Pregnancy Signs & Symptoms, Week by Week Pregnancy Guide

Vaginal bleeding simply refers to blood coming out through the vagina for any of a number of reasons. Vaginal bleeding is relatively more common among pregnant women and more than 10% of all pregnant women report the occurrence of vaginal bleeding before delivery.

In some cases, women may experience heavy bleeding during pregnancy. The bleeding normally tends to be more severe in the event that the expectant mother is carrying twins or triplets and is most commonly reported within the first 3 months of pregnancy, also referred to as the first trimester.

Causes of heavy bleeding during pregnancy

There are very many causes to which heavy bleeding during pregnancy can be attributed and contrary to what most people tend to believe, not all vaginal bleeding during pregnancy is a sign of a miscarriage.

In the event of excessive bleeding, it is important for the affected mothers to immediately consult a qualified physician or doctor within the shortest time possible.

This will ensure that the bleeding problem, as well as all of the causes that underlie the bleeding, are taken care of in good time.

Among the causes of vaginal bleeding during pregnancy that have been established over the years, the most notable causes include.

Placenta abruption – Placenta abruption is a medical term that is normally used to refer to the separation of the attachment of the placenta to the wall of the uterus before the time of the baby’s delivery. It normally occurs in the interval during which the pregnancy is 4-9 months old and may itself be caused by several factors.

Some of these include suddenly losing uterine volume probably due to very fast loss of the amniotic fluid following the delivery of the first time or injury to the abdomen of the expectant mother.

The injury may be due to a fall, a car accident or any other source of impact directed to the belly area of the pregnant women and it normally results in heavy bleeding during pregnancy.

Miscarriage – This is indeed one of the most commonly recognized causes of heavy bleeding during pregnancy and for most people, it is the only known cause of such bleeding.

Ectopic pregnancy – This is basically just an abnormal pregnancy which, instead of occurring inside the womb, actually occurs outside the uterus. In such cases, the fetus cannot survive since it does not enjoy the basic conditions that are necessary and vital for its survival and more often than not, the fetus fails to develop at all. Most of the reported cases of Ectopic pregnancy indicate that the fetus gets formed inside the fallopian tubes.

Placenta previa – This refers to a condition during pregnancy, whereby the placenta ends up covering the cervical opening due to its development in the womb’s lowest part.

The above are the main causes of heavy bleeding during pregnancy. There are however a number of additional causes for the same and they include:

• Cervical inflection
• Early labor
• Vasa previa, and

Cervical trauma resulting from sexual intercourse during pregnancy.