead of visiting family we stayed close to home and I rested. My doctor advised no strenuous activities but I didn't have to go on bed rest. I was told no more running.

Now I am seventeen weeks along. I can feel the flutter of movement from the baby. It is so reassuring to finally make it to the point where I don't wonder how the baby is doing. I can sense the position changes and observe my expanding belly. I really look forward to this expanding belly.

6 comments:

Ralphie said...

Oh wow, Snappy. I didn't even know you where expecting again. I am so thankful that things are going well. What a scary experience. I'll bet after all of that you are really looking forward to that round belly!
Congratulations.

And about the Christmas card, I have one to send to you. But didn't have your current address and so it's been sitting on my computer desk along with many other to-dos. I just can't seem to get my head out of the water. I was called to be the primary president in September and have been learning how to multi-task and triple-task!!!

I am going to post it on my blog soon. I promise.

Lucky Starfish said...

Yay for expansion! I can't wait to see your family in a couple of days!

Anonymous said...

I hope everything continues to go well for you and the baby.

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear that the baby is well. I'll be praying that things continues to go well. Thanks for the update to the lemon bar recipe. I haven't had a chance to make it yet, but plan on trying it out in the next week or two.

Lorinda said...

I hope and pray for the best for you and your little one as you share this potentially long and bumpy ride over the next several months.

Naomi said...

Oh wow. What a scare. I am glad you are doing well now, and 17 weeks is a good place to be. I hope you are feeling well otherwise- I can't wait to know if it is a boy or girl! I'll be thinking of you! Tell your girls hi from us!