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December 9, 2007, Sunday, it began with a nice and sunny morning. Everything looked as usual. It seemed to be another peaceful and normal day.
I went to the bathroom. I had a little bit constipation. I need to drink more water, I said to myself. Then, when I was about to finish, to my surprise, I found some bright red bloods coming out of myself.
Bright red blood…my mind was running quickly like a windmill. What does this mean? Am I going to have an abortion?
Be calm. Everything should be fine. I told myself. Maybe the bleeding came from somewhere else. I decided to come back to the bathroom to check it again.
Less than 5 minuets later, I returned the bathroom and checked myself. This time, it was for sure that the bleeding came from that place…
I have been pregnant for 13 weeks. I should not have a period! Something must be wrong.
M was not at home. I quickly turned on the computer and went onto the Internet. Since this was only my 13 week of pregnancy, I keyed in “bleeding, early pregnancy” into Google.
From the online information, I learned that bleeding is a common problem in early pregnancy, complicating 20-30% of all pregnancies. It is caused by implantation bleeding, threatened miscarriage, completed miscarriage, incomplete miscarriage, blighted ovum, intrauterine fetal demise, ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy, or other reasons.
I was a little bit relaxed. Also at the same time the bleeding seemed to stop. But the online resources also mentioned all bleeding associated with early pregnancy should prompt a call to the health care provider for immediate evaluation. That was what I did the next.
Few hours later, the doctor called back. After asking me several questions about the volume, symptoms and frequency of the bleeding, as well as other personal questions, she asked me to relax for the rest of the day, and go to see the doctor the next morning.
I didn’t bleed for the rest of the day. But both M and I spend a restless and worrisome long night…
Finally, Monday came. We rushed to the hospital the first thing in the morning. I was so relaxed when I heard the heartbeat of the baby. At least the baby was still there…
The doctor did some checking on me and sent me to an ultrasound specialist to search for more detailed information.
Another grueling one and a half hour waiting…
Finally, the ultrasound result came out. According to the ultrasound result, to our surprise, the reason causing me bleeding was none of the above-mentioned, but placenta previa.
The placenta, which is a structure that connects the baby to the wall of mom’s womb, can partially or completely cover the opening of mom’s womb. When mom bleeds because of this, it is called placenta previa. Normally, placenta previa happens more often in late pregnancy.
According to the doctor, the position of the placenta can change with the growth of the womb. But I need to be very careful with myself: no heavy lifting, no intercourse, and no traveling.
Until today, one week after my last bleeding, no bleeding happened to me yet. Hope good condition will last!