What You Need to Know About Bleeding in Pregnancy

Bleeding in pregnancy can be very frightening. If you are bleeding you will need to make note of the following for when you talk to your practitioner:

• Time you noticed the bleeding
  This would be the first time that you noticed the bleeding.
• Amount of bleeding
  It might be hard to quantify how much blood is present, but talk about it in terms of what type of protection you are using and how often you change it. For example, does it only appear when wiping? Do you need to wear a pad? How often do you need to change a pad?
• Quality of the blood
  What is the color of the blood? Bright red? Pink? Brown? Is it thin and watery, or mucus tinged? Or perhaps you have clots?
• Vaginal Activity
  Have you had a vaginal exam or had sex recently? Do you take any vaginal medications like progesterone. This will be important for your practitioner to know.
• Anything else you can think of that might matter.
  Your doctor or midwife may ask you other questions or you may have other things that concern you.

Once you have this information, it is time to call your doctor or midwife.

_{Source:
Obstetrics: Normal and Problem Pregnancies. Gabbe, S, Niebyl, J, Simpson, JL. Fifth Edition.}