Brown Spotting During Early Pregnancy

Every woman wants to have a healthy and problem free pregnancy, and therefore, spotting and bleeding during pregnancy can be a really frightening experience. However, it is not uncommon to have a little brown spotting in the early stages of pregnancy. In fact, many women experience mild spotting or brown vaginal discharge during pregnancy. However, this does not mean that spotting or bleeding during pregnancy can be taken lightly. Any kind of abnormal vaginal discharge and bleeding during pregnancy needs to be properly evaluated with the help of a physician to rule out the possibility of pregnancy complications.

Causes of Brown Discharge During Early Pregnancy

There can be several factors or conditions, which can cause light brown discharge during pregnancy. But, many women think that such spotting is a sign of miscarriage. It is true that miscarriage can cause bleeding and brown spotting, but factors other than miscarriage can also be associated with this condition.

Implantation Bleeding
It is caused when the fertilized egg gets implanted in the endometrial lining of the uterus. Implantation causes the discharge of a very small amount of blood, which takes some time to travel down the cervix to reach the vagina and come out of the body. This is the reason why spotting caused by implantation bleeding is usually light or dark brown in color. Implantation bleeding can cause light or dark brown spotting, but it usually happens, much before a woman realizes that she is pregnant.

Hormones that Control the Menstrual Cycle
Some women can get light bleeding during early pregnancy due to the hormones that regulate the menstrual cycle. These hormones can sometimes trigger mild bleeding and dark brown discharge around the time when period or menstruation would have started, if they were not pregnant.

Sexual Intercourse
Sexual intercourse is another possible cause of spotting during pregnancy. During pregnancy, the cervix becomes very sensitive and tender, and there is an increase in blood supply to this part of the body. Sexual intercourse can irritate or cause a small tear in the cervix, which in turn can cause spotting or mild bleeding after having sex. Sometimes, there can be a benign growth in the cervix known as cervical polyp, which too can get irritated during sexual intercourse and cause bleeding and brown spotting.

Infections
Vaginal bleeding, as well as dark or light brown spotting can be associated with vaginal infections during pregnancy. Vaginal yeast infections, as well as bacterial vaginosis and sexually transmitted infections can cause spotting and abnormal vaginal discharge during pregnancy, along with causing itching, irritation and a burning sensation in the vagina.

Internal Examination and Pap Smear Test
It is not uncommon for some women to experience spotting after a pelvic and pap smear test, as the cervix becomes so sensitive during pregnancy that it can get easily irritated by such internal examinations. An increase in blood flow to the cervix during pregnancy can also cause it to bleed easily during such internal examinations.

Miscarriage
Vaginal bleeding and dark brown spotting during pregnancy, which is accompanied by symptoms like, cramping and abdominal pain can be a sign of miscarriage. Bleeding or spotting caused by miscarriage is usually heavy and it gets heavier with time.

Ectopic Pregnancy and Molar pregnancy
Ectopic pregnancy is another serious condition, which can cause vaginal bleeding. Ectopic pregnancy refers to pregnancy that develops outside the uterus, which if not addressed immediately can become a life-threatening condition. In rare cases, bleeding and spotting in early pregnancy can be associated with molar pregnancy as well.

Bleeding and spotting can also occur during late pregnancy. In late pregnancy, especially in the second and the third trimester, bleeding and spotting of light or dark brown color can be caused by placental problems like, placenta previa and placental abruption. Sometimes, placental problems can also cause early pregnancy bleeding. Some other possible causes of spotting and bleeding during late pregnancy can be an approaching labor and premature labor.

To sum up, light bleeding during early pregnancy is not necessarily a sign of miscarriage or other serious pregnancy complications. So, women on observing such spotting need not panic, and come to the conclusion that they are having a miscarriage. Instead, they should contact their physician to find out the possible causes of this condition. Physicians usually carry out physical examinations, ultrasound and various other tests to find out the condition of the unborn baby and the mother, and also to rule out the possibility of various pregnancy complications.