Answers. Hallelujah!!!

After the episode last Thursday, we've been wondering what on earth caused all of that. At my regular monthly appointment on Monday, my midwife did yet another ultrasound to check on Baby and see if she could find some answers for me. What I left with was the reassurance that Baby's still okay, and another mystery. She'd seen Baby in its little black hole of a sac, then a wavy white line dividing it from another black space. The second black space was smaller, but there was a definite division between the two. She didn't know if it was a second, empty gestational sac or a hematoma (blood clot).

She was concerned enough that she wanted to get me in to have a scan done by a professional sonographer, then have it read by a radiologist to give me an accurate diagnosis. Yesterday morning I went in as scheduled and got the scan done. The technician saved lots of images of the baby for the radiologist to view, then found that weird division we'd been wondering about. In talking with her I mentioned the midwife's theory that it might be a second empty sac, which the technician admitted she thought was possible, too, though she didn't want to bring it up. (Not a good idea to mention the possibility of a lost twin to someone who hasn't already heard it.) She took lots more images and finally got all she needed. Then she decided she'd see if the radiologist was around to look at the images while I was there. She immediately got him on the phone, explained my history, then went over a few of the images with him (I guess he could access them from wherever he was). Once she hung up she explained to me that his initial theory was that I'd had (in technical terms) a subchorionic hemorrhage or hematoma (SCH). This is basically where the chorion (outer layer of the amniotic sac) pulls away from the uterine wall and causes bleeding. My midwife called me this morning after receiving the radiologist's official report and confirmed that he'd diagnosed me with a SCH. I'd done lots of research online when I got home to yesterday, so much of what she said was expected. (I found this article helpful if you want more info on SCH.) First and foremost, my SCH is fairly small and doesn't extend behind my placenta, so the placenta isn't compromised. BIG relief. This was my main fear. She also determined that I'm not a high risk case, so there's no need for me to switch to an OB. She wants to continue monitoring the hematoma via ultrasound to make sure it doesn't get bigger or pose a risk to my pregnancy as it progresses. She advised me to not do any heavy lifting and to just be cautious until she can get some more info from her consulting physician (hopefully today or tomorrow). Thankfully, no bed rest. Overall, this was a very good outcome, especially considering all the other possibilities.

So, there ya go. Mystery solved AT LAST!! Now it's just a matter of watching and waiting to see what kind of changes may happen as things go along. Here are a few photos that the sonographer sent home with me, in case you're interested. (I added the labels with arrows. By the way, the photos were printed on glossy paper, which is why there's some glare. I don't have a scanner, and it's hard taking a picture of a picture.)

This image was one I got at the midwife's office on Monday. 13 weeks, 2 days


P.S. Now that I'm entering my second trimester, I'm actually starting to feel a lot better these days. My headaches disappeared right after my bleeding episode (weird), and my nausea is tolerable. Thank heavens!! I think I might actually be moving past this yuckiness once and for all... knock on wood...