Bleeding but Still a Heartbeat?

Updated on September 09, 2010
M.F. asks from Fort Mill, SC
23 answers

Hey all,

I am hoping you can help me understand this. I am about 9 weeks pregnant w/baby number 3. I had not one single problem with my previous two pregnancies resulting in two healthy girls.

Suddenly I find myself searching for answers I can't seem to find.

About three weeks ago I started spotting. Nothin heavy or bright red...more like a dark brown discharge. A week before this started happening I was told my hormone levels were low and had to be tested again. The same week I was spotting I was told my levels are going up but not enough. When I got my untrasound a few days later there was a very strong hearbeat and no signs of uterine or baby distress. However...given my low levels and my spotting my doc wanted me to come back in another week to take another look.

The spotting stopped for about five days and then this past Wednesday I started to actually bleed! Needless to say I freaked and had to go to the hospital. I was sent to fetal inaging where both the baby and uterus looked wonderful. Strong heartbeat again and the tech said there was no bleeding coming from my uterus and that it was probably coming from some place else.

Yesterday I went to my doctor for yet another ultrasound and I immediately noticed a significant difference in the size of my baby's home. The whomb seems to be shrinking or collapsing. My doctor noticed as well and told me that she is not very optimistic even though there is a good heartbeat still. I saw the little guy move too. She has put me on bedrest but says my whomb is collapsing around that baby and there is nothing we can do now except rest and hope. She says she had seen things like this turn themselves around but I don't know what to think. She was tempted to give me progesterone but all in the same breath said she thinks it will just prolong the inevitable and that all that will happen is that we will lose the baby later instead of sooner.

I have never heard of this happening...a heartbean but an inevitable misscarriage. I have had four people around me lose their babies in the past year...three of which were early and one was at five months. Those who lost early all said that they started spotting then bleeding and when an ultrasound was performed there was no heartbeat and the baby had stopped growing.

I can understand that, but I can't understand why my baby seems to be thriving dispite what's happening with my body. It's killing me to know that his little heart is still beating and he's dancing around in there only to meet an untimely demise.

Has anyone experienced anything like this? If so what was the cause and outcome? I am so confused and scared and can't stand feeling that sense of hopelessness because there is nothing I can do! I am left to sit and wonder. I can't even take care of my two daughters!

Please...help me...anything will help...good, bad, whatever...please.

What can I do next?

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So What Happened?

Let me start by saying thank you to everyone for your kind words and for sharing your stories with me. I had planned to call my old doctor today after my appointment this morning. Unfortunately when I saw the untrasound there was no hearbeat, and the embryonic sack had completely collapsed around my baby. I will have a D & C tomorrow morning and my little guy will be sent off to the lab to see what exactly could have caused the miscarriage. In all this turmoil I forgot to ask about the sub-chronic bleed. I will be inquiring tomorrow morning before my surgery.

Thank you again for all of your thoughts and prayers. I know things will be okay as my baby is now in heaven with my wonderful mother.

More Answers

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K.L.

answers from Detroit on

Hi.....I am so sorry to hear what you are going through...I know and understand how you are feeling. I have had 5 pregnancies, 3 of which resulted in my beautiful children but two of which ended in m/c. However I bled with ALL of them and was told that I would likely miscarry. Especially with my first, without going into too much detail I bled ALOT (I was around 7 weeks-and bled until about 11 weeks) and had all the u/s and tests done and was told to take it easy and rest...I had a sub-chorionic (sp?) bleed....I was convinced I was losing him....turned out I didnt and he is now 6 years old. My next pregnacy ended in m/c at about 7 weeks...it was a VERY heavy period with LOTS of cramps and I knew there was no point in going to the doctor. Pregnancy number 3 I was diagnosed finally with low progesterone and started taking progesterone suppositories from 4 weeks as soon as I found out I was pregnant. I had slight spotting but all went OK and my daughter is now 4. Pregnancy number 4 was my worst - I took progesterone as soon as I found out I was pregnant and all was well until about 6/7 weeks when once again I started bleeding. As with the others I had all the tests, saw heartbeat good and string etc etc. I was told to take it easy and so I put myself on bedrest. The bleeding stopped a couple of weeks later. Then when I was around 12 weeks I started bleeding again and this time I was passing grey matter (not good). I went to the ER and basically there was no heartbeat and I had had what they called a mis miscarriage where the baby dies and you dont pass it out. I had a D and C and they later told me that the baby probably died around 9 weeks (they could tell because of the size) and that it wasnt properly formed so they thought that was why I m/c. I think I carried it until 12 weeks because of the progesterone. My last pregnancy was fine and I had a healthy boy (I took progesterone again).

