HEALTHPregnant Olivia Culpo Was 'Bleeding Everywhere' in First Trimester Due to Blood Clot in Her Uterus: 'It Was a Lot'
Pregnant Olivia Culpo was 'bleeding everywhere' in her trimester due to a blood clot in her uterus.
Olivia Culpo’s pregnancy journey hasn’t been the easiest.
On Tuesday, March 18, the former Miss Universe got real about the challenges she’s faced while expecting her first baby with husband Christian McCaffrey.
In a video filmed in December 2024 — when she was nine weeks pregnant — Culpo opened up about the tough experience.
The model was on bed rest for weeks after also dealing with pneumonia.
As she applied her makeup, she shared, “I have been on bed rest for [two weeks] and before that I had pneumonia, so I was sick also for two weeks. I’ve been truly on bed rest for four weeks.”
“Towards the end of the two weeks of being really sick, I got a subchorionic hematoma, which is basically a blood clot in my uterus,” she continued. “And I was bleeding everywhere. So at this point, I was so exhausted [from] two weeks of just not being able to move. And now, all of a sudden, just like purging. It was like a lot. It was a heavy [bleeding].”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, vaginal bleeding is a common symptom of a subchorionic hematoma, which happens when blood collects under the chorion membrane during pregnancy. This membrane connects the mother's uterine wall to the baby’s amniotic sac.
Most cases resolve on their own without causing complications, but at the time, Culpo stated: “I was so exhausted."
The Culpo Sisters star felt a huge sense of relief after a check-up confirmed her baby’s heartbeat was strong.
She also shared that she was prescribed “a lot” of progesterone suppositories to help create the best environment for the baby.
"He said, 'You can't go anywhere. You can't travel.' Like truly staying in bed," she recalled of her doctor’s advice.
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Olivia Culpo felt relieved when she heard the baby’s heartbeat during a checkup.
Luckily, things have improved and the pageant queen is "really grateful that everything is going well so far."
Culpo also wanted to offer reassurance to others experiencing similar issues.
“So anyone out there with a subchorionic hematoma or SCH as they call it, I hope this video will help you if you experience a lot of intense bleeding in your first trimester. It’s not always the worst case that you’re thinking,” she said while tearing up. “I just want all of you to know, anybody out here going through any part of pregnancy feeling alone, getting news you don’t want to get, feeling like you don’t know why it’s happening to you, I’m praying for you for everybody in their maternity journey.”
Olivia Culpo shared her story to comfort others going through difficult pregnancies.
Culpo, who announced her pregnancy in mid-March, has been open about her health struggles in the past. She underwent surgery for endometriosis in November 2020 and previously spoke about how her condition might impact her ability to conceive.
"I want to have kids, but I want to make sure that I can," she admitted in a 2022 episode of The Culpo Sisters. "It could be really hard for me to have babies."
The star announced her pregnancy on March 10.
“Endometriosis can affect your fertility in a lot of different ways,” she explained at the time. “You can have endometrial tissue growing near or on your ovaries, it can affect the quality of your eggs, and scar your fallopian tubes.”
She added, "There is so much that I don’t know about what’s going to happen in the future with that condition, and I worry all the time about my timeline. I feel like I have to have kids ASAP."
