Black/Brown Bleeding @ Ten Weeks

[Anonymous]

This morning I thought I was peeing myself (which I do not do) and went to the bathroom to find myself soaked with a sludgey brownish discharge that has strings of clear tissue in it. Since then I have had a spot or two of redish blood. I am not crampy but feel less bloated. Like my tummy feels flat, not puffy like it has felt. Boobs are still sore. I obviously called the dr and will be going in later today. Does this sound like I lost the baby? I am a nervous wreck and would like to know if anyone else bled at ten weeks and were fine. Like I said, it is mostly dark blackish, brown but and a weird consistency but there were two very red spots. Help, any advice?

[Anonymous]

Some women bleed during their pregnancy and everything is just fine. Sometimes a woman passes clots, mucus, tissue, all sorts of things....and everything is just fine. Other times, it means that there has been a miscarriage. I think you will hear lots of stories from women who bled and either lost their baby, or everything was fine. Bottom line is, there is really no way to know. All you can do is try to stay calm and just wait for the ultrasound later today. Hopefully everything will be fine. If you did have a miscarriage, then I hope you seek out any support that you might need.

[Anonymous]

I also had quite a bit of dark brown bleeding during my first trimester on and off from 6 weeks through to 11 weeks - I am now 19 weeks and the bleeding has stopped. When it started I was freaked out - I have had a previous m/c and was very nervous. Needless to say, my doctor said that a lot of women have some 'old blood' to get rid of and that's what they chalked this particular instance up to. I can only tell you that during my m/c, I had lots of bright red bleeding and pain. I wish you the best of luck at your appointment.

[Anonymous]

Look in the archives here and check other web chat rooms, you'll find tons of stories about women experiencing bleeding -- and many of them have happy endings. I've posted here several times and got lots of helpful feedback. But the most helpful thing though is going to see your doctor - any OB should give you an emergency appointment if you're going through this to confirm what is going on. FWIW, despite all the stuff I read here and on other sites, my doctor told me that the color of the blood does not matter - brownish does not mean all is well, just as red does not mean that you're definitely miscarrying. In my second pregnancy I had a lot of bleeding in week 9, and it did turn out to be a m/c. This time around, I had a lot of bleeding during weeks 7-9 -- I was totally convinced I was having a m/c again... but at 25 weeks all is well. There are manageable conditions that can cause bleeding, which is one of the reasons to see the doctor ASAP, but in my case (and I think in most cases) it's just unexplained and ultimately irrelevant to the health of the baby or mom. I'll keep my fingers crossed that this is the case for you.

[Anonymous]

Agree with PP. I had a lot of bleeding at 11 and 15 weeks with my second baby (for a whole week each time) and all was well. But I also had a m/c before I had my first dc, so I wasn't taking any chances and I called my doctor each times.

[Anonymous]

i didn't have anything at 10 weeks but i had loads of bright red bleeding with clots and cramps at 4.5 weeks. it lasted 5 days and looked just like a period. i'm currently 25 weeks with a healthy baby boy. so bleeding, even red bleeding, doesn't necessarily mean bad things. sometimes we just bleed. perhaps you just had a subchorionic hemorrhage? let us know how the ultrasound goes. <<<<<<<hugs>>>>>>>

[Anonymous]

I had the brown/black discharge throughout the entire first trimester, each time around my normal period time. It stopped at 13 weeks. I went in for sonograms each time and the baby was fine, jumping around, etc. I am now 30 weeks pregnant. It was completely stressful...especially because the doctors couldn't diagnose what the issue was (e.g., old blood, fibroids irritated, incompetent cervix, or "just because"). One word of caution... I've since read that 1st trimester spotting can be indicative of problems later on..e.g., preterm labor, placenta issues, etc. So be on alert. I am now on bedrest due to preterm labor issues and cannot help but wonder if the two were related somehow. It's also possible that early bleeding can influence the results of a quad screen test, so you may wish to discuss that with your provider, as well. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

OP here. I went to the doctor yesterday, arrived 15 minutes early with my 16 month old. I could not find a sitter on such short notice. We waited for TWO HOURS and were never seen. I ended up having to leave. Each time I asked how long the wait would be I was told "not much longer". I left in tears and do not want to go back to that office. I need a new doctor. I am still spotting the dark, streaky discharge tinged with red. My boobs are sore, I feel sick but for some reason my tummy feels deflated, like I am not bloated anymore. I know I did not pass a fetus but for some reason I feel empty if that makes sense, like my tummy is flat and I no longer feel like i have a grapefruit in my uterus. I need to find someone else who can see me but I am so drained and upset with what I experienced yesterday I do not want to go to the dr again. They new I was bleeding, new I was with my toddler, new I was on time.

[Anonymous]

That is hearbreaking. I'm so sorry you have to deal with our s**tty healthcare system on top of your (perfectly normal) anxiety. I will say that the symptoms you're experiencing can be perfectly normal for this stage of pregnancy. I experienced it with both pregnancies, one was not a happy outcome and the other is now at 36 weeks. My doc said that the sac can block the flow of implantation bleed, so the blood does not come out, starts to clot and turn brown until the sac shifts and it comes out. This is unrelated to whether the pregnancy is progressing. So there may not even be a correlation. Hang in there, try to keep yourself calm, and do pursue the ultrasound. If you need help finding a doc, please post more detailed information about where you'd need to go. Good luck and please keep us posted.

[Anonymous]

Is there a midwifery practice nearby that you could schedule an appointment to at least check the heartbeat?

I'm really sorry that you had such a bad experience at the doctor's office. I am sure that was very upsetting and frustrating.

[Anonymous]

I agree, schedule an appointment with a midwifery practice. They are so caring and responsive. Where are you located?

[Anonymous]

I am very sorry that you are going through this, and especially sorry about your treatment at your doctor's office. If you want to be checked out and get an ultrasound (which I would definitely advise) you can always go to the emergency room - while it's not the best situation and you still may have to wait, they can get you the information that you need. I know first-hand how frustrating this is (had bleeding at 9 weeks and had to wait 3 days for the doctor to see me/do an ultrasound to ultimately find out that I was miscarrying). I hope for the best for you in these hard times.

[Anonymous]

I am sorry for your experience. But it strikes me that if you are still bleeding and feel "off" you should really find a way to get to a practitioner sooner rather than later, in case of infection or something like that. Also, sometimes if you call the Dr. with a worst-case scenario "Hi, I think I am having a miscarriage" they will take you more seriously, sadly...

[Anonymous]

I'm so, so sorry for the horrendous experience it must have been waiting for 2 hrs at the OB with a toddler. I hope you find some way to have an ultrasound ASAP and whenever you can do it, call and raise holy hell with the practice. My practice left me hanging for 6 hours after confirming I was having a m/c; they asked me not to eat in case they could do the D&C that day. After a few hours of being hormonal, hungry and grief-stricken, I was a full-fledged horror show with anyone at the practice I could get on the phone. My doctor later apologized profusely and told me that any time I had an issue, make sure to leave a message with his personal voicemail rather than the office staff or triage nurses. I think it's a bit of a cop-out, but sometimes even good doctors have totally irresponsible staffs, . Remembering how awful it felt to sit in the waiting room in a state of fear about the status of my pregnancy - even without a toddler in hand - I think that what you went through is totally outrageous and shameful.

[Anonymous]

You must be so stressed out. I totally agree that you need to find a new OB/midwife and you need to find one right away. I have never heard an OB's office making a potential miscarriage wait while other regular patients are being seen. I hope you were able to get in to see someone today. If not, let us know what area you live near so we can suggest some practioners.