Calling all ladies to share stories where they spotted/bled before miscarrying some time later

[purpleviolet1]

Looking for ladies to share their stories in regards to spotting in pregnancy which has been followed up by a positive scan but pregnancy has later resulted in miscarriage

I feel that when there is spotting, it usually indicates a problem. I have often read about ladies who have had a scan straight after the spotting and all appears ok but some time later, they go on to miscarry.

This happened in my experience. I spotted between weeks 5-6 and had a scan at 5 weeks and again at 5+6 and all was ok and they picked up a heartbeat. I did get a tiny bit of discharge again but they assured me it was ok. At 11+6 I had a scan where they discovered no heartbeat. Baby measured 8+3.

Hi, I had no spotting and no scans (so maybe not helpful), started bleeding at 11+2 and miscarried that night. Never really felt as pregnant as I had with my other pregnancies though.

Oh and conversely my sister only bled in her successful pregnancies.

I totally agree tinkly! It just got me thinking that some miscarriages have had bleeding/discharge browny coloured during the pregnancy and a scan showed everything ok. But in fact it did result in miscarriage. I think I would've handled my miscarriage better if I knew that it could suggest a potential issue. I know miscarriage can happen at any time regardless of bleeding ofcourse but there must be a link when bleeding is present prior to the miscarriage.

Even though people told me stories where bleeding hadn't meant the end I just KNEW it was all over for me.

Tinkly you describe so well how I feel about miscarriage - I think partly it's so very hard because people don't talk about it. It's a real shame

This was my experience.

To be fair, I was told from early HCG that my pregnancy wasn't viable. However, they took that back and told me it was viable when scan showed heartbeat and crl measurement was on track. A week later I had pink tinged mucus which very quickly turned red. Went to EPU, where they looked around and baby still had a heartbeat and had grown so they said all was fine, no need to see me again. The bleeding stopped and then started again the next day and I miscarried.
What really gets me is that looking at the pregnancy notes they gave me, it's clear that it wasn't fine. At 6 weeks 6 days the baby was measuring 6mm and the sac 6.4mm! My sac should've been 20+mm and they didn't pick up on it at all.

First mc I had pale pink spotting and first scan showed empty gestational sac at 6 weeks. Had to go back a week later but of course nothing had changed. After 3 mc now I really feel that the EPUs should be more open and truthful about growth rates, when you should see a fetal pole, heartbeat etc. and the chances of mc if you don't. We had been trying for a while before getting pregnant and were tracking temps/ovulation so were certain of our dates. Looking back I would have much preferred for them to be honest about the high chance of mc instead of keeping me hanging on while they follow the standard procedure of waiting a week just in case the dates were out.

This time I had a six week scan which showed a heartbeat and normal measurements. Had bright red bleeding after sex at 8 weeks, got examined at EPU and told I had cervical erosion. No more bleeding or pain so calmed down thinking all normal, with 'reassurance' scan five days later just to check. Scan showed no heartbeat and growth stopped only a few days earlier. Much, much more difficult this time around.

Sorry to hear of your losses

Hi I'm sorry for your loss op

I had brown spotting that started at around 6 weeks with my second MC. I had a scan at 6 weeks showing a heartbeat followed by another 2 scans showing a healthy HB before I eventually miscarried at almost 11 weeks. The brown spotting continued until the final week when it turned heavy and red.

I read an article once about spotting/bleeding in early pregnancy and I think the outcome was 50:50, in that around half pregnancies continued and half were lost. I've had 3 MCs - all started with red/brown spotting. With DD1 (my first pregnancy) I didn't have any bleeding at all, with DD2 my last and final pregnancy I had really heavy brown bleeds at 6, 9 and 10 weeks. Far heavier than with my early MCs. Still amazed that she is here.

Sorry I haven't really answered your question

Just my personal experience I have brown spotting in my first pregnancy from 6 weeks. At scan at 6 weeks 5 days showed a heart beat but measur d 6 weeks 1 a scan 10 days later showed 5 growth. Was told all was fine but I felt far from it on a purely instinctual level I was sure something was badly wrong from the first spot. I ended up getting a private scan at 11 weeks as being told it was and not feeling fine was driving me mad. Id had a missed miscarriage and the baby stopped growing a few days after my second scan.

