Worried About Early Pregnancy Spotting :(

Updated on November 18, 2009
L.A. asks from Bristow, VA
16 answers

So here is my story:

After almost a year of trying/testing they determined I was not ovulating (under the category of undiagnosed infertility.) They prescribed 50mg of Clomid to induce ovulation and see if that would help me in conceiving. I took my first round of Clomid Oct 12-16 (days 5-9 of my cycle.) It must have caused me to ovulate early b/c on Day 21 after starting to "not feel myself" I took a pregnancy test and it was positive. They ran blood and my hcg levels were at 72. This would have been only 3 weeks past my last menstrual cycle.

Everything as been moving along - I have been REALLY tired as pretty much my only symptom. This week starting Monday (day 33) through today (day 38) I experienced some brown mucous type discharge about once - five times/day. There is no cramping, no red, no clots, just this brown goo.

I was nervous so I called the Dr. and they had me come in for another HCG test on Wed (this would put me at about 5 weeks from last cycle) and my levels were 12,000. They felt good that they had risen so much but still did another HCG test that Friday to compare it again. I have to wait till Mon to find out if my levels are still climbing....oh the waiting!

I know from what I read, spotting can be common and brown is better than red. My questions is has anyone out there actually gone through this or had this brown discharge early in pregnancy?

Thanks for help or advice to ease my paranoid mind

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So What Happened?

I went in for an emergency ultrasound today and they found 2 gestational sacs. Neither had an apparent heartbeat or fetal pole, although I am only 5weeks. They are sending me for another in 1 week. It seems one of them is looking good and the other is down near my cervix, which is probably miscarrying.

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K.H.

answers from Richmond on

ok, so they discovered two fetuses, but neither one had a fetal heartbeat, doesnt sound good, hate to say it but
somebody has to.sometimes things dont work out the way we
thought they would. not anybodies fault, just one of those
random things that can happen.
K. h.
but, just to be certain, go back to the doctor to make certain because there is also the slightest chance that
the fetal heart may not have started on its own yet

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S.U.

answers from Norfolk on

L., I had the same thing in my first pregnancy and it freaked me out a little bit too, but luckily my mom is a midwife and so I was able to call her right away and ask about it, and what she told me was that sometimes when the embryo implants it causes some bleeding and the brown discharge is the old blood that is just now coming out. As long as the blood isn't bright red you should be fine. As for me, the rest of my pregnancy was perfectly fine and my son is almost nine!

S.

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A.L.

answers from Washington DC on

I had this with my daughter for several weeks. It was "old blood" probably from implantation. I think it is good to check your HCG levels, but I wouldn't worry about it. My daughter is perfectly healthy and I had this brown discharge for a few weeks when I was pregnant with her.

Good luck!

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L.A.

answers from Charlottesville on

i had spotting at about 15-16 weeks into my pregnancy. it turned out to be a busted blood vessel. the doc said is pretty common with the extra blood flow in your body during pregnancy. i didnt have any tests just went in the mon following the spotting and they did an exam and found the cause. no issues after that.

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C.G.

answers from Washington DC on

Hi L., I wouldn't worry! I'm 9 weeks and have had spotting too.....and to make you feel better I just had an ultrasound and I have a SCH or Subchorionic Hematoma is a gathering of blood between the membranes of the placenta and the uterus. I was told it was fairly common. Although, I'm so nervous too as we had a miscarriage in June. But I saw the beating heart at 145 beats per minute so I have to have faith everything is OK!
My levels were 13,000 at 7 1/2 weeks so at 5 weeks your levels are great. I wouldn't worry. I know it's hard I have had spotting with this pregnancy and never while I was pregnant with my daughter. Maybe it's implantation bleeding. What is so hard now is that we know SO early that we are pregnant. Makes for a very long 1st trimester. But what I've learned is that other than taking good care of yourself it's not in your hands. Please don't worry I bet come June/July you will be holding a beautiful baby in your arms. It's so stressful I know I am wishing this pregnancy to progress so I will stop worrying!
Hang in there! Also at 13000 HCG you should see a heartbeat.....maybe get a sono to calm your nerves?

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A.M.

answers from Eugene on

There are so many nerve wracking things that can happen with pregnancy! With my first, I had bad cramping and a day of bleeding a day before I expected my period (I actually got a negative test earlier in the day). I was sure it was my period, eventhough we'd been ttc and I was charting and looking for any reason to test. I decided that I was going to back off for a bit (had been rather obsessed for about 5 cycles). For various reasons, I ended up testing a week or 2 later and was shocked it was +.
Then had real bleeding again that week for a day and was sure it was a m/c. All said, in the 3 weeks starting with the first bleeding, I had the 2 red blood days and some spotting (brown to pink) all but 2 or 3 of those days. We have no idea why, all progresses totally normal and he was born at 42w. My 2nd pregnancy was completely straightforward textbook no surprises.
Generally, brown spotting w/o cramping is normal and not a problem. It shouldn't really give you extra worry.
Hope the #s look perfect on Monday!