So I guess by telling you my story I wanted to let you know that
1- there is still hope....all your symptoms sound like my first pregnancy which ended up OK.
2-There is really nothing you can do, by me going on bedrest and taking progesterone I proglonged the inevitable with pregnancy number 4 which ended in m/c anyway due to the baby and how it developed....but by taking progesterone I helped my other pregnancies.

Good luck and hang in there...what will be will be and there is nothing you can do to change it if this baby is not meant to be,

K.
xx

2 moms found this helpful
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T.P.

answers from Saginaw on

Have never went through this So all I can offer is my thoughts and prayers for you and your unborn baby.

God bless!

1 mom found this helpful
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A.I.

answers from Lansing on

dear M.
have no idea whay you are going thur but being a mother of 5 girls my hart goes out to you i hope all goes well for you try to rest and no your body will take of you and baby remeber stress is never good i will keep you in my prayers god bless

1 mom found this helpful
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S.C.

answers from Detroit on

Hi M.,

Slow yourself down. Take a deep breath and pray. God has a reason for this to happen the way it is. If you keep stressing yourself out then you aren't helping either yourself or the baby. It all boils down to one thing. If it is meant to be then it will happen no matter what. Hold on to the fact that our little one still has a strong heartbeat and find peace in that. Everything will turn out the way it should.

Blessings - S.

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T.M.

answers from Lansing on

M.,
I also was bleeding with my first child at about 10 weeks and I went to the hospital. I was in there for 7 hours and I did not stop bleeding. They told me there was no heartbeat and I should get a D and C done. They also told me if I get that done I might not be able to have children, ever. So I decided not to do the D and C and wait it out for the miscarriage itself. I had went to my personal doctor a week later for a check up and he found a heartbeat!! My daughter is 6 and a half years old now. I can't think of how my life would be without her!!! I wouldn't have her if I did the D and C. I hope and pray the same will be your case. God Bless you and your baby!!!

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M.C.

answers from Detroit on

Just wanted to let you know I will pray for you

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L.R.

answers from Jackson on

God has plans ,Keep the faith and I pray for your family as well.

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J.G.

answers from Denver on

Hi!!! I hope you're doing fine... Sorry I don't have an answer for you, but I'm 8 weeks pregnant and started spotting since the begining of my pregnancy, so I went to my OB and he made an ultrasound and blood test, so my blood levels are going up but a little slow and the ultrasound showed a very good heartbeat, so my Dr told me that everything was fine... Yesturday I started bleeding a lot and passing clots and tissue so I thought I miscarry but I went to the ER and they made me blood test and blood test raise up again so they made me another ultrasound and it showed a very strong heartbeat, so I'm very confuse because I'm bleeding and cramping and doctors havent tell me what's going on with me... So I'm wondering if is possible to be miscarrying but still have a hertbeat??? I'm sad and confuse!!!

K.B.

answers from Grand Rapids on

M.,
My heart went out to you when I read your request. I am currently pregnant with baby #3 and had some spotting in the beginning which I found out was due to a hematoma (bloodclot) in my placenta which caused it to not attach to my uterus in that one spot. I had no previous spotting with my two boys so this was all very new and very scary for me. My doctor was not concerned due to the very small size of the clot and I am currently about 26 weeks along and everything is fine. I realize that this is not exactly like your situation, but just wanted to share my own in the hope that you would realize you are not alone in this. My advice, based on what you've said, is to seek another opinion. Find a different doctor who has a different approach - you owe it to yourself and your baby to know everything you can about your particular condition. That being said, my second piece of advice (after checking with another doctor) is to try to have peace of mind in knowing that, truly, what is meant to be will be. You will get through this! My thoughts are with you during this difficult time.

