What does this symptom in my pregnancy mean??
July 11, 2010 4:26 PM Subscribe
YANMD/YANAD: I am 12 weeks pregnant, and have recently been experiencing a disconcerting symptom...many details inside.
Yesterday afternoon I woke up from a nap to discover that I had leaked an odd brown discharge. Because of the amount of discharge at the time, my husband and I decided to make a run to the ER to be on the safe side (it had soaked through my jeans). At the ER, they took blood work, conducted fetal heart monitoring, did an ultrasound, and checked my cervix. Everything looked okay. Baby's heartrate is 160, ultrasound showed a lively, hiccuping baby, and my cervix shows no dilation. We were sent on our way with the instructions to take it easy, and to see my OB sometime in the next week. They didn't seem to concerned, and as the day continued on, I had no more discharge.
This morning, however, I woke up to more discharge. Not as much as yesterday, but enough to make me worry some more. It's still brown, watery, and again tapered off once I was up and around.
My question is, how normal is this?? I will be seeing my OB at her earliest opening, but in the meantime, I would really like some peace of mind.
Background info: Have hypertension that was brought on by a previous pregnancy complication (pre-eclampsia and HELLP Syndrome). Blood pressure has been under control with medication for over a year, and doc has been monitoring.
Yesterday afternoon I woke up from a nap to discover that I had leaked an odd brown discharge. Because of the amount of discharge at the time, my husband and I decided to make a run to the ER to be on the safe side (it had soaked through my jeans). At the ER, they took blood work, conducted fetal heart monitoring, did an ultrasound, and checked my cervix. Everything looked okay. Baby's heartrate is 160, ultrasound showed a lively, hiccuping baby, and my cervix shows no dilation. We were sent on our way with the instructions to take it easy, and to see my OB sometime in the next week. They didn't seem to concerned, and as the day continued on, I had no more discharge.
This morning, however, I woke up to more discharge. Not as much as yesterday, but enough to make me worry some more. It's still brown, watery, and again tapered off once I was up and around.
My question is, how normal is this?? I will be seeing my OB at her earliest opening, but in the meantime, I would really like some peace of mind.
Background info: Have hypertension that was brought on by a previous pregnancy complication (pre-eclampsia and HELLP Syndrome). Blood pressure has been under control with medication for over a year, and doc has been monitoring.
It's common enough that it comes up as a suggestion when I start typing "brown discharge in pregnancy" into Google Search. IANAD, nor have I been pregnant, but I come from a medical family. This sounds like fairly run of the mill spotting. If it were starting to get worse, that might maybe be cause for concern, but it sounds like it's getting better. Just to soothe your mind while you're waiting to see your doc, remind yourself that you've gone to the ER, and they weren't concerned, and spotting is perfectly normal. It can come in all the colors of the rainbow! (Except for blue. [Unless maybe you have porphyria.])
Take it easy and don't stress. I highly recommend Bella Sara Adventures for mindless pretty-pony stress relieving action.
posted by Made of Star Stuff at 4:37 PM on July 11, 2010
Take it easy and don't stress. I highly recommend Bella Sara Adventures for mindless pretty-pony stress relieving action.
posted by Made of Star Stuff at 4:37 PM on July 11, 2010
I did this with both pregnancies, scared me to death (especially with the first). Perfectly normal but do take it easy. This is a good time for the husband to rub feet (yours), do the laundry,help anything to help you relax. Best wishes and healthy baby vibes your way!
posted by pearlybob at 4:56 PM on July 11, 2010
posted by pearlybob at 4:56 PM on July 11, 2010
Best answer: It's crazy normal. CRAZY normal. It happens in, seriously, 1 in 3 or 1 in 4 pregnancies. What is probably going on is that as the placenta developed from the chorionic villii, you developed a teeny-tiny subchorionic hemorrhage, and that blood has been kicking around in there for a couple-three weeks and finally decided to come out.
My best friend had an SCH at 11 weeks and bled bright red, very heavy, for several hours -- enough to ruin not only her pajamas and her sheets but the mattress pad AND the mattress. And it kept going, and going, and tapered to brown, and she bled brown for close to a week. She delivered her son yesterday morning, pink and perfect, at 40 weeks 2 days.
posted by KathrynT at 5:01 PM on July 11, 2010
My best friend had an SCH at 11 weeks and bled bright red, very heavy, for several hours -- enough to ruin not only her pajamas and her sheets but the mattress pad AND the mattress. And it kept going, and going, and tapered to brown, and she bled brown for close to a week. She delivered her son yesterday morning, pink and perfect, at 40 weeks 2 days.
posted by KathrynT at 5:01 PM on July 11, 2010
Didn't want to scare you but my experience with my first was just like KatherynT's friend. Heavy bleeding for hours that tapered off over about 2 weeks. The ER told me that my freaking out was going to be worse for the pregnancy than the bleeding was. I was terrified. That baby was born at almost 9 pounds and just turned 10 two weeks ago. Very normal but use your mommy instincts if you think you need to be checked again.
posted by pearlybob at 5:07 PM on July 11, 2010
posted by pearlybob at 5:07 PM on July 11, 2010
I bled a lot in one pregnancy. I was told brown blood is better than red blood, as far as being a symptom of a problem. Spotting is better than flow. And even what I was eventually having--sudden horrible gushes of bright-red blood--my ob said happened in a surprising number of pregnancies that were perfectly healthy and fine, as mine turned out to be.
posted by not that girl at 5:21 PM on July 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by not that girl at 5:21 PM on July 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
Yes, I also had the same symptom in my first pregnancy at around 10 weeks. She's a sassy, healthy 10 year old now.
posted by Addlepated at 5:32 PM on July 11, 2010
posted by Addlepated at 5:32 PM on July 11, 2010
Like everyone's saying, it's probably totally benign and normal, but it's a good idea to follow up with your OB, especially if it's making you a nervous wreck.
