Q: This is for my wife, who is 30 years old and pregnant. Her doctor did a sonography and found PV bleeding. What is this? Will this affect the baby? The doctor advised HCG injections every week for 3 months. What is the usage of HCG injection in pregnancy?

A:Bleeding PV refers to bleeding from the vagina. It is not clear from this query whether the bleeding was noticed on a vaginal examination by the obstetrician or on the ultrasound scan. Nevertheless, bleeding is not uncommon in early pregnancy and more frequently than not, has no effect on the developing baby. HCG injections are used to improve the release of the hormone progesterone from the mother’s ovary. This helps the pregnancy and the dose can be guided by progesterone levels in the mother’s blood- a simple blood test. Some doctors prefer using progesterone directly. Follow-up ultrasound scans would be useful.