Take care,
K. :)

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N.O.

answers from Detroit on

I'm so sorry, M..

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A.D.

answers from Detroit on

You might consider seeing a high risk OB who might have more insight into what is going on with you and your baby. I would recommend Dr. Brian Mason out of St John Hospital in Detroit. He delivered both my children and he is just awesome. However, if this it out of your area, ask your doctor for a recommendation of a High Risk OB in your area. Just a thought. God Bless You.

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L.S.

answers from Grand Rapids on

M.~ I have suffered from 2 m/c's in the past. I joined a site called misdoagnosedmiscarriage.com there are many stories of women with similar things happening some with good outcomes and some not so good. I would suggest going there and creating a post asking this same question and see if anyone has had the same thing and things turned out good. I agree with the Dr. that progesterone just prolongs the inevitable and it's not nessecarily going to do any good at this time. I wish you the best.

Oh and one more thing. Once you see a Heart Beat having your HCG levels check doesn't mean much also once you are around 8-10 weeks the numbers are supposed to decline some so seeing them drop can cause you to worry when they are doing exactly what they should be doing.

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G.A.

answers from Kalamazoo on

my youngest daughter had this with her last two boys and with bedrest and no sexual activities can stop she had what they called a ......sub-chronic hemeriage (?) not sure of the spelling.it is a tare or hole in the lining of the womb away from the utrin wall.....i'm not real sure on the spelling but i do know it can heal cause i have two living grand son to show and also my daughter in law went thru the same thing with her baby girl and she is fine. they went through alot of ultra sounds to amke sure it was healing and all and they did have tio stay for a short time bed rest. i hope this has helped you. I'm sorry I didn't read all the way down but, my thoughts are with you

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C.B.

answers from Detroit on

I would get in to U/M asap. this sounds like a high risk situation and I would personally want to be around medical personnel when there are signs things are going bad, so that they have a plan they can put to practice.
I've never heard of such a scary situation. But these days there's so much technology and things they can do I would be very surprised if that wasn't the case.

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D.H.

answers from Detroit on

M. ~
As an OB nurse, I've seen many instances where a woman comes into our triage area with bleeding. We often don't know exactly what causes the bleeding. We normally check the hcg levels, do an ultrasound, check to see how much bleeding is going on...and sometimes it's quite a bit. Quite often, the pregnancy goes on, with no other problems. Unfortunately, it sometimes does not. There is nothing you can do to prevent or to cause a miscarriage. Rest is good. The fact that the baby keeps growing is good. Sometimes mom has a clotting disorder, which is not known about until there are problems like this. Ask to have your clotting factors checked, and maybe even your hormone levels (progesterone). If the pregnancy doesn't continue, it is usually because something wasn't forming correctly, once again, nothing you could cause or prevent. Right now you can rest, and keep your appointments. I hope that everything works out for you.
take care,
D.

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K.A.

answers from Detroit on

M., like so many of us we have not heard of what they dr was saying. But there are alot of women who do bleed while pregnant. I didn't really with my first, but my 2nd I did after week 5. I knew in my heart of heart that I could not change what would happen at so early of a stage when I knew that women who were having babies when I was born didn't even know they were pregnant til they were 9-16 weeks along. We find out now way to early and all we can do is worry. I am Rh- so I also knew my risks were a little more and I was getting shots to block any potential side affects just in case the babies blood was fighting mine. He is now 2 1/2 and a joy to be with. There is only one divine that can give you the strength that you need to get through this. Enjoy your children, get the needed rest and have faith that nothing that you cannot handle is put on your plate. My mom had twins at 21 weeks in 1978, yes 1 made it, the other not, but it is not in our hands on what happens. Medicine can only do so much. Hard to tell that I am not a true believer but I have learned that things happen for a reason. If the babies heart beat is strong, believe that he is a fighter and give yourself and your body a break from the stress. He is giving you joy now and you are lucky to experience this whether it is good or bad, some don't get the chance to experience it. I will pray for you and your family.

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D.G.

answers from Detroit on

M.,
I do have an idea of what you are going through - I had a similar situation almost two years ago to the day. I started out spotting as well (it was probably about 9 or 10 weeks for me too) and then progressed to bleeding with a very healthy heartbeat and healthy looking baby. I do not recall there being anything with the womb shrinking but they called the bleeding a sub-chorionic bleed which (I hope I'm explaining this correctly) basically meant there was a tear between the lining of the uterus and the placenta, or that it wasn't fully attached. They told me that this would usually correct itself or go away. There were a number of times that we thought I had miscarried but did not but I was bleeding more then than during a normal period. It's a difficult time and I would recommend you accept whatever help you can from family and friends so that you can stay on the bed rest. If you are not satisfied with the answers your doctor is giving you ask for a referral to a maternal fetal medicine specialist at your hospital.
My doctors had also told me to go home and hope and pray. And I prayed my heart out! I really feel for you because I had an almost two year old and it was so hard because I had to rely on others to care for her and put her down for naps but just know that this is a short time in the grand scheme of things and your girls will probably not remember this time. I would read my daughter stories and watch shows with her on the couch. I will tell you - as I respond to your internet request...I found that people did not post happy stories on the internet, they most often only post unhappy ones so if you can keep yourself from reading all of the different websites it might help your stress level. I do have a beautiful little boy now and thank God for him every day. I adore him. Stay positive and pray. The worst news I found was that the doctors are not God and can't fix everything and you desperately want them to. But when they couldn't heal me or the baby I knew there was a God who could.
My docs all told me the bleeding eventually goes away. I won't go in to detail about my whole pregnancy but I will say I have a beautiful little boy now and we celebrate every time he has a new word, walks, and all of that good stuff. Feel free to email me any time if you have more questions or need some encouragement! I will keep you, your sweet baby, and your family in my prayers.

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G.B.

answers from Detroit on

I'd see if you can get the progesterone cream. Tell you doc that you really want this baby. That may make a difference. I am going to pray for you and the little guy. Stay in bed and drink lots of water. Dehydration can play havoc with a pregnancy!

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K.M.

answers from Detroit on

I have miscarried four times each time things where different. I have also had 4 beautiful children. But doesn't mean I don't think of the others. The last one I misscaried i was 9 weeks but it showed six weeks.I really never heard of whats going on with u. but i would assume thats how most miscariages work. It just seems weird your dr. wouldn't do everything possible to save it. i would demand to be put on protesterone. who knows other than god. the hormone with bed rest could turn it around. I fell bad for you. I will pray for you and hope god c an change the out come. I have heard of people having periods with pregnancy. I have also heard of people having the bleeding from the placenta because of a blood sac and the sac was a little smaller at first but than they had a beautiful baby. So maybe there is that going on. But do bed rest and what they say because if you don't you will misscarry. So no lifting anything but a gallon of milk and make sure your husbad knows you need to sit on your bumb. The kids are going to be hard with it but it will all work out. for the best and whatever god wants its all up to him which sometimes stinks but theres reasons why. Maybe theres a sign behind it. Good Luck and god bless!!

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J.K.

answers from Grand Rapids on

Go see a specialist and get a second opinion

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C.H.

answers from Detroit on

M.,
I'm very sorry to hear that you are going through this. I can't imagine how you must be feeling, but I will say a prayer for you.
The thing is...you just don't know what is going to happen. I've read a few others' stories, some ended good, some ended bad. A friend of mine who was also pregnant was bleeding, She went in last Monday, was told the baby's heartbeat was strong & showing signs of growth despite all the bleeding, she went in again on Thursday, and the baby had died. She had subchorionic hematoma.
I know its hard to think like this when you are going through a storm, but whatever happens is meant to be. I know it will be so hard if do you lose the baby, but life has its reasons. I'll say a prayer for you.

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D.M.

answers from Detroit on

I am so sorry for your loss. I hope you find the answers you need, and peace for yourself and family. I do have a question and you don't have to answer, I was just wondering how was your baby's sex determined at nine weeks? I was never told the sex of my children until around week 20 or so. (Just curious, and you don't have to answer.)
I said a prayer for your baby and the rest of your family. Please take care of yourself and accept the help from those around you.

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A.S.

answers from Detroit on

I am so so sorry M.!

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