22 answers

Questions on Spotting

Suprise!!!It appears I am pregnant with my 3rd child. While not exactly planned, I am excited none the less. As far as I can determine I am about 4 weeks along and for the last 3-4 days I have been spotting, nothing too heavy and no cramps. I thought I was gearing up for the regular monthly fun, but after the pee test today my plans have changed. My family just changed insurance companies/ healthcare providers on Tuesday and I have not yet transfered any files to their new doctors offices. So I am assuming that it may be a few days before I can see my new OB. The spotting thing would not worry me too much but I had a miscarrage before and I was spotting . So my head is swimming trying to grasp being pregnant and worring that I my lose the baby all at the same time. I just need a little info, positive or negative...Could this be normal.

What can I do next?

So What Happened?™

I called the new OBs office today. They were closed to patients, but the nurse is holding a time for me next week. 1st thing Mon. morning I am doing a "quick registration" with the new office, and I will see the Dr. soon after. Thank you for all the encouraging info. This spotting is not nearly as heavy as it was last time and not accompanied by the horrible vomiting that OBs office swore was normal. (I left that office 2 children ago). Thanks again!

Featured Answers

J., I was told that as long as it's brown in color it could just be old blood. If it is BRIGHT red and a lot (like filling multiple pads in a short time then go to the er! Hope that helps and congratulations!

For my second pregnancy, I spotted right before we were set to go on vacation and my first doc appt wasn't scheduled for another two weeks, after we were going to be back home. I totally PANICKED! I spoke to the doctor to see if I should go to the emergency room (I wasn't going to cancel my trip just to go to his office). What I was told was it could be nothing or it could be the beginnings of a miscarriage. Either way, there wasn't really anything they could do. If bleeding was really bad or came with pain, I should go to the emergency room. If not, he told me to wait it out and see him at my appt two weeks later. Everything ended up fine for me so try not to worry!!

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I know several people who spotted during the first three months of their pregnancy. I think that as long as you are not cramping or there is not a lot of blood, it should be ok. If you are that concerned and can not get into the doctor, go to the ER. They will at least be able to do an ultrasound and let you know if everything looks ok. It might give you piece of mind until you can get into the OB. Good luck and congrats on the new addition to your family.

I had spotting with both my 2nd and 3rd pregnancy and everything was fine. Being that you are in the very early stages of pregnancy it could be implantation bleeding. However just to be on the safe side and to give yourself piece of mind, you may want to give the doctor a call. Congrats on baby #3!

You shouldn't have to transfer files to get an initial exam. When I was pregnant with my 4th child - also a surprise - I too spotted and was told after an ultrasound that he was a blighted ovum and I needed a D&C. The OB who had taken care of me for 15 years recommended this and wouldn't do a repeat test to make sure. So I called another in my area who had never seen me before, requested a second opinion, and three days later he saw me - no files transferred. He also repeated all the tests which showed a baby there, the only explanation given to the blighted ovum diagnosis that sometimes the fetus isn't as developed as the sac and he was too small to see.

For your peace of mind I'd see if you could get an appointment without transferring files. I'd also beware of any negative results. Spotting can be very normal during pregnancy, even if you've never spotted before. Your gut instinct is a better indicator of where the pregnancy is at and I'd definitely follow that.

If you have a regular doctor could you just call and ask? Worse come to worse check with Board of Health if there is free or cheap help somewhere while you wait. How soon does your insurance go into effect?

Hi J.,

Congratulations on your pregnancy! : )

Oops! I'm editing this response b/c I didn't notice that you had already called the dr. I think that's smart. Also, I don't think that changing insurance should create any gap in coverage I changed last year when I was in the midst of fertility treatments and having appts w/dr's nearly every week. I never had to delay an appt or had a problem w/coverage.

Hope all's well with you and that you have a healthy pregnancy!

Hi J.,

I had spotting with both my pregnancies. The first was a singular pregnancy and the second was twins. Both times I spotted however, I almost lost both. It turned out that I had low progesterone and had to go on progesterone suppositories and bed rest for the first trimester of each pregnancy. My children are now 12 and the twins are almost 10. I was 37 years old the first time I conceived and 39 years old with the twins.
I don't want to alarm you but you should go to the OB/GYN to just get checked out. It is better to be proactive in my opinion. Good Luck and congratulations!

Congrats! When I was pregnant with my daughter, I spotted almost my entire first trimester, from about 4 weeks on. My doctor told me that it was normal with some women as long as it was not heavy and there were no cramping. They did an ultrasound just to make sure. Hope this calms you a little. Best of luck!

I had a still born and then a few years later found out I was pregnant again. At about 5/6 weeks I started spotting and of course fearing the worst I went to the ER right away. Well long story short I found out during the ultrasound that I was having twins! 8 yrs later and everyone is great! I would just say that if it gets heavier or you pass clots definitely get in!!! Congrats and God bless on the new pregnancy!

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