Vaginal Pregnancy Spotting

Pregnancy spotting or bleeding during very early pregnancy is quite normal, and may not indicate anything to be worried about at all. As early as 7 to 9 days into your pregnancy, you may observe some vaginal spotting, which is due to the process of embryo implantation onto your uterine walls. Such spotting and bleeding is very minor. If you observe any spotting or bleeding that cause you alarm, consult with your doctor immediately.

It may be possible that pregnancy spotting is no cause for alarm, but, alternately, it could be a sign of some problem that could turn out to be serious. You will probably need to undergo an examination to ensure that both, you and your baby are fine, and there are no complications expected. If for some reason, on observing heavy bleeding, you are unable to get in touch with your doctor, do not waste time - get to some emergency clinic, and fast.

Things To Know

Some times, it is not possible to determine what caused that prenatal pregnancy spotting or bleeding. Spotting is normally a very light form of bleeding, something like what you may have observed at the beginning or the end of your normal menstruation. It is possible to spot some blood as the blood supply to your cervix and pelvis has increased. Of course, the spotting varies in color, from pink to red to brown - similar to that of dried blood.

Let us look at what can cause this vaginal spotting or bleeding during pregnancy:

• Bleeding During Implantation - You may notice slight vaginal pregnancy spotting for a couple of days very early in your pregnancy. This is about the time your fertilized egg implants itself on the walls of your uterus. This is so early in your pregnancy - about 6 to 7 days after fertilization - that you, probably, are not yet even aware that you are pregnant.
  
  
• Ectopic Pregnancy – Spotting or bleeding could also be a sign of ectopic pregnancy - implantation and subsequent development of a fertilized egg outside the uterus, as in a fallopian tube - or an early sign of miscarriage. In such a case, spotting is accompanied by abdominal pains and cramping. Another rare condition – known as Molar pregnancy – in which abnormalities in your fertilized egg make it impossible for the embryo to develop or survive, also cause bleeding. 
  
  About 30 percent of the women have some type of pregnancy spotting or bleeding very early in their pregnancies, and about half of these women miscarry. If ultrasound, done between seven to eleven weeks, shows a normal heartbeat, chances of pregnancy surviving is more than 90 percent.

• Infections - Certain conditions, unrelated to pregnancy, such as:
  • A vaginal infection, such as yeast infection or bacterial vaginosis
  • A sexually transmitted infection, such as trichomoniasis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, or herpes
  . . . can cause spotting due to inflamed or irritated cervix. Bleeding or spotting may also be observed after sex, or a Pap smear, if you have a cervical polyp, which is a benign growth.
• Problems Of Placenta - Pregnancy spotting or bleeding in the second or the third trimesters of your pregnancy is serious. It could be a sign of a condition known as: placenta previa; placental abruption - the placenta separating from the uterus; a late miscarriage - if between 13 weeks and mid-pregnancy; or premature labor - if between mid-pregnancy and 37 weeks.
  
  Problems with the placenta could also bring in bleeding during the first trimester of your pregnancy.
• Normal Labor - If after 37 weeks of pregnancy a mucus discharge tinged with blood is observed, it is a sign that the cervix is preparing for labor, as it has become soft. Still, any spotting or bleeding should be reported to your doctor.

Do not take any kind of vaginal pregnancy spotting during your pregnancy lightly. Report all cases to your doctor, and let him decide. It is always better to be on the safe side of caution.