BLEEDING IN THE FIRST TRIMESTER: We understand that any bleeding is very anxiety producing for pregnant women, but it is surprisingly common and often not as worrying as it seems. Possible reasons include:
Potential Miscarriage. Unfortunately even in the 21st century there is nothing that can be done if a pregnancy is in the process of miscarrying. The bleeding may have a totally benign cause (see below) so try not to think the worst. Unless you are bleeding so heavily that you feel unwell, or are in extreme pain, rushing into emergency will not change the outcome, so take two Tylenol if necessary, rest up, and page MVM between 9 am and 5 pm and we can arrange an ultrasound to see what is going on.
If you ARE feeling unwell then please do attend Emergency and let MVM know between 9 am and 5 pm what has been happening. If the pregnancy is non-viable, it is nothing you will have done or not done – it’s always a miracle that all the cells divide and develop perfectly, and 1:4 women will experience one miscarriage, 1:7 two.
Sub Chorionic Haemorrhage. Sounds terrible but is actually a healthy situation whereby as the placenta embeds in the Uterine wall, it may burrow through a few small blood vessels causing some bleeding which may happen on and off over several days. Actually in this case the placenta is developing a very good blood supply for the remainder of the pregnancy. An Ultrasound can identify if this is the cause of the bleeding.
A Cervical Erosion. While the name sounds scary, it is really a normal situation where the hormones of pregnancy create changes to the cervical cells causing them to be a little fragile and bleed more easily. This type of bleeding is benign and has no effect on the developing baby. This type of bleeding often happens after intercourse (post coital bleeding).
NAUSEA AND VOMITING: There are some good resources in the ‘Body Changes and Discomforts of Pregnancy’ section of our resources page on the website.
If you do not have a medical plan and feel that Diclectin is too expensive, you can try Vitamin B6 available in any pharmacy/health store, and/or the seasickness wrist bands available in pharmacies.
Sometimes women are reluctant to take any medications in pregnancy, but if you are becoming dehydrated (urine so concentrated that it is the colour of maple syrup) your baby will thank you for taking medications which have been tried and tested and considered safe, and allow you to drink enough and eat a little until this stage passes.
MVM appreciate it if you can page between 9 am and 5 pm for this non-life-threatening condition.