Bleeding during early pregnancy is always a potentially dangerous condition. As the uterus is enlarged from the hormone changes of pregnancy, the blood vessels are engorged and bleeding after miscarriage (medically known as “spontaneous abortion”) can be profuse, causing severe anemia. This can be life threatening and needs immediate intervention with a D&C (dilatation of the cervix and curettage of the uterus) by a specialist.
For every life birth there is a miscarriage, in other words half of all pregnancies never make it to completion. It is important to ensure that all of the fetal tissue and retained placental tissue is removed in these situations, otherwise there is the risk of developing a choriocarcinoma or a hydatiform mole. Use this link to learn more about this preventable cancer. Even though early pregnancy associated bleeding is often devastating to a couple, as dreams of family are preliminarily shattered, it is not all bad news. We could perhaps rethink our perception about nature and realize that in some instances nature wants to mature the uterus more, so with the next attempt it is ready to carry through with a successful pregnancy.
In other cases there may be lethal mutations or genetic malformations that are incompatible with life and nature decided to spontaneously abort this pregnancy. We need to overcome the human tendency to lay blame onto the husband’s sperm or the mother’s egg. The truth is that very often the cause cannot be determined, so we are better off to simply accept what cannot be changed and when we are emotionally ready to simply try again. One thing seems to be for certain that every new pregnancy gives the uterus a boost and makes the woman more fertile for about one to two years.
References:
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25. Dr. John R. Lee, David Zava and Virginia Hopkins: “What your doctor may not tell you about breast cancer – How hormone balance can help save your life”, Wellness Central, Hachette Book Group USA, 2005. On page 253 and 254 he describes how progesterone can be used as a cream to treat fibroids.
