Subchorionic Hemmorhage

**Disclaimer** this is my account of my very scary bleeding experience on June 6.  As of right now, baby is doing great, has a strong heartbeat and is measuring ahead of where we thought I was, so those are all good signs.  This may get a little graphic/tmi, but I want to document it.

On Monday, June 6th at about 10:00 pm I started getting ready for bed. I put away some laundry, went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, etc.  I laid down in bed and basically immediately felt a gush of fluid.  I knew immediately that wasn't a good thing. I jumped up and ran to the bathroom and even then I could see blood running down my legs.  It was a lot of blood. I think I was just in shock at first and couldn't even think.  I started yelling for Adam and for  my sister because she was closest and I knew she'd hear me. Adam ran upstairs and kind of froze. My mom came up too and we all took in the scene. My mom got me a washcloth and she and Adam cleaned up the floor a little and Adam got me some clean clothes.

I got myself together and cleaned up as best as I could. I put a pad on an got dressed and we rushed out the door.  I just kept saying I couldn't believe this was happening.  I'd felt "fine". Fine as in pregnant and nauseated and the same as I'd been feeling for weeks.  I thought it was over and that I was miscarrying for sure.

We got the ER and Adam dropped me off at the door and went to park. I checked in and was quickly offered a wheelchair, which I accepted.  They took me right back to a room and a nurse came right in.  She was super nice and sweet.  It's all a blur, but I think the doctor--actually she was a PA, and accompanied by a medical student, came in pretty much right away.  They asked a lot of questions and I told them everything that had been happening. At that point, just by my last period, I thought I was 8 weeks and 3 days.  She explained that they'd take some blood to check my hormones and do a pelvic exam to start.  

The nurse took some blood and put in a IV shunt. The PA said all they could really offer me for the nerves was Benadryl, which I declined.  She checked my pulse and listened to my chest, noting that she could hear a heart murmur. I told her I'd never been told that before. She said it probably was nothing to be concerned about and it might just be a pregnancy thing, since pregnant women has a much higher blood volume than normal.

Then she did the pelvic exam.  Those are just never fun.  She had to clear a sizeable clot before she could start, which made my heart sink. I tried very hard not to think about what that might be. She said I was dilated about a fingertip, but that can happen so the clots can pass.  She indicated that it wasn't necessarily an indication that things were bad.

At that point, we just had to wait to get the blood test back. The PA said if my hormone level was over 3000 (and at the point I was in the pregnancy, it should be well over that), then they would do an ultrasound. If the hormone level was lower than that....well we'd know things weren't good and there probably wouldn't be anything to see on the ultrasound.

It took over an hour to get the results, which was just awful. Adam and I talked some, and we really were kind of defeated.  I don't think of it like we were being pessimistic, but I think we were trying to prepare ourselves for the worst.  I talked to the nurse and the PA about what they knew so far and IF this, THEN what, and all that, explaining that I knew they didn't have all the answers, but that it helped me to know the details of all the possibilities.  

It was surreal to talk about miscarriage and DNC and all that, but somehow, even while I was crying and upset to think about it, I wanted to know what I might be facing. 

Finally, the PA came in and said, "Your level is 181--" I cringed. "thousand."  So that's super high and it was a good sign for now. The nurse said I was super pregnant.  I knew that it wasn't a sure thing, but I definitely started to gain back a little bit of hope.

Soon after, they took me for an ultrasound. The technician said she would do an external first and then an internal. I asked if she would tell us if there was heartbeat. She hesitated, but said yes, she would. She said if she was quiet, that was a bad sign, but that the external would be harder to see much. So I told myself not to get upset during the external. She got started and during the external she didn't say much. Adam could see the screen but I couldn't. At one point I mouthed to him, asking if he could see anything and he sort of shrugged.  She did her measurements and whatnot and then told me to use the restroom and undress for the external. My bleeding was slowing a little bit at this point.

The internal seemed to take FOREVER. Toward the beginning she did tell us that she saw a heartbeat. She showed me the screen for just a second and honestly I thought the heartbeat looked slow, so I didn't even let myself feel a lot of relief. So then she went back to measuring and all that.  The worst part was when she wanted to examine my ovaries. I had to physically push down on my stomach with my hands and hold it there for a long time.  My arms ached and I was so tired--at this point it was probably after 1 am and I had taken half a unisom before I went to lay down at 10 pm. So that part sucked. Finally, she was done and she asked me if I was sure about my last period date. I said I was very sure (April 9th). I turned to Adam and said that I thought that meant the baby wasn't measuring correctly.  Then the tech said that I was actually measuring ahead at 9 weeks (actually I swear she said 9 weeks 3 days, but later they told me 9, so I'm going with that until my next ultrasound). I think that was the moment I felt relief. She also said the heartbeat was measured at 185 beats per minute, which was very good. She said the PA would tell me more after the report was processed.

So after we got back to our room, we waited some more. The sweet nurse came in and she was so happy to hear that we had a heartbeat! I updated my mom (I'd been calling her every time we had a shred of news) and my facebook baby/ttc group and then we waited. The PA came back and confirmed what we knew, that the baby measured great and had a great heartbeat. She said the bleeding was caused by a subchorionic hemorrhage. She described it as "small" measuring 5.2 x 0.6 x 3.8 cm. She said that it puts me at a higher risk of miscarriage, but for now the baby looks good. She said to take it easy and follow up with my OB the next day.  Later I read the ultrasound report and they measured the baby as 2.31 cm which corresponds to 9 weeks 0 days and that the cervix was closed and measuring 3.6 cm.

I stayed home Tuesday and Wednesday, resting and taking it very easy. I spoke to my OB office and they said my upcoming appointment scheduled for the following Tuesday was  a perfect time to check on everything. They said to take it easy, but that I could work as long as I was sitting most of the time. They said to call if I went through more than a pad in an hour.

Tuesday and Wednesday the bleeding slowed to mostly spotting and later in the week it turned from red/pink to brown, which is old blood and I took as a good sign.  I'm still spotting two weeks later, to varying degrees.

All in all, I feel ok. I'm obviously more nervous than I was before this happened. I have moments where I'm sure it's going to be ok, and I have moments where I worry. I never pictured going through something like this.  I'm so grateful that the baby is still with us and I pray every day that it stays with us.

Right now, they just want me to have weekly ultrasounds until the SCH resolves. My next ultrasound it tomorrow. The doctor's office also called today and wants me to be seen for a weight check too.  I've lost between 10-15 lbs since I got pregnant, which is very normal for me, I lost weight in the first trimester with both the boys. But for one reason or another, they are watching that too.

Thank you in advance for any prayers or well wishes you can send!  Baby number 3 really appreciates it and so do we!