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A.G.

answers from Richmond on

Hi There - Stay positive. We had twins (IVF), and just before starting IVF again to try and add a third to our brood, I conceived naturally. It felt too good to be true I thought, and sure enough, just about when I was due to have a period (i.e. about 5 weeks preg) - I spotted and then it tturned to bright red blood. I told my husband sadly that it was all over, and I called my doctor, who had me come in, we did a scan - and there was our third baby - tiny as can be, with a lovely heartbeat...despite the red blood! He said to go home and just rest - everything looked fine and he could not see the source of the blood. He did say that it happens quite often that your body tries to have a period when you are pregnant. In any case - if I was going to lose the baby - there is pretty much noothing that could be done. Well, the bleeding lasted for just one day - and I remained super tired and tender-breasted. The same thing happened to me about a month later, and then a month later - but each time she hung in. Then it stopped happening and at 39 weeks my 10lb1oz littlest (!) one was born. My mum had the same thing happen to her with my youngest sister. So, chin up, think positive, and good luck. Cheers - from very rainy and windy England! (I miss VA!)

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M.C.

answers from Washington DC on

I had this with my 3rd preg. It was a few months after I had had a miscarriage and I was a complete wreck. The dr. said that it was old blood getting cleaned out They let me come in and get tested. It stopped after about 2 weeks. I delivered a healthy baby at 39weeks.

M.

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G.E.

answers from Richmond on

I had early pregnancy spotting in my 8th week or so and it was just as you described. The doctors told me not to worry. I am a nurse and all the nurses I work with told me not to worry. But I still worried...

I read that it is common in early pregnancy, but even that didn't ease my mind. My best advice to you would be to ask your doctor lots and lots of questions and don't worry about appearing paranoid. The more knowledge I had, the better I felt.

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A.M.

answers from Richmond on

I have 3 kids and had spotting with 2 of them from about 5wks to 8wks. It's really unnerving and even as a nurse, I still freaked out. I had the u/s, blood tests, etc... only to have them tell me that it was residual implatation blood. Good luck. That sounds like what you are having.

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K.C.

answers from Seattle on

I am on my 3rd Pregnancy and with both of my kids I did have the brown mucous, I was told to now worry about it and that it is better then have bright red spotting. I beliveve alot of Women have the Brown Mucous and it is just old blood. When it is red meaning new blood then you need to contact your doctor. I have also have bright red spotting with my last 2 pregnancies as well but it would not last long. If you srating cramping with not blood (bright red or Brown) just lay back and put your feet up. The first Trimester is where you have to be most careful. I hope that helps. Good Luck

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K.G.

answers from Washington DC on

Hi L.!

I wouldn't worry too much. Your levels are going up and as others have said, brown spotting is nothing to worry about. I spotted at 15 weeks with my son, who is now 6, and with my daughter I spotted at 8 weeks, and she is now 6 months old. See if the doctor will perform an ultrasound so you can see/hear the heart beating. My doctor did that for me and it really put my mind at ease. In both cases, the cause of my spotting was undetermined but since there was no cramping or bright red bleeding, I was assured that all was going to be okay. Hang in there and congrats!

K.

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D.S.

answers from Washington DC on

Congratulations! It sounds like everything is just fine. One thing no one tells you is just how common first trimester spotting is. As previous posters have said, brown blood is old blood and probably implantation bleeding coming out. I had quite a bit of that, and even occasional red spotting during my first pregnancy, which was IVF. I was running to the doctor at least once a week! Everything was fine though, and my healthy, full term twins are now almost 4 years old! One thing the doctor mentioned to me is that bleeding is more common in women who have had fertility treatment (so unfair) because your hormones are being artificially controlled. I don't know if there are any studies on that, but it seems to be anecdotally true. Hope you can relax and enjoy your pregnancy!

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C.P.

answers from Chicago on

I had it right after I found out I was preg. I was told that it wold be "old" blood that was being released as my utras expanded. The doctor tested my levels as well. Mine were a bit low and put me on progestrone (sp) for the first trimester just to make sure the levels stayed up.
My perfect, beautiful little girl celebrated her first birthday last week after a very easy and unenventul pregancy!

Best of luck to you!! A good friend was on Clomid and had triplets 4 days before my daughter was born!

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E.W.

answers from Washington DC on

I had bleeding/spotting with both of my babies (around 6 or 7 weeks). With my first it was worse than the second but both pregnancies continued. I had the tests to check my hormone levels as well. Eventually I heard or saw the heartbeat (I guess at 7 or 8 weeks) and was reassured. My doc said that once a heartbeat is detected, it is likely that the baby is ok and the risk of early miscarriage is greatly reduced. Good luck to you!

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K.H.

answers from Norfolk on

Heey L.. I am about 7 1/2 weeks pregnant and I have had the same thing as you for about a week now. I got really scared at first and called the drs and they had me come in for a blood test to check my hcg levels and the dr said this is usually normal as long as it isn't bright red or accompanied by cramping or sharp pains in your side. I am also worried about it and I hope the best for both of us =) Just try to get lots of rest and relaxation.

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