My second pregancy I had heavy red spotting everyday from 10-12 weeks. No reason found I went on to deliver a healthy baby boy. Interesting despite a huge fear I didn't feel the same 'knowing' it was over that time.

I'm currently in the middle of a saga of a 'pregnancy of unknow origin' I started spotting blood at 5 weeks ( now nearly 8 by dates). Despite having strong morning sickness and clear blue digitals being 3+. I felt totally disconnected to the pregnancy after that first spot. Although I wouldnt admit to anyone else I was getting cross with my body for not hurring up and miscarrying. Went for a scan at 7 weeks no sign of any pregnancy but further blood tests show v high HGC. So now is a fun rollercoaster of waiting to see if they drop or not.

In my case spotting and bleeding have had varied outcomes. But the thing I found hardest was the 'there there don't fuss head pat' when my instincts screamed it's not ok. Being treated like a silly girl who couldn't possibly know was quite scary.

My first pregnancy resulted in dd1 and I had brown spotting which turned to red spotting at 11 wks. Scan showed all was fine and it was.

Pregnancy 2 - had a scan at 7 wks. Was measuring 5 days behind (dates were exact as was fertility treatment). Brown spotting for 2 days at 11 wks, turned to miscarriage on day 3. Baby had stopped growing just after the scan.

Pregnancy 3 - red blood at 6 weeks, miscarriage

Pregnancy 4 - brown spotting at wks 10-12. Dd2 born healthy

So I have had bleeding in all pregnancies with a 50/59 success rate. I guess this is why epus are often very vague however I do agree that people are often given false hope. It does concern me that given my knowledge acquired through my fertility treatment that I seem to understand more about scans/hcg levels than some of the epu staff.

I know the uncertainty is very difficult, and I don't know whether my experience will help, but I had one pregnancy where I was spotting and it ended in a miscarriage at 10 weeks, and another pregnancy where I had spotting in the first trimester and it ended in a healthy baby being born (also had another pregnancy with no spotting/bleeding and ended in a live birth.)
In the case of my miscarriage, though, I was fairly convinced that the spotting was not good, and I was heading for a miscarriage, because I had charted closely and I felt it was just slightly wrong timing. When I had the scan, they were very unsure, as they said the embryo could have been younger than I thought (and my hormone levels were still rising), but I knew in my heart that it wasn't right. With my DS, I wasn't actually all that worried about the spotting. Sorry to be vague, but I think it's just hugely variable and hugely complex, so medical professionals can't always tell you what is going on.

Hi purpleviolet1, I had a very similar experience to you - had some early spotting at 5w (started brown) and scan which showed a perfect little HB, repeat scan at 6+3 due to bleeding getting heavier which again showed a lovely little HB and no signs of any concern. Bleeding then settled and stopped, follow up scan as precaution at 9+3 (first scan we weren't worried about) showed no HB, baby measured only 8w. We were/are devastated. I also found it hard that I just hadn't known it had died.
I think it can be so hard to know if there's likely to be a problem after a bleed. I similarly read somewhere (after the MMC) that it can be 50:50 as to whether you go on to a healthy pregnancy after bleeding (I can't remember where I read this or how reputable a source it was!). I guess if so I was in the unlucky 50% .
Our EPU have been amazing. I just wish I had been more prepared for what would happen and what we would have to go through. It's such a taboo subject, and I personally had no idea what to expect. I've found it mentally quite hard to come to terms with.
So sad we have to meet here sharing such a hard experience, but if we can turn it into one positive maybe we can use it to help others through. Sending lots of love xxxx

Hi all, I'm 8 weeks pregnant and bleeding with clot and period like cramps. I went to the a&e this morning and did a pregnancy test and I came back positive, I was told I'm I'm at risk of a miscarriage (threatened miscarriage) this is my 3rd pregnancy as all previous was great not even a morning sickness.. I was told to rest and not to stress but I can't help it but worry and make numerous trip to the toilet.

kayak I'm so sorry to hear your experience such a stressful time. Unfortunately pregnancy tests aren't your friend now, it can take a long time 1-4 weeks to have a negative pregnancy test at this point.

The only way to know is to have a scan. As outlined above ive bleed in all my pregnacies. By far the heaviest bleed occurred in my success pregnancy. It is entirely possible your pregnancy will be fine too.

