Conference moira::parenting

    
    A friend of mine did not find out she was pregnant till she was almost
    5 months because she was having regular periods.  It is not very common
    but the dr's day it not impossible either. BTW, she had a healthy baby
    at full term.
    
    Sandy

    this happened to a couple of people I know.  One had her period for
    nine months until she delivered full term.  My other girlfriend had
    hers until 4 months when she found out she was pregnant.  Her periods
    were iregular so she didn't think anything about it.
    
    Did you ob do an ultrasound just to make sure that you are still
    pregnant?
    
    Liz

    my highschool best friend's mother had this happen to her for 3 of her
    5 pregnancies - the first (my friend) she didn't know she was
    pregnant until about 4 months along when she fell off the stairs to
    a bus - went to a checkup at the doctor to make sure no broken bones.
    
    he said: "everything's fine Mrs.XXXX, the baby was not hurt"
    she said: "WHAT baby?!?"
    
    I ALWAYS think of her experience when I am feeling pregnant but 
    had my period.....;-)
    
    Monica

    This happened to me in three of my five pregnancies.  The first time
    they said it was because I had a sensitive cervix.  The second time
    I had to have a pregnancy test done every two weeks for about three 
    months and the third time I just bleed for about two days one time 
    and they said it was the egg implanting.  All three pregnancies 
    resulted in three healthy girls.  I did not spot at all with 
    my last two.  The doctors told me all three times that it was not 
    all that uncommon to spot at the beginning of your pregnancy.
    
    Vickie
    
    

    Thanks for the reassurance!  I did have an ultrasound done at what I
    thought was 6 wks - that was when I found out that I was really 11 wks
    along.  It was a nice surprise - but it did have me concerned.  The
    baby looked great - all the limbs were there, etc.  There was no sign
    of bleeding going on.  (The bleeding had taken place 6 wks previous to
    the ultrasound.)  I heard the heartbeat last week which was comforting.
    Now the whole due date thing is a bit out of proportion as my last
    (real) period was Oct 19th which would give me a due date of July 27th
    - but because the ultrasound is most accurate - my due date is Aug 11th!
    I guess time will tell.
    
    This is my 2nd pregnancy.  With my 1st I only had spotting on day 10 -
    so this is proving how different pregnancies can be.
    
    Thanks again for your feedback!
    Sonia

    This happened to my Dr.'s receptionist.... for 4 of her pregnancies! 
    She didn't know with any of them until around 4-5 months..... and her
    periods were just as heavy (some heavier) all the way through her whole
    pregnancies!

        I too experienced a "period" after conception. I wasn't planning
	a pregnancy and indeed thought I was coming down with an ulcer 
        because I was nauseous all the time.  Then the periods stopped and 
        I finally realized that #2 was on the way.  After 6 more weeks, I
        started bleeding again, and it continued for 3 days. The 
        ultrasound indicated I was a month "more pregnant" than I calculated.

	My OB told me that the bleeding was not to be ignored and that
        I had to get more rest, stay off my feet, don't lift, etc.  
        He ordered me to bed until it stopped. 
        
	 Before it happened to me, I rolled my eyes whenever I heard
         stories about women not knowing they were pregnant for months
         and months. 

         Ps. The rest of the pregnancy was event-free and my son is
         fine.

         Candace

    Oh, no, now I can't enjoy that total relief every month that I'm NOT
    pregnant again!
    
    -Tracy (for whom two is enough)
    

    It happened to me too, it was like a regular period.  The doctor said
    it is not that unusual, it's the egg implanting and some woman find
    that their flow is even heavier when this occurs.
    
    Chris
    

    re:  .8
    
    My sentiments *exactly*  ;-)   Especially after just two months of
    putting a tubal ligation to the test! You know how they have to  inform
    you that there is a 'very slight possiblity, though improbable' that a
    pregnancy can still occur! Hope that thought fades away after a while!
    
    
    bsw

I just found out I was pregnant at the beginning of March. They estimate that
Im about 6 weeks along now and Ive been bleeding for the past 10 days. At first
it started off as a brownish discharge and then turned into red blood with some
clots. This past Saturday the bleeding got worse and the clots bigger. I had my
5 internal in 7 days and Im told that my cervix is not dialated. my HCG blood
count is increasing as a normal pregnancy would, and Im not having any cramping
at all.  Im scheduled for an ultrasound tomorrow morning to see where the 
implantation is located.  My 1st pregnancy was not like this at all so when all
of this started happening I really lost it and have been very emotional off 
and throughout the last 10 days.  We are also infertility patients so the fact 
that we have to go through the charting, etc to get pregnant just makes the 
possible loss even harder for me to accept.  

So far Ive been told that the bleeding could be caused by:
implantation
sensitive cervix
fibroids
a reaction to all of the internals Ive had recently
'normal' bleeding in pregnancy

Ive also been told that there are no guarantees that I wont lose the
pregnancy but that a person can bleed and have a healthy pregnancy. Talk about
an emotional rollercoaster.  I can say that the bleeding seems to have 
diminished over yesterday and today but has not stopped.  

Im trying to be hopeful about this but sometimes it is overwhelming.

