Intraamniotic Bleeding Following Transabdominal Amniocentesis

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Abstract
A prospective study on 231 consecutive patients who underwent transabdominal genetic amniocentesis was performed to determine the incidence of intraamniotic bleeding associated with needle removal and to determine if this increased future pregnancy complications. Eleven procedures traversed the placenta and intraamniotic bleeding was seen in every case. In 220 cases the placenta was not traversed and intraamniotic uterine wall bleeding was seen in 38%. In 92% of these, bleeding stopped in less than 30 sec. No difference in pregnancy outcome was seen between cases with visible bleeding when compared to cases where bleeding was not identified, suggesting that this is a normal but unavoidable aspect of amniocentesis. The location of the placenta was not a factor except that a transplacental procedure was more likely with an anterior placenta. Possible explanations for this unexpected high incidence are discussed as well as the theoretical concern over exposing the unborn fetus to maternal blood borne infections.

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