Light Bleeding and Cramping

You can have light bleeding and cramping after a pap. I would take it easy though just in case. As far as being out of the woods when you hear the heartbeat is a myth. You are not out of the woods as far a miscarriage goes even when you hear the baby's heart beat. Just watch for any more signs of bleeding or cramping and if you do continue to have them call your midwife or ob/gyn right away. Sometimes that can be caused from a separation from the placenta to the uterine wall. Just be very cautious and don't do anything strenuous and don't lift anything heavy. I had 3 miscarriages one at 3 months, one with twins at 5 months and one at 2 months.
D.
I am 31 and have been married almost 12 yrs. My husband and I have 3 boys ages 10,7 and 4. I consider them all miracles after the miscarriages.

1 mom found this helpful

Hi C., I don't want to get you scared or anything but no, you are not out of the woods once you hear the heart beat, yes your chance of miscarriage drops dramatically but not totally. I've heard that it is very common for women to bleed during pregnancy, but if you cramp that is a different story. I recently had a miscarriage at 14wks (but the baby must have stopped growing sooner) and my cramping was uterian cramps. To tell you the truth it almost felt like I was in labor (when my labor first started with my son). I would feel this bearing down sensation and then it would stop. About an minute later it would do it again. If it has stopped then good. But if it continues I'd call your midwife back. I don't mean to spread paranoia but as I said it just recently happened to me and just want you to know.
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Sorry to say but your never really out of the woods for a miscarriage acording to others who I know who miscarried during different trimesters. I had an aunt who lost numerous babies to the point they told her she would never carry a baby full term. That was YEARS ago and she did eventually carry and deliver one baby safely.
It is considered less of a chance after the first 3 mon. of pregnancy.

I had the same issue at 6 weeks pregnant (light bleeding when i went to the bathroom, light cramp and than it stopped) and when i went to the doctor they could not find a heart beat. I have a friend that had a miscarriage at 16 weeks so i would say get checked out to make sure everything is ok at least for your own piece of mind

Hey C.!

Like your midwife said, the bleeding and cramping certainly may have occured from the pap. It's good that the cramping has subsided. Is the bleeding gone too? Regardless, if you have any worries at all, I would just ask if you could go in to listen to the baby's heartbeat again to ease your mind. If you're going to be worried at all while waiting another whole month until your next appt., I'd go listen to the heartbeat. It's not worth the stress.

Hope the rest of the pregnancy is uneventful!

A.

Hi there.

I was just reading all of your responses. I do not no enough to speak about having a miscarriage. I would trust what your doctor says and keep an eye on it though. However, I had the same problems in the beginning of my last pregnancy. When I saw the doctor, he said I had a low lying placenta and this is what was causing the bleeding. If you've had an ultrasound, I'm sure the doctor would've noticed this already, but it's just an idea to check with your doctor about. They say, nine times out of ten, this problem will correct itself throughout the duration of the pregnancy and is common. However, in my case, it didn't correct itself and my placenta ended up abrupting at 32 weeks resulting in my 4 lb 8 oz son. I'm not trying to scare you. I had alot of stress during my pregnancy and was very sick which I think is the cause of this. I just think it may be something you could mention to the doctor next time you see them. and definitely, definitely, try not to worry or stress about your problems, if you find yourself worrying about anything going on, be sure to call your doctor or midwife.

it sounds like the pap is the culprit here... if a miscarriage is in progress, the bleeding/cramping will be progressivly worse, and it will fill a pad in less than an hour.
I know this because I did the same thing you did, then freaked out and called my doctor. Who told me all the specifics...
hope this helps ease your nerves!!!

You are not out of the woods for a miscarriage.

It does sound quit normal what you are going thru. I have had a miscarriage and your bleeding is heavier than what you are experiencing. I have also had preterm labor (two full months to be exact) you need to be hooked up to a monitor the next time your cramping starts just to make sure.

stay off of your feet for a day or two and relax! Take care of yourself.

I am sure that you are experiencing the bleeding and cramping from the pap, but like others have said - you are not out of the woods as far as miscarage. A woman can miscarry anytime during her pregnancy, but the chance drops dramatically the further along you get. I recently heard of a woman who lost her child at 40 weeks. It is very sad - probably very rare, but it can happen. If you continue to experience cramping and bleeding (heavier) I would contact your mid-wife or doctor to make sure everything is okay, but otherwise don't stress and just take it easy (if you can). I bled through my whole first 3-4 months, so it is not totally abnormal to have some spotting through pregnancy.

Good Luck :)

Yes, I have experienced this. We believe it was caused by the pap as well.
Just take it a little easy for the next few days until you have no symptoms and all should be well.
P. R

I never had trouble, but every time I have had a pap or other internal exam while preggers, my OB told me that I may have some spotting or cramping and not to worry.
If it stopped I wouldn't worry but if you are worried, just call your midwife and have her check for the heartbeat again :)

you arent out of the woods for a miscarriage until the baby is born!! you are in less danger of miscarriage after the first trimester. i have had 4 pregnancies and 2 of them resulted in miscarriage - both after there was a heartbeat. i am NOT trying to scare you at all, just want to be realistic - i would say take it easy rest as much as you can. drink a lot of fluids and take care of yourself. also, it is not a bad idea to get in touch with your doctor!!

Its not uncommon to have a lil bit of bleeding (just a little) after a pap. If there was anymore than you should talk to your doctor. It sounds like everything is fine. You said you no longer had cramps and the bleeding stopped. I will admit, like prev stated noone is out of the woods till the baby is born your just less likely the later the pregnancy. I had bleeding 2x in my first pregnancy and both times I freaked out and got checked. My doctor told me everything looked ok and my body was telling me to slow down and take it easy (I was right in the middle of moving and doing too much that my body couldn't handle along with the pregnancy) but thankfully everything was fine.

Not to scare you but my sister in law got a hear beat at 10 weeks went back at 14 and there was no heart beat that wouuld have been her 3rd child. She has had 2 other miscarriages before 6 weeks though. There is a slim chance but after 12 weeks i think you are good. I have spotted and got cramps from pap tests.

I had the light bleeding and cramping after my pap with kiddo #2. At least my doc warned me that it might happen, so I wasn't shocked, confused, or worried. I would guess you are a.o.k. since it hasn't happened since.

When I was pregnant with my twins I bled throughout the first trimester. Each ultrasound indicated everything was okay but I was always convinced I was miscarrying. They told me to drink plenty of water and to rest with my feet up whenever I could. I noticed the bleeding was directly related to my activity level. The more I did the more I bled. Needless to say, it was scary but I now have very healthy almost 2 year old twin boys. Hope this works out for you.

I would go in... I had what they call a "missed miscarriage" that was discovered at my 15 week prenatal visit. I went in at 11 weeks and there was a heartbeat, all was well. Somewhere around my 13th week the baby passed, but I had no bleeding. When the heartbeat wasn't detected they had me drink a ton of water and sent me down for an emergency ultrasound, when the tech didn't speak, I knew... I had to have a D&C to remove the fetus. I had never heard of a missed miscarriage before, but I sure learned a lot after.

In my pregnancy that followed I did spot from week 5 to 11 with one time of bright red blood - that pregnancy ended in the birth of my now 3 year old son - so some spotting can be normal - but it is always best to check.

Good luck!