Maureen

    Maureen,
    
    		My thoughts are with you. It must be very difficult to not
    know one way or the other. Be good to yourself and I'll say a prayer or
    two.
    
    					Wendy

I experienced some bleeding around 11 weeks that was diagnosed (via ultrasound)
as a low-lying placenta.  This condition fixed itself when I was checked again
at 20 weeks.

Hope your condition is as benign and can be successfully diagnosed.  Hang
in there...

- Deb

    
    In my second pregnancy I had a sudden abrupt episode involving (what
    seemed to me to be) a lot of blood.  I PANICKED and it turned out to be
    - nothing at all.  My third pregnancy, I spotted, or more, on and off
    through the whole pregnancy.  Some of it was accompanied by cramping,
    most not.  Most was when I'd been "too" active (though it sure didn't
    SEEM like I'd been too active!).  It was a very emotional time for me
    as well, which may or may not have contributed.
    
    Jonathan is a thriving almost-6 month old.  I think the blood loss
    affected me, physically and emotionally, but had little or no impact on
    him, whatsoever.  It was never medically explained, just termed "normal
    bleeding".  Since I'd had 2 previous pregnancies with no "regular"
    bleeding, this was not "normal" to ME! (-:
    
    Try to relax ... whatever it is, you being upset isn't going to make it
    better.  Good Luck!!
    
    Patty

    
    I also bleed at 6/7 weeks and was put into hospital overnight (the
    worst night of my life!!). They kept monitoring my hormone levels, then
    sent me home to rest. An ultra-sound showed a double sac so it turned out 
    that I'd lost a twin, but the other one was fine.
    
    It's a very difficult thing and it wasn't until I saw Rebecca's
    heartbeat on a later scan that I really believed that I was still
    pregnant and the things would be OK.
    
    Good luck, rest when you can and try not to panic. Nature is tough on
    us poor humans :-)
    
                        seals
    

Well I had my ultrasound yesterday. Although the doctor thought I was 5-6 wks
along the ultrasound showed that I was at 4 weeks. The regular ultrasound
showed the sac implanted well in the uteres but nothing in it - they then did
a transvaginal ultrasound which showed the yolk sac inside the sac but did 
not show the embryo itself. I was told that this was because it was too small
at this point to be detected and that the fact that there is a yolk sac is
a good sign.  I was told that there was no visible bleeding inside and in 
fact my bleeding was next to nothing yesterday (until they did the transvaginal
which started things up again) and today its almost stopped. The sac is not
implanted in the tubes or low near the cervix which was also good.

I have to have another HCG count done today in the hopes that its risen
significantly since last Friday.  The nurse told me that they would 
most likely do another ultrasound in a couple of weeks when the embryo is big
enough to be seen.  So there is still a level of uncertainty present for me
but alot to be hopeful for - Im trying to focus my energy on the positive,
although not knowing for certain that everything is okay is killing me.

Maureen

Please keep us updated.

I can sympathize...  I had an early ultrasound to insure that my
pregnancy was intra-uterine and not ectopic and the doctor said that they
should be able to see the heartbeat at that time.  I was about 5 weeks
along and the ultrasound showed a sac implanted in the uterus, but no heartbeat.
They scheduled me for another ultrasound 2 weeks later and we *did* see
the heartbeat -- looked like a tiny flickering light...  

Hope positive stories help!!  

- Deb

    Maureen,
    
    I think this sort of thing is little talked of (well, here in the UK
    anyway)..but more common than certainly I realised.
    
    I can empathise with you, and reading your note brought back all the
    memories of my own pregnancy, three and a half years ago.  I hope my
    experience will go a little way to help you...
    
    I'd orginally popped into see the Dr for prolonged menstrual bleeding
    and was most shocked to discover I was 6 weeks pregnant!  Well, I bled
    on and off throughout my pregnancy (more on, than off) - it varied in
    quantity and colour, yet I experienced no stomach cramps.  The Dr could
    find no reason for the bleeding, and I was advised to be 'careful'.
    The emotions I felt were wide-ranging, and many times I left his
    surgery in tears.    Throughout the visits to the Dr, and stays in
    hospital, we tried to keep our hopes and spirits up as much as
    we could.
    
    The result was a healthy 7lb 10oz baby girl...who arrived on the scene
    four weeks after her due date....Kathryn is now a lively, mischievous
    little cherub!
    
    My best wishes to you.
    
    Jackie
    

Thank you for all of your help and support. I am happy to announce that
after 2 1/2 weeks my bleeding finally stopped.  I have absolutely no
discharge at all and have a 2nd ultrasound next week.  My blood work so
far has come out great and Im gaining back my positive outlook.  With 
any luck by next week we'll be able to see more than before and this will
put my mind at ease as well.

In the meantime Im very very tired - much like the 1st trimester of my
1st pregnancy (my daughter Meredith turned one today!)  At least things
feel like theyre getting back to 'normal'

Thank you again
Maureen

    That's great news Maureen!
    
    Thanks for the update and please do keep us posted and
    let us know what you see on the ultrasound next week!
    
    	Happy Birthday Meredith!
    
    	Linda