Early Complications

This past Thursday began as any other morning in our home. Wren was up early with the boys (because they are the happiest little early risers on the face of this earth) and I was just getting out of bed to start my day after a long night at work. A few minutes had passed when Wren came charging up the stairs into the bathroom and said ''something is wrong.'' She sat down on the toilet and pulled down her pants to reveal an alarming amount of blood. 

Immediately Wren phoned our Dr and we were told to come in right away. I threw on some clothes and a hat, got the boys together and off we went. It was the longest 40 minute drive ever. She went into the office and returned in less than 20 minutes. She got back into the van (all while I was honestly preparing for and anticipating the worst), sonogram picture in hand and reassuringly said ''everything is fine.'' The baby's heart rate is perfect for 6w5d (then) at 117 bpm and everything looks good. Whew! What an immediate sense of relief and joy! So what is causing the bleeding???

Wren was diagnosed with a subchorionic hemorrhage. A subchorionic hemorrhage (subchorionic hematoma) is the accumulation of blood within the folds of the chorion -- the outer fetal membrane, next to the placenta, or within the layers of the placenta itself. These bleeds, or clots, can cause the placenta to seperate from the uterine wall if they get too large, if they develop in a bad spot, or if they aren't eventually reabsorbed by the body. Unfortunately, there is no explained reason why this happens and according to our Dr and other online readings, it is very common in about 20% of women. On the positive side, more than half of these women go on to lead perfectly normal pregnancies. However, these hematomas can lead to or cause miscarriages, placental abruption and preterm labor. 

Since Thursday, Wren has been on bed rest. The bleeding seems to come and go. We have a follow up appt tomorrow morning with our Dr and now that we have more info on what a subchorionic hemorrhage is, we have more questions to ask. Until next week (week 8), we are still under the care of our fertility clinic. This week, we will be deciding on who our obstetrician will be or if we will be referred to the high-risk Dr (like we had last time) as a result of this complication. 

Please keep us in your thoughts!!!! Hoping to have more news after tomorrow's appointment. 

Thank you for caring, 

~Finch