Question Title: Implantation hemorrhage

Dear Melisa:
An implantation hemorrhage is a small collection of fluid seen on ultrasound adjacent to the placenta of an early pregnancy. As the placenta grows and increases the blood supply for the baby by "tapping into" your blood vessels, there can be some "leak around the edges". This seems to be harmless.
I am not aware of an association between implantation bleeding and abruptio placenta. Since both processes occur around the placenta, I understand why you would associate them. Placental abruption is associated with changes in blood pressure which are presumed to displace the anchoring system for the placenta. Weak anchor points is a second hypothesis. Since implantation hemorrhage and abruptio bleeding are occurring by different mechanisms (active invasion of blood vessels vs passive disruption of an established communication with blood vessels) they are probably different entities.

Keywords: implantation bleeding, placental abruption

This information is provided for education purposes only and is not a medical consultation. If you have specific questions, please contact your physician.