Brown spotting & miscarriage

L

Liquorice

Registered User
Hi, I am only very early in pregnancy - 3 weeks. Everything looked okay and my HCG levels are very strong but I had brown discharge last night and some this morning. I can also feel something going on in my uterus but no pain as such. I have had these feelings for about a week now, it is more a feeling of pressure and twinges than cramping.

My mother said that you shouldn't feel anything at all and that if you did it was a bad sign as it means your uterus is trying to expel the fetus, is this so? What are other people's experience?

This combined with the brown spotting (which I have read can be okay provided no cramping) makes me really scared that I am about to lose this fetus.

Can anybody comment?
 
Brown spotting can be some old blood (I guess you've already been through internet about this), unless you get fresh red blood, it's ok. The "something going on" can also be a period like feeling, which happens sometimes (I still have my period feeling even though I'm 28 weeks pregnant !). Don't forget that every woman is different.

If you have a doubt, you can talk to your obst and have some extra progesterone to help the fetus to stay (did you have some miscarriages by the past ?). But there is not much more you can do than to wait.

Good luck !
 
I had a miscarriage very early on the last time around. It started with brown discharge, but that was more mucousy. I also started to cramp a little bit.
I rushed myself to the hospital at that time because I was really freaked out. They were able to check with my a vaginal probe ultrasound to see the size of the fetus. I know you`re saying you are 3 weeks pregnant, but the doctors add 2 weeks to that (unless you are only 1 week preg?). If 5 weeks, your doctor should have no problem seeing something on the ultrasound and at what measurement it is. All little fetuses grow systematically at first so it should measure accordingly.
I`m of the thought that why should you wait and worry when you can go to the doctor`s and check it out on the same day?
 
There is a lot of information out there on the internet and a lot of it is very helpful. With my first pregnancy with my son, I had brown spotting like you're talking about at about the same stage of pregnancy and it turned out to be no big deal. I did however go to see my OBGYN and they were able to detect a heartbeat with an internal ultrasound. For your peace of mind, and especially if this is your first pregnancy, I recommend making a trip to your OBGYN. You are likely about 5-6 weeks pregnant, not 3 by the way the doctors calculate pregnancy (they calculate from the first day of your last period) so it is very likely the baby will show up on an internal ultrasound. They may also test your blood or urine.

Then, I just had a miscarriage this past week at 7+ weeks pregnant. I had brown spotting for about 5 days which I didn't worry about because I had had the same thing with my son and he was born and I had a normal pregnancy thereafter but this time, the spotting suddenly became red and bleeding was heavy.

I went to the emergency room and they were concerned that I had an ectopic pregnancy (where the baby is located somewhere it's not supposed to be--like your fallopian tubes or outside of your uterus) so they sent me to another hospital and kept me overnight and ran some tests. At this point, we're still testing to make sure it's not an ectopic pregnancy.

Ectopic pregnancies can be absolutely dangerous and sometimes fatal if not treated correctly or quickly. I also have had some bleeding issues in the past so I wasn't willing to wait around and risk getting into a dangerous situation this time around.

Also, I've heard stories about women who bleed--even red blood during their pregnancy (especially in early pregnancy) and carry out a normal pregnancy and give birth to a healthy baby. There are no for sure things when it comes to this sort of thing but be in good contact with your doctor and get checked out ASAP. Your health and peace of mind are worth it.

In my case, I've found this site useful:

http://pregnancyloss.info/
 
I hope everything works out for you and yes, seeing your ObGyn would be the best thing for your peace of mind. FYI, I had heavy bleeding with bright red blood in my second pregnancy. I didn't even know I was pregnant at the time and thought it was a strange period. I now have a healthy 6 month old, so not every heavy bleed necessarily leads to a miscarriage.

My ObGyn told me that brown spotting is when old blood gets passed out and is normal. All the best of luck to you.
 
Thanks everybody. It has been very reassuring hearing your opinions and experiences throughout the day. I have managed to calm down considerably. And yes, I would be 5 weeks pregnant by doctor's calculations. Incidentally, does that mean the first trimester of 12 weeks is the doctor's/medical calculation rather than the age of the fetus?
I will go and see my doctor tomorrow morning and hopefully have a scan to see what they can see. Thanks for the support.
 
Hey Liquorice,
Wishing you the best. It'll probably make you feel better to see your doctor so you can stop worrying. I've heard you can have spotting at the beginning of the pregnancy. When I felt 'twinges" my doctor said it's just the uterus ligaments stretching so it could be that too. Take care!
 
Liquorice said:
Incidentally, does that mean the first trimester of 12 weeks is the doctor's/medical calculation rather than the age of the fetus?
Click to expand...

Yes, just assume that you are 5 weeks pregnant and go from there. All the books and everything are the same, and the `age` of the fetus is according to the + 2 week thing.
 
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Just to let you know, I called the clinic this morning but my doctor isn't back from holiday yet. The nurses weren't very concerned though, seemed to think it was quite normal. I had a blood test for my peace of mind and the HCG level is still very strong so I think all is okay. Thanks again for your responses - reassuring on a Sunday when I can't speak to my clinic!
 
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