First-trimester bleeding
If you experience vaginal bleeding at any time during pregnancy, report it to your health professional immediately. Vaginal bleeding can be a sign of miscarriage or premature labour during a pregnancy but sometimes it is not, particularly in the first trimester.
During the first trimester of pregnancy:
- Up to 25% of pregnant women experience spotting to heavier vaginal bleeding. Of these women, about 50% do not miscarry.1 Vaginal bleeding during pregnancy is more common in women who have previously been pregnant than in women who are pregnant for the first time.
- Very early spotting is sometimes the result of the fertilized egg implanting in the uterus. Implantation takes place 6 to 10 days after the sperm fertilizes the egg.
- Bleeding can be a sign of miscarriage. Early bleeding during the first 6 weeks or so can be an early miscarriage called a blighted ovum. Although a gestational sac has developed, the fertilized egg has not developed into an embryo. This is usually caused by a chromosomal error in the early stages of cell formation. On an ultrasound, a blighted ovum is likely to look like an empty sac attached to the uterine wall.
| Author: | Kathe Gallagher, MSW Carrie Henley | Last Updated: June 28, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | Joy Melnikow, MD, MPH - Family Medicine Deborah A. Penava, BA, MD, FRCSC, MPH - Obstetrics and Gynecology | |
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