A pregnant woman having periods during pregnancy is a serious issue which should not be neglected. Though all bleeding during pregnancy does not result in miscarriages, it is also not a very good thing to happen. Any sort of bleeding before the completion of 24 weeks of gestation period is known as threatened miscarriage or threatened abortion and anything beyond is known as an ante-partum hemorrhage.
A woman may experience once off bleeding, others tend to bleed throughout their pregnancy, but it is essential to consult a doctor, find out what caused the contraction and what you need to do after that. Here are a few reasons why bleeding during pregnancy occurs.
Occurrence Of Periods During Pregnancy
More often than never a woman usually faces a bleeding such as this. This occurs when the fertilized egg cell or zygote first implants itself on the uterine walls leading to light bleeding or streaking. Often confused with a light period, this usually lasts for a day.
The blood released can either look like fresh blood, (one that comes out of a cut on your hand) or like a pink stained mucous material. However though it is pretty safe and does not pose any complications, it is still wise to consult with a doctor.
Women may experience a period like feeling during their 4th, 8th or 12th week of being pregnant like having body cramps, back aches, nausea, feeling bloated, etc. at the time when you should have had periods. However, bleeding is not accompanied due to the fact of being pregnant.
Some women however don’t have a proper hormonal response or control over the system and may indeed bleed in a period-like fashion. This is known as breakthrough bleeding.
An ectopic pregnancy is when the zygote is implanted in any other place except the uterus, probably the fallopian tube. This is a very serious situation and it needs to be reported to your doctor immediately.
Ectopic pregnancy is accompanied by excess pain and bleeding, muscle cramps in your lower abdomen, nausea and fatigue. If this condition is left unnoticed then the embryo would start growing in your fallopian tube and thus burst it open. Ectopic Pregnancy also leads to abnormal growth of the embryo.
Threatened/ Actual Miscarriage
Miscarriages or a spontaneous abortion generally happens within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. They are accompanied with signs such as heavy bleeding, back aches, and abdominal pain.
The vital signs of pregnancy like nausea, bloated stomach or sagging breasts also disappear after a miscarriage. However, miscarriages may even occur without bleeding as the body is still not revolting the signs off a missed heartbeat. Hence it is absolutely necessary to consult a doctor and perform an ultrasound.
Bleeding may also occur due to an abnormal placement of the placenta. Placement of the placenta right on the cervical canal leads to a phenomenon called placenta praevia. This leads to invariable bleeding after the 20th week mark. It usually requires bed rest and repeated ultrasound to diagnose the situation properly. A C-section in this case is a must.