Ask your GP for a referral to an early pregnancy unit on Monday. They should give you a scan and that will give you a much better idea of what's going on. Depending on where you live it can be very hard to get an early scan. In that case if you can afford it a private scan is an option. It costs between 60-100 . If the baby has a heart beat and is the correct size things are very positive.

Take care of yourself and use these boards if needed ive always found them a huge support x

I have always wondered about this. My last pregnancy which ended in a MMC I had bleeding for 24 hours two days after my BFP. As it stopped and my tests kept getting stronger I assumed all was fine but baby stopped growing at 5 weeks and I didn't know until scan at 8 weeks.

This time I'm now 6 weeks and no bleeding so far, hope that is a good sign. I read in pregnancies with bleeding for 24 hours or more you chance of miscarriage rises to 50:50!

I had a MMC at 10+3, baby was measuring 10+ and I'd had no bleeding at all. It was my first pregnancy and I'd had mild pregnancy symptoms throughout, no evidence for concern at any point. I was having a scan as part of a Harmony test so if it wasn't for this I don't think I'd have found out until my NHS 12 week scan. I did have the most awful feeling something was terribly wrong for 24 hours before the scan but this could have been anxiety, who knows.

I completely agree with everyone who has suggested these things should be talked about much more in the main stream, tinklypoo your second post particularly rings true to me. I understand that there really isn't much/anything that can be done to prevent a loss, specially if it was chromosomal, as mine was, and nothing would take away the pain of our losses, but some preparation/information/education would surely help? Not just for women but for our partners and friends too.

I've found the EPU stretched and really under equipped for dealing with the emotion side of things. I've had two ERPC's in the last three weeks and I'm battered emotionally and physically. I felt so bad after my second I'd have gladly been admitted for the night but was wheeled to the front door of the hospital in a chair (too wobbly to walk) to await my lift home as the day ward was closing with a discharge letter and not so much as a paracetamol.

I know my chances of problems are greater due to my age and I know I've been unlucky with the aftermath but even my GP intimated that if I could get past 8 weeks with no bleeding I'd probably be ok. For any pregancy nothing is gaurnteed and daily scans or doppler's would prevent misscarriage, just alert us sooner, but all I can think is that more widespread and realistic information together with emotional support during the early part of pregnancy would help. Who decided it was the best not to say anything to the big 12 week announcement?

If it wasn't for all of you lovely ladies over the last few weeks I'd have lost my mind by now so thank you and sorry for all your losses too.

My miscarriage in June started off as light brown when wiping, sometimes some pink, but I paid for an early scan as the NHS wouldn't give me one, telling me it was fine, as I had no pain or heavy bleeding. My private scan showed a heartbeat and a baby measuring at 5-6 weeks. I knew then that something wasn't right despite the heartbeat. I knew when I had ovulated and I should have been 8 and a half weeks. The sonographer told me I had got my dates wrong and that the bleeding I was having was implantation bleeding. I knew this was wrong, but as I had seen a heartbeat I kinda just went along with it, with my worries at the back of my head. Anyway, 10 days later, the brown/pink when wiping got a lot worse, they actually gave me a scan on the NHS and then told me there was no longer a heartbeat. I miscarried 2 days later.

I'm sorry for everyone's losses.

That's an interesting idea.

I had no spotting with dd1 until a few beetles later on which they thought were cervical errosion. She's fine.

No spotting but very poorly with dd2. I knew something was wrong. She had T18 and we had a tfmr.

Had spotting, only once and a small amount, with ds at 7 weeks. We had good scans at 8,10,12 and 13 weeks. They scanned me at 14 weeks and found he'd died at 13+1, they day after my last good scan. I thought all was OK as I'd not had any of those 'I know somethings wrong' feelings I had with dd2.

I have just been told baby has passed at 16 weeks there was no heartbeat i had no bleeding and no other signs.... Im scheduled to go in be induced on Sunday and DNC to follow. Very afraid have any of you ladies been through this? I hope i can have a healthy baby after so scared.....

I had bleeding at 5 weeks then a perfect scan showing hb at 8+5.
I found out at my dating scan at 12 weeks that we lost the baby between 9-10 weeks.