does a dark brown discharge mean anything different to a red blood one ?

[lou222]

sorry what a yukky title but i am panicking
it's my first pregnancy, I've still not seen the midwife so not sure how many weeks but about 8 i think
today i have had a dark brown discharge (not much) and have stomach pains
i have rung the hospital and am going for a scan on monday
am i panicking over nothing ?
may be my last chance for a baby as i've hit 40 !! and i am so so scared i will miscarry.
any advice would be greatly appreciated

[deaconblue]

the period type pains can be your uterus growing - I had that kind of pain up to about 8 weeks with both pregnancies. I've also had brown spotting with this pregnancy and it came to nothing, I did look at it as a warning though and took it easy for a few days

[lou222]

thankyou
you've reminded me aswell
i am supposed to be taking antibiotics for an infected lump on my shoulder told the doctor i'd rather not as early days and she agreed
do you think it's safe to take them as this lump is v painful
also if i just turn up at epu will they see me and scan me?

[LOVEMYMUM]

Scan may be able to tell you roughly how many weeks you are. It's still early days so please take one day at a time.

I had a little bit of a brown discharge and went straight to EPU. I had an overgrowth of bacteria (treatable with antibiotics). Sometimes, sex in pregnancy can bruise the cervix, as can sneezing, coughing and straining on the toilet (sorry, TMI).

The stomach pains may be cramping from the uterus stretching. It can be a bit scary cos it may feel like period pains.

Generally, if you have any worries go straight to EPU at your local hosp or call your GP. Lots of luck and please try to relax.

[lou222]

i think i'll see if anything is still happening tomorrow and take it from there.
at the scan will they give me an indication of how many weeks pregnant i am?

[IndigoBlue]

I had brown blood at 8 weeks over 2 days with a day off in between, scanned & baby was fine,am now 23 weeks pregnant. Was told it was probably from an earlier implantation bleed, I didn't have stomach pains though. Good luck with your scan.

[mehdismummy]

hi i had a brown discharge at six weeks. I rushed to the hospital think i was losing it. They booked me an early scan for three days later. I worried myself sick all that time as i had wanted a baby for so long and had a bag falling out with dh over it. He didnt want children yet. I knew this was my only chance. Had the scan and saw heartbeat. Ds two next month. Good luck and try to relax(easier said than done) keep us posted

[tassisssss]

man, they expect preganant women to be neurotic and pushy

i'd be on the doorstep of our EPU in tears!

[oranges]

hon, be pushy and neurotic - its the only way to get things sorted. i'd go for an earlier scan or you will be sick with worry.

[lou222]

Not sure if i dare
I don't want to appear to be a pushy neurotic first time mom!

[oranges]

it's very stressful and there is no real way to tell till you have the scan. Sorry. Can you ask them to see you earlier?

[lou222]

sorry it was 6th dec.
but it was alot and clots aswell?

[orangina]

Your 6th jan bleed probably implantation, by the sounds of it....

[orangina]

I had period type pains for the first few months of both my pregnancies, and both proceeded smoothly.... agree with others re: brown blood being old and better than red blood (in terms of bleeding in pregnancy). Take it easy and don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine.

[tassisssss]

brown is a lot less worrying than red

even red is not necessarily the end of the world.

if it continues or turns red i'd be phoning the hospital and insisting on an earlier scan...i don't think i could wait until monday!

Good luck.

[lou222]

thanks that is reassuring
i either conceived on the 1 dec or the 24th.
i had clotting or possibly a period on the 6th but thought that may be an implantation bleed as it was 2 weeks early for my period.
it's all so confusing for us first timers!
does the abdominal pain mean anything?

[lucykate]

dark brown is old blood, red is fresh. at about 8 weeks, the placenta takes over feeding the embryo and as it does this, its quite common to have blood, both brown and red appear. i bled more or less until 23 weeks with dd, both brown and red, i would advise you to take it easy until the scan, try not to get too wound up about it, it is very common in early pregnancy. go see your gp in the mean time if the stomach pains continue or get any worse

[JodieG1]

Sorry to hear that and I hope your scan is reassuring. Brown blood means it's old and red is fresh so brown can be better. I spotted brown blood with dd at about 6 weeks for 10 days and everything was fine.

[Bluestocking]

Poor you, but do try not to worry. I had a bit of brown blood at seven weeks and went to the Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit for a scan. They found a sac and when they scanned again a week later there was a heartbeat. DS is now a robust nearly-four-year-old. It may well be an implantation bleed.