What Can Cause Frequent Brown Spotting in Early Pregnancy?
QUESTION
Dear Midwife,
I'm really hoping you can help me understand what's going on. I am 8 weeks 2 days pregnant (our first). I've been getting brown spotting here and there but nothing major. They did an ultrasound last week -- everything was great, saw a heartbeat and measured fine. This week I got another ultrasound and same thing -- the baby is growing well, and heartbeat is strong at 163. I have been getting this brown spotting now for the past three days, and the nurse told me if it's brown (which it is -- sometimes light, sometimes dark) it's "old blood" working it's way out.
My question is where does the "old blood" come from and how much of it could there possibly be in there? I haven't had an internal ultrasound or a pelvic yet. They have me coming in at 10 weeks for that. I'm concerned. But every time I call the doc's office they say it's normal and not to worry.
I've had a history the last year and a half of getting my period twice a month while on the pill and they never figured out why. I'm concerned that this won't work either. I'm happy to believe the old blood theory but if it keeps coming every day (it's usually only when going to the bathroom) then it will be worrisome.
ANSWER
You may have a mild infection on your cervix, or you may be one of those unfortunate women who spot all through their otherwise perfectly normal pregnancies. If there were a serious problem with the baby, they probably would have seen it on the ultrasound, so hopefully all is well. Good luck!
-- Cynthia, CNM
Cynthia Flynn
Cynthia Flynn, CNM. PhD, is the General Director of the Family Health and Birth Center which provides prenatal, birth, postnatal, gynecological and primary health care to underserved women and their families in Washington, D.C. Recently Cynthia served as Associate Professor of Nursing at Seattle University. There she not only taught, but remained in full scope clinical midwifery practice at Valley Medical Center where she cared for pregnant and birthing women, and practices well-woman gynecology, family planning, and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases.
Cynthia founded Columbia Women's Clinic and Birth Center, where she took care of pregnant women and infants up to two weeks of age and attended both birth center and hospital births. Before Cynthia earned her CNM, she worked as a registered nurse in labor and delivery and postpartum and is a certified Doula and Doula trainer.
