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Miscarriage/pregnancy loss

why is dark blood better than bright blood?

14 replies

hugahuddy · 09/12/2011 09:57

i've had some dark bleeding and no bright red bleeding. i've read this is old blood so a good sign but my scan showed no or slow foetal development so presumably this could be blood from when the foetus might have stopped developing a couple of weeks ago??

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Traceymac2 · 09/12/2011 10:11

I am sorry that you are going through this. It could be implantation blood depending far along you are or a bleed that has stopped. It is not an active bleed which could be a good sign. I have had several mcs and some started off with red blood but mostly brown blood in my case which then got heavier then became red. Most were missed mcs so my body didnt let me know for some time. The foetal development obviously is very important too when a diagnosis of mc is made. Will you go back in a week or so for a follow up scan? I wish you all the best, I know this is a very difficult time.

BoysBoysBoysAndMe · 09/12/2011 10:19

Dark blood is definitely better than bright as it indicates it's not fresh. I bled (dark) in the beginning of 3 pregnancies. 2 went on to miscarry, one was ok (thankfully).
I bled with my DS1 when my period was due. This happened for three months.

But the miscarriages started off as dark blood then progressed into bright blood, as my body started to expel the pregnancy.

On all occasions I had scans and had to go back a week later to see the progress the foestus had or hadn't made. Do you have another appointment? How far pregnant do you think you are - or has the scan indicated?

I wish you the very best of luck and hope everything goes well for you and for this pregnancy.

hugahuddy · 09/12/2011 10:20

sorry to hear about your mcs. i should be 11 weeks but it's showing 7 week size. i had the scan yesterday and am going back in a week to confirm, it was a situation i wasn;t expecting, i assumed they would confirm yesterday and was braced for bad news. have you had any good news since mcs?

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BoysBoysBoysAndMe · 09/12/2011 10:37

I miscarried before each of my boys. The first mc was by far the worst as I thought it would never happen to me, it came completely out of the blue, was a planned pregnancy, had bought things already, told everyone, and in my mind it was a baby, not a foetus. It was my baby. Needless to say I was very cautious for the next 3 pregnancies.

Tbh though, and I hope I'm wrong, it does sound like what happened to me. I didn't show any signs of mc until a good 4/5 weeks after mc. And they should be able to see a heartbeat around 5/6 weeks.

Like I said, I hope I am wrong, and I may well be. Fingers crossed for you and I hope that things work out well for you. Pm me if you like, I just want to give you a hug! Have you got support from your Partner? Family? Friends?

hugahuddy · 09/12/2011 10:46

thank you for your honesty. i can't get it out of my head that there is a reason it's gone wrong, also had very early mc in summer this year, feels like we'll never start a family so it's reassuring to think there might be hope. i mc at 5 or 6 weeks in summer, only started to relax this time at 10 weeks as it felt better, next time guess it will take longer to relax into it, luckily mil doesn't know, i always joked she saw me as a walking womb, she's desperate for grandkids.

i'm a nightmare needing to understand everything or i freak out, i think it's for that reason i don't like flying, don't understand how it's possible and certainly don't understand turbulence so it scares the hell out of me.

in some ways i'm starting to think it's better not to miscarrry naturally as there are some horrible experiences out there, procedure might be quicker. husband has been a hero, other family know i need space, can't talk about anything without crying. thanks for hug, always welcome Smile

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BoysBoysBoysAndMe · 09/12/2011 10:59

Sorry to hear about your previous mc.

It's one of those things isn't it that we will never know why. And I found it quite hard to get my head around.

I had my youngest 5 months ago, and at the beginning of the preg I was a complete wreck with worry. I went for an early scan and they saw a blood clot next to the sac, I was signed off sick and had to rest and go back every week to see if it had gone. Thankfully it did. But that just makes me think that is what caused the mc previously - obviously I will never really know.

Both my mc were natural so I can't comment on other ways I'm afraid. Crying is absolutely normal, expected, and it's what you need to do. But you must never blame yourself, or think it was something you did or didn't do that caused it. I know lots of friends it has happened to and unfortunately it's very common - not that that eases your pain.

It's great you have some support, support each other, and fingers crossed it will be 3rd time lucky if this time is unsuccesful. I can honestly say my mc's made my children feel more special to me in a way, and I'm sure you will feel the same too. Never give up trying. I feel for you I really do.

hugahuddy · 09/12/2011 11:09

thankyou. i am lucky to have support, in rl and mn! i'm going to cling to 3rd time lucky! i mentioned to dh about private scan early on to check if we are lucky enough. also debating birth control as feel this is a testing roller coaster but then feel guilty about thinking about about stopping family potential, not getting younger. guess it's just day at a time for a week.
thank you again.

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BoysBoysBoysAndMe · 09/12/2011 11:17

If Iwere you I would keep taking any vitamins or Pregnacare or anything you are taking at the moment. Take it easy. Get this week over and get a definitive answer and take it from there.

If this time isn't your time, then I would still keep taking the vitamins and give your body and mind a good 6-9 months to rest and recover from the mc. Then if you wanted to, try again in Summer or something?

All the best and let me know how you get on next week. Best wishes x

hugahuddy · 09/12/2011 11:59

thanks so much, will do that, i keep fluctuating between there being some hope and no hope. like you say, think about this week and if it doesn;t work out maybe leave it a few months, want to be physically and emotionally robust for a potential other one.

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Traceymac2 · 09/12/2011 12:57

It is very hard to deal with what is happening to you or make any sense of things until you know for sure. It is normal to have two scans before any plans are made if it is confirmed that you have miscarried. This is because the doctors want to be absolutely sure as sometimes mistakes are made and people have wrongly been told they have miscarried or their dates are wrong. I had two before my first baby, I thought it would never happen for us but pregnancy no 3 was a success. We had five in total but still are parents to 2 dd's with another on the way. What I am trying to say is even with recurrent miscarriage you can still go on to have a family. The most recent research from the royal college of obs and gynaes says that there is no need to wait, it won't harm any future pregnancy if it is destined to be healthy and that there is actually a higher rate of mc in women who wait beyond 6 months. I went through a fertility clinic for drug support in my last two successful pregnancies and they told me the same. It really depends on when you are emotionally ready.

hugahuddy · 09/12/2011 16:31

that's really interesting Traceymac, might leave it a couple of months and try again. concerned it would take another mc before any aspirin/progesterone etc might be considered but feeling more robust to make sure we persist and have a family, however bad the next week or two might be.

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Traceymac2 · 09/12/2011 17:45

If the worst is confirmed next week it might be worth asking for tests to be done. I know 3 is the norm before anything is normally done but my gynae tested me after 2. I ended up going private to a fertility doctor in the end for more tests and treatment. I'm not sure if it helped but the emotional support and monitoring definately did. 'Tlc' in the form of early scanning and support has been shown to have better outcomes alone even without treatment. Once again, I wish you all the best over the next couple weeks whatever happens.

hugahuddy · 10/12/2011 20:07

thankyou, will post results for good or bad to share the experience

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hugahuddy · 15/12/2011 16:31

hello
thank you again for all support. i did miscarry. am now trying to think onto next steps, was a painful and emotional experience but am desperate to start a family, not sure about ttc instantly but feel a lot better than i thought i would already, have read about people having much worse experiences than mine.

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