You might want to consider getting a home doppler. I had one during my pregnancy and it gave me tremendous comfort to be able to hear my baby's heartbeat whenever I wanted.
Good luck, and do try to relax.
posted by tetralix at 5:34 PM on July 11, 2010
You might want to consider getting a home doppler. I had one during my pregnancy and it gave me tremendous comfort to be able to hear my baby's heartbeat whenever I wanted.
Good luck, and do try to relax.
posted by tetralix at 5:34 PM on July 11, 2010
My wife bled a lot during pregnancy, both old (brown) blood and fresh (red). We went to the emergency room for it once, feeling scared and miserable. Doctor took observations, said everything was fine and sent us home. It kept happening throughout the first half of the pregnancy. Baby was born full term and absolutely healthy. It's disconcerting, but you must keep reminding yourself that this is at worst an inconvenience, not an indicator of the health of the baby or viability of the pregnancy. Congrats on your pregnancy!
posted by Mayor Curley at 5:39 PM on July 11, 2010
posted by Mayor Curley at 5:39 PM on July 11, 2010
The brown discharge was probably old blood. This happened with both mine, one quite a bit, and both babies were born at 41+ weeks, healthy and fine. If you'd had sex, that might've had something to do with it -- your cervix bleeds more easily when you're pregnant.
posted by The corpse in the library at 5:44 PM on July 11, 2010
posted by The corpse in the library at 5:44 PM on July 11, 2010
I bled a few times in my pregnancy - around 20-22 weeks. The first question they always asked when I went in to emerg was "Did you have sexual intercourse last night or this morning?" The answer was always "yes." The fact that it was brown blood seemed to put everyone (but me) at ease. I delivered a handsome 9lb 8oz-er at 41 weeks.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 5:49 PM on July 11, 2010
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 5:49 PM on July 11, 2010
I doubt anyone here can tell you, really, how 'normal' it is. I had spotting at 13 weeks or so with my first pregnancy and had a miscarriage the next day. On the other hand, when they did the ultrasound, I did not have a hiccuping baby with a good heartbeat! So my thoughts are with you and I hope everything hoes smoothly.
posted by leahwrenn at 5:54 PM on July 11, 2010
posted by leahwrenn at 5:54 PM on July 11, 2010
Brown blood = old blood = don't panic
Red blood = fresh blood = panic
It's not a reassuring formula when you are panicking over brown blood, but it has stood the test of time for generations of women and maybe that helps a little.
posted by DarlingBri at 5:54 PM on July 11, 2010
Red blood = fresh blood = panic
It's not a reassuring formula when you are panicking over brown blood, but it has stood the test of time for generations of women and maybe that helps a little.
posted by DarlingBri at 5:54 PM on July 11, 2010
Mrs q. joins the chorus of brown=ok, red=call the doc now. Happened with number one son at a 8 weeks, and everything was fine.
posted by jquinby at 7:21 PM on July 11, 2010
posted by jquinby at 7:21 PM on July 11, 2010
It scared me too.
She's a toddler now, happy and healthy. Good luck :)
posted by Ereshkigal313 at 7:34 PM on July 11, 2010
She's a toddler now, happy and healthy. Good luck :)
posted by Ereshkigal313 at 7:34 PM on July 11, 2010
Response by poster: Your comments are SO helpful, everyone! Thank you so much for sharing your experiences. They really do make me feel more at ease (especially since the spotting has again stopped). you guys are so awesome!
posted by I_love_the_rain at 8:01 PM on July 11, 2010
posted by I_love_the_rain at 8:01 PM on July 11, 2010
I am but a father (which means: useless during pregnancy) but I thought I'll mention our experience, hoping it will put you at ease. My wife had the same during her first pregnancy - around the seventh month. All of a sudden there was panic everywhere. It turned out te be a minor damage to the placenta. The release appeared to be quite substantial so she was hospitalized for four days. This was exactly what she needed, the bleeding stopped after two days, but the stay in the hospital (read: all that sleeping) also relaxed her enough to even enjoy the last weeks of the pregnancy. I hope everything turns out well, as it did for us.
posted by ouke at 4:28 AM on July 12, 2010
posted by ouke at 4:28 AM on July 12, 2010
Response by poster: UPDATE: Talked to my OB office this morning, and they aren't concerned based on the tests the ER did. Just told me to take it easy, and they think I'm totally fine!! Thanks again everyone for sharing your experiences with me, and helping me relax yesterday! I appreciate it very much. :-)
posted by I_love_the_rain at 11:03 AM on July 12, 2010
posted by I_love_the_rain at 11:03 AM on July 12, 2010
Awww. Yay! So glad everything's looking good.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 11:15 AM on July 12, 2010
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 11:15 AM on July 12, 2010
Great!
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:52 PM on July 12, 2010
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:52 PM on July 12, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
Take it easy, try not to worry, and talk to your doc as soon as you can get in to see her.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 4:36 PM on July 11, 2010