Spotting / pinkish discharge?

[Gracey]

I mentioned this on a previous thread about exercise, but thought it'd be better to ask in a fresh post.
When I became pregnant, my first doctor said I was high risk and wanted me to do daily progesterone shots.
I wondered if this was too much, as I had no m/s history or symptoms, so I sought another opinion.
Doctor #2 took a more moderate route -- HcG shots twice a week and progesterone at home.
When everything looked OK after a few weeks, we stopped the treatment.
Several weeks ago, I had a tiny spot of red blood. Doc #2 said it was probably nothing, but put me back on HcG for a week.
A couple more weeks passed and, last night, I had a pale pinkish / brownish discharge. Not like real bleeding -- just something I could see on a tissue.
To be safe, Doc #2 gave me a scan this morning. I'm 12 weeks and baby looks normal.
There is, however, a little blob / gap that might be a place where the placenta and the uterus are not connected. Maybe that's where the blood came from.
So, I'm back on the twice-weekly HcG shots and progesterone. I had little more pinky-brownish discharge tonight.
The nice nurse told me not to worry -- lots of women have minor spotting and are fine. On the other hand, I know they can point to m/s. Anyone else have this?

 

[thanka2]

I didn't go through fertility treatments to get pregnant but, with my first pregnancy with my son, I had quite a bit of pinkish/brown discharge that lasted at least a week. It really freaked me out and I went straight to the doctor who told me among other things, "No sex for the next three months" (which my husband laughed at).

After my son was born I finally got down to dealing with my progesterone issues because I had suffered with PMDD (a very severe form of PMS) for years and through some reproductive counseling, blood tests and screens found out that I have some pretty bad progesterone imbalance. So, I was treating that just as a normal part of my cycle with progesterone suppositories.

Then last year, I got pregnant again and in my first trimester started having that pinkish/brown spotting again which I tried to remain calm about because it had happened with my son (who is now 3-years-old) and I didn't want to work myself up into a frenzy over it. However, the spotting continued until I finally did miscarry. That was really sad.

Now, I'm pregnant again (going on 37 weeks) and in the first trimester I used progesterone suppositories but still had spotting throughout my first trimester.

So, spotting doesn't necessarily mean there is anything hugely wrong--it usually has something to do with hormonal changes (not even necessarily something coming from within your womb--it could actually just be you bleeding a little bit).

Just take it seriously and be on the safe side. However, in my case, when I miscarried, there was nothing I could have done differently to make it not happen. After that happened to me I read a lot on the subject and found out that in most cases even bed rest and other precautions don't actually affect whether one miscarries or not--usually the reason for first term miscarriage has something to do with chromosones in the baby and nothing to do with the behavior/health of the mother.

I just post all this to say that I've experienced spotting in all three of my pregnancies--two pregnancies were/are healthy and one was not.

If you're already at 12 weeks, statistically, your chances of carrying a healthy pregnancy to term go up significantly so take heart in that and I hope everything works out for you.

 

[JayJay]

My wife experienced this exact same issue during her pregnancy. It's known as chorionic hematoma. Essentially, there's a space between the uterus and placenta. The space is filled with blood and slowly oozes out, which explains the daily brown spotting.

This condition is fairly common and usually doesn't require any treatment. But it does need to be closely monitored. We went for weekly scans ever since it was discovered.

If the chorionic hematoma is very tiny, there's no need to be concerned. But if it's significant in size, it has potentially serious implications.

1. The placenta is your baby's source of nutrients. If the connection to the placenta is compromised, the baby may be malnourished.
2. In the worst case scenario, the connection between the placenta and uterus will be completely severed resulting in a miscarriage.

If your doctor didn't explain this to you already, then you should rest assured knowing that your condition is probably very minor.

My wife's hematoma was discovered at week 15 and was nearly the size of the fetus's head. Fortunately, it shrunk significantly in size over the next 2 weeks and was almost gone after 4 weeks. Our doctor mentioned that this was quite a miracle. I can't say my wife went on to have a normal pregnancy. She actually delivery prematurely. But they were twins, so it was somewhat understandable.

(During the whole ordeal, I suggested to my wife that she try to constantly visualize her placenta reattaching with her uterus. It's silly, but if you believe in mind over matter, then give this a try. If anything, it'll help you stay positive.)

 

[banane76]

Hi, I had some spotting this time in my second pregnancy. i was a bit nervous, but had read that it's normal to have some spotting in the first trimester--sometimes from the embryo implanting itself to the uterus. I went to my OBGYN that took me through my first pregnancy and he gave me some hormones to take as a precaution but for only a week. The spotting stopped after a week and now I'm at 33 weeks. If you're not sure about things, talk to your doctor. Who are you seeing by the way? I'm seeing Dr. Patrick Chan and I think he's really great!

 

[taysty]

I think on the safe side just monitor closely in which ever Dr you're seeing. My 1st pregnancy there is brown or dark red discharge which ended in a miscarriage. It is quite a bad conincidence as the discharge came very near my period cycle and i've always been irregular. I only took a preg kit when it lasted more than a week. Anyway, there's nothing to be done though i started my bedrest after i realize i'm pregnant.

I've a colleague that had bloody discharge for the first trimester and her pregnancy went on fine in the end and deliver to a healthy baby boy last year.

In my 2nd pregnancy, as i did IUI therefore i was closely monitor and taking those suppository therefore the whole pregnancy went on with minimum discomfort.

banane76 - Dr Patrick Chan deliver my baby last year too.

 

[Gracey]

Hi everyone,
Thanks for your help! JayJay -- how nice to see a concerned Daddy on here.
Thanks for the name of that condition. That is exactly what I have. Thankfully, it looks very small -- a little black speck between the placenta and uterus. And the baby looks fine and is growing.
Well, there's probably not much more I can do. I'm already resting, taking progesterone, eating well and seeing my doc. The guess the rest is in fate's hands.
It is reassuring to hear of women who've had some spotting and managed to have healthy babies in the end.