Bleeding in early pregnancy

Introduction

You have attended the Emergency Department with vaginal bleeding and/or abdominal pain in the early stages of your pregnancy.

We hope that you have a continuing pregnancy but you will need an ultrasound scan at an Early Pregnancy Assessment Service (EPAS) to confirm this.

What happens next?

Please phone your nearest Early Pregnancy Unit to make an appointment for one of the clinics below:

Airdrie EPAS: Monday – Friday

• 01698 753032 between 0830 and 0930hrs

Hairmyres EPAS: Monday – Friday

• 01355 584501 between 0830 and 0930hrs

Wishaw EPAS: Monday – Saturday

• 01698 366217 between 0830 and 0930hrs

If there is no answer please leave a message on the voice mail and we will contact you as soon as possible.

We understand that this is a very difficult time for you, but you should be seen within 48hours except at the weekend.

In the event of an emergency

In the event of an emergency where you have severe pain, heavy bleeding with clots or feel very unwell you should telephone University Hospital Wishaw on 01698 366210 as you may need to be admitted to hospital.

What should I do in the next few days?

• Take as little, or as much rest as you are able, or feel happy with.
• Use sanitary towels rather than tampons if possible until the bleeding stops.
• Avoiding sexual intercourse is advisable although it is unlikely to have caused the bleeding.
• It is safe to use paracetomol for abdominal pain.

Confidentiality and the use of patient information

NHS Lanarkshire take care to ensure your personal information is only accessible to authorised people.  Our staff have a legal and contractual duty to keep personal health information secure, and confidential.  In order to find out more about current data protection legislation and how we process your information, please visit the Data Protection Notice on our website at www.nhslanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk or ask a member of staff for a copy of our Data Protection Notice.

If you need this information in another language or format, please e-mail:

Translation.Services@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk