Bleeding and Pain in Early Pregnancy: Information for you (revision)
Consumer pilot responses received August 2015
34 responses were received in total. 5 were hardcopies received from patients who had been asked
to review the information through their clinic. 29 were from the Women’s Voices Involvement Panel
and the wider public through the online survey.
Of all responders, 93% (representing 28 responses out of 30 patients who provided this information)
identified themselves as having had personal experience of the subject matter of the leaflet. 3% (1
out of 30) said a friend or family member had had this experience, and another 3% had no personal
experience of it.
If you answered 'no' or 'in parts', please note anything you think could improve the layout.
No.
1
2
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4
Patient comment
Is a bit all over the place. Need a more step by step layout.
The section that refers to where help can be sought uses the word "can". I would
recommend it says "should" - ensuring that women who are having early pregnancy
bleeding do seek medical help. Additionally it may be worth adding a sentence following
the fact that 1 in 5 pregnancies end in miscarriage to explain that this is normally not due to
anything the woman may or may not have done.
Clear structure needed
It's more because they don't always know, it's awful to go away with the thought that it's a
threatened miscarriage, thankfully my baby is ok and I’m 34 weeks now.
If there are some phrases that are difficult to understand, what are they?
No.
1
2
Patient comment
PUL - perhaps too technical for some especially given lower % affected?
PUL
If ‘yes’, what did you learn?
No.
1
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4
5
6
7
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Patient comment
Only what a PUL is. Had not heard of this before
About molar pregnancies
Reasons for bleeding
That bleeding doesn't always mean miscarriage. Didn't know about PUK or shoulder pain in
ectopic pregnancy.
Different reasons behind bleeding
I learned what a PUL is and about placental abnormalities.
What happens in cases of PUL
Different causes of bleeding
Q11 Is there anything else you think this information should cover that is not included? If so,
please tell us.
No.
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Patient comment
I had bleeding and pain in early pregnancy and had an agonising wait for a scan. I looked on
the Internet and everything I read suggested a miscarriage. Thankfully it turned out that it
was caused by my Placenta attaching itself. Apparently this can cause pain and bleeding in
early pregnancy, This is something I nor my friends had ever heard of. Maybe it's worth
adding?
A section on what is advisable whilst bleeding e.g. mention of whether bed rest is necessary,
advice on sexual activity during threatened miscarriage,
No mention of maternal anxiety or emotional affects
What about implantation bleeding etc or those that bleed throughout pregnancy with no
complications. Is this all classed under 'threatened miscarriage'
More about the threatened miscarriage, like why it happens. Also, I had a heavy bleed at 12
weeks which they said was a threatened miscarriage but it was later discovered that I had a
low lying placenta which I believe could have been the cause of the bleed. If this is right then
perhaps that should be included as a cause, it could be reassuring to know that it might not
be a problem rather than never knowing why the bleed happened.
Explain in more detail that bleeding and pain can be stretching not juts PUL eptopic
miscarriage etc this wasn't made very clear
7
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12
Maybe include some more reassuring information. I had heavy bleeding that did not lead to
miscarriage and this does not explore the reasons for unknown bleeding or that it might not
be serious. I found out most reassuring info on forums, not NHS sites.
Yes I think it should include that some women experience bleeding due to other reasons
such as implantation bleeding as all of the other pieces of information talk about quite
frightening situations and I think you should include an option which is completely normal
and not a risk to the pregnancy or female that way they won't believe that all the causes in
your leaflet could lead to miscarriage as a 50/50 split. Ectopic pregnancy - miscarriage, PUL potential for miscarriage. Molar pregnancy - no baby even there etc at least with
implantation bleeding it's normal and there isn't a risk of miscarriage with it.
In my experience of pain and early bleeding, I was told it was due to a medical condition,
which is quite common in women (PCOS) I do not recall seeing any mention of this in the
leaflet. I know not all causes can be mentioned, but as PCOS is relatively prevalent, we could
benefit from a sentence on it and/or other pre-existing conditions!
Further explanation of causes of bleeding and what will be checked on a early scan, such as
ovaries. It doesn't tell you what to do of you have bleeding but pregnancy still present. Such
as do not exercise, no sex, no lifting etc
The difference between spotting and bleeding. Reminder not to use tampons. What a GP
may do, e.g regular blood tests for HGC levels.
Bleeding in early pregnancy coming from the cervix and a polyp.
Q14 Please make any additional comments you have about this information:
No.
Patient comment
1
Overall a well thought out and laid out leaflet. Having suffered a miscarriage and 2
ectopic pregnancies I can say that this would have helped far more than the
information I did receive and it is far better than using google!!
2
There wasn't much differentiation between bleeding with and without pain.
3
I found pregnancy forums far more informative than any leaflets or NHS advice. I
was not told what to do or expect
4
Crampy Pain, should it be cramping? Early Pregnancy link is broken, also not all
places will have a unit but may have an early pregnancy assessment "service"
which is how it is worded in NICE guidelines Miscarriage association say 1 in 4
pregnancies end in miscarriage not 1 in 5 Ectopic pregnancy symptoms, add in
particularly shoulder tip pain?