Early Pregnancy Bleeding

Early bleeding is normal. Heck I bled so much my first month with this pregnancy I thought I had my period! At my first ultrasound I was 10 weeks pregnant when I thought I was only 6! Not only that I bled again at 13 weeks. I had one miscarriage (followed by 2 successful pregnancies) so I was worried. I bled brown then bright red. I had placenta previa. Baby is fine, the placenta has moved so everything is fine. I'm sure you will be fine too.

Early miscarriages are very common. Most pregnancies end before a woman knows she's pregnant. That said, it does hurt to lose a baby that you know is there, even if it's only a couple days. The best advice I can give is to wait for those test results, and see if your doctor will order a second one a few days later. That way, if the test is positive, you'll be able to make sure the hormone levels are rising.

I think that everybody's body is different and different symptoms mean different results. Personally, I have had both happen to me. With my first pregnancy, my period was a few days late. I took a test, it came back negative. I still hadn't started, so I took another test. It came back with a faint positive. I went to the doctor, my blood tests showed that my HCG level was higher than normal, but not as high as it should have been. They did an ultrasound and I found out that I was pregnant. I only had symptoms for about three weeks after that and all of a sudden, they were all gone. About two weeks later I started spotting. I went to the ER and they told me that the baby had stopped developing two weeks prior to that and there was nothing they could do. Of course, I was devastated. But, my friends and family were very supportive. With my next pregnancy, I took a test and it came back positive. I went to the doctor and everything was as it should be. When I was about 8 weeks along, I started spotting, so of course I was sure that I was having another miscarriage. I went to the ER. They did an ultrasound and everything was fine. After that, everything was great and seven months later, I gave birth to a beautiful, healthy little girl. So, even though the waiting is horrible, just hang in there until you hear from your doctor. All you can do is pray that everything will turn out the way that it was intended. I will pray for you also. Be Strong!!

N.,

The ladies in my family had a very eye-opening discussion not long ago. My sister had an early miscarriage and was very vocal about it at a family get-together. (This included about 12 women, from my grandmother to my 20-year-old sister.) My grandmother mentioned that she had 2 miscarriages in-between her seven children. None of the kids knew that. As we got talking, 9 out of the 12 of us have had miscarriages... some early, some later. My older cousin is an RN in an OB-GYN practice. She informed us that over 50% of women (this could be just from her and not the correct number, I'm just going on what I was told) will have a miscarriage (some won't notice it as sometimes it occurs and all they notice is heavy bleeding) in their reproductive lives. Personally, I've had 2 confirmed, and one that I suspect was a miscarriage. I have given birth to 3 beautiful, healthy kids (one was 10 weeks premature, but you can't tell now).
I wish you the best, and I hope that this turns out well for you. Just know that there are silent women out there that have felt exactly how you're feeling now. I've been on the waiting end of the telephone a couple times myself.

Sometimes early spotting can be correlated with a low progesterone level. Progesterone is the hormone that helps to provide a favorable uterine environment for pregnancy. Most doctors will not check this unless you ask them to, so ask! If it is found to be in fact low, then you can go on a progesterone suppository and hopefully have an otherwise uneventful pregnancy.
Best wishes!
W.