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Signs & Symptoms

Spotting During Pregnancy

Should Moms-to-be Worry If They're Spotting?

Spotting during pregnancy - should you worry about spotting?When Cynthia Corona from San Jose, Calif., contacted a Pregnancy Today site expert about her light spotting, she was, as she says, "freaking out." Her spotting had been intermittent, just some pink and brown on the toilet tissue, but she was terrified of losing the pregnancy. An ultrasound a few weeks later calmed her fears. Not only was she still pregnant, but she was expecting twins. The spotting turned out to be just her body's way of adjusting to a twin pregnancy.

Although very scary, especially for a first-time mother-to-be, spotting is fairly common in pregnancy, especially during the first trimester. What can ease a woman's fears is understanding the reasons for spotting and knowing what action she should take.

Signs and Symptoms

Any bleeding during the second and third trimesters should be immediately reported to your doctor.

When a woman finds anything that even remotely resembles blood when she's pregnant, her first thought is usually of miscarriage. But according to Dr. Aneema Van Groenou, a staff physician at Kaiser Permanente in Hayward, Calif., and the author of The Active Woman's Guide to Pregnancy: Practical Advice for Getting Outdoors When Expecting (Ten Speed Press, 2004), a miscarriage generally has some pretty specific symptoms associated with it aside from just spotting.

"Some people do spot during a typical pregnancy, especially in the first three months as your body adjusts to the hormone levels," says Dr. Van Groenou. "It commonly happens around the time your period would be due. Sometimes people don't even realize they're pregnant because they bleed right on schedule."


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Spotting During Pregnancy

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Anonymous says
2 weeks ago

I could use a little encouragement right about now. I have had 2 miscarriages and am currently 6 weeks pregnant. I had an early ultrasound this week and there is a heartbeat but I continue to have spotting. The last time this happened it was due to a Partial molar pregnancy which ended with a D&C. We saw a heartbeat that time too. The odds of it happening again are very slim and I am encouraged by all of your stories. I wish you all the best of luck and may we all have a happy ending.

Ambsies says
May 14, 2009

About a week after I found out I was pregnant I started having light brownish/pinkish spotting which lasted for 9 days straight. The spotting was not at all like my usual period, it was light, almost mucus-y, and had a stringy substance in it. I went to the doctor who told me to prepare for the worst but to come back the following week for blood tests. I had to wait over a week to get my results back, which was horrible (I think that not knowing is the worst), I was totally convinced that I was having a miscarriage... But I'm happy to say that my blood work came back and everything was fine! My numbers were multiplying like they are supposed to. And earlier this week we were able to have our first ultrasound done and we saw a strong, healthy heartbeat!!! So, I understand that spotting can lead to devastating results, but I want to give some hope to the women out there who are dealing with the same issues. Hang in there!

Anonymous says
April 23, 2009

I think I am about 4 weeks and today I saw some spotting and of course I am worred. I havn't gettin the final work from my blood work that I am pregnant but I did miss my period and had intercourse at the right time.

confused and worried

mama says
April 21, 2009

i am so glad now i am spotting in the same time i'm suppose to have my period...this is my second pregnancy and i never had spotting during my first, if i get twins thats exciting

Magdalena says
February 3, 2009

OMG thank you so much for sharing. I am 8 weeks pregnant, just got home from work and noticed for a first time that I am spotting, not too much but I totally freaked out. I, of course went online to look for answers and came across this post.
Thanks again :-) Congratulations on the baby.

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