Pink/brown discharge at 16 weeks?

amh369

16 weeks even as of today - I've had 0 spotting of any color so far until tonight. I had a BM and when I wiped there was some pink-ish discharge. I read that could be normal if you strained a blood vessel in the cervix. I've been checking every 30 minutes since and there was just some brown discharge this time, a couple hours later. It looked like a very tiny mucus-y "clot" except did dissolve on the tissue. Of course I panicked and Googled this, but I want to hear from my May 2017 mom buddies. Has this happened to you? Should I be concerned? I'm not cramping, but I'm so on edge about this that I swear if I feel even a twinge in my uterus I might run to the ER in a panic! I miscarried at 6 weeks in June and that fear is just washing over me. 

In happier news, we just found out we are having a baby girl this morning and are over the moon! Her heartbeat was a normal 149 BPM as of this morning and the ultrasound tech didn't indicate that she saw anything concerning, so I'm hanging on to that. What an eventful day this has been so far

Squirtgun

I would just call your doctor and ask. It is always better to call and find out that you don't need to worry, rather than not calling and then later finding out that you should have called. Especially with your history, I would feel more comfortable having a medical opinion over an Internet opinion! 

amh369

Squirtgun said:

I would just call your doctor and ask. It is always better to call and find out that you don't need to worry, rather than not calling and then later finding out that you should have called. Especially with your history, I would feel more comfortable having a medical opinion over an Internet opinion! 

Agree! I called my doctor's after hours line and they paged him. I didn't recieve a call back (and it had subsided by then) so I figured best to wait until morning if nothing else happens. I think I'm just hoping to hear a lot of "Yes, this happened to me and I was fine!" to get me through the night!

kat81

I'm sure it's nothing and apparently things like this happen all of the time, but my practice tells us we should call if there is any spotting at any time, and we should be calling the "midwife on duty" line (the most emergency line other than calling 911!) Don't feel like you're putting them out.

RainyDays86

@amh369 I had the exact same thing happen to me about a month ago.  It was right after a BM and I was wiping and there was red/pink discharge that definitely had blood in it.  We had also had sex that morning but it was about six hours earlier. I called me doctor and they were totally unconcerned.  They said it was cervical irritation, probably caused by the sex but maybe the BM, and only to worry if I was filling a maxi pad with blood every hour or two. Sure enough the discharge over the course of the day turned brown and then was gone completely by the next day.  We had a regularly-scheduled appointment a few days later and everything was fine.

During my first pregnancy, DH and I finished having sex and there was a decent-sized gush of blood right afterwards - maybe a few tablespoons.  I called the doctor on call and he said its cervical irritation from sex and nothing to worry about at all.  A month or so later when I was like 8 months pregnant I went for a long walk and when I got home there was bright pink/red discharge in my underwear.  I called and they said I'd irritated my cervix from walking and it was fine. 

I'm glad you called your doc, since I'm not an OB/GYN, but I wanted to let you know I've had the exact same experience several times and it was not a big deal and the nurse/doctor on call made it sound like a very common occurrence each time.

galatimac

I had this in my last pregnancy at about 24 weeks, it lasted a day and then went away.  The on call nurse told me to make sure I was feeling movements (not sure if you can feel yet) and that if it turned red and soaked a pad in an hour to call back.  I also had spotting that lasted a week with this pregnancy in week 9 that terrified me; my midwife did an ultrasound and everything looked great and she said sometimes there is not an explanation and everything is perfectly healthy but you still spot.  You are probably fine but I hope your medical provider can reassure you!

andrea0418

Lurking from April 2017. This happened to me right around 16wks after a BM. I was in the bathroom checking for blood all day long. Never had any more and it hasn't happened since. I'm 20wks now. 

amh369

Thank you all for your responses! I appreciate you helping me with peace of mind An update to my situation for anyone curious:

This morning about an hour after I woke up there was more brown-ish discharge when I wiped. My doctor never did call me back, despite my calling his after hours emergency line several times again this morning. When his office finally opened at 10 and I got ahold of someone, they told me to go straight to the ER because the doctor does not have ultrasound equipment on site except for on Thursdays and that he "wouldn't be able to do anything for me except a pelvic exam". This situation among other things has definitely made me uncomfortable with him as my OBGYN and I'm 99% sure I'll be switching. I did go to the ER and turns out I have a "pretty bad UTI" according to the doctor. An acute UTI. I don't know how my OBGYN didn't catch that since I just saw him and gave him urine recently, but regardless that is what was causing my brownish/pinkish discharge. Note to all ladies who this happens to and also frantically search the forum for answers, never ignore it! It could be from a bowel movement, it could be from intercourse, it could be absolutely NOTHING at all, but it could be a UTI that you need antibiotics for as well. I will be on Macrobid for the next 7 days...here's to praying I don't get a yeast infection to go along with it!

amh369

I would also like to note, an important part of my side story about being uncomfortable with him as my OBGYN going forward, is that at the ER, all they did was take my urine and DO A PELVIC EXAM! My doctor definitely should have been able to help me out with this. /endrant

vrj0522

I have heard that spotting during first trimester is normal but to always follow up on it during 2nd and 3rd trimesters. Glad you did and that they figured out how to help you. And I agree, I would be looking hard into other options for an ob.

emilyalso

You might grab a probiotic to go with your Macrobid (to hopefully prevent a yeast infection). I worked in a pharmacy for years and I would always hear the Pharmacist suggesting one to women going on ABOs. 

Yiggle09

I had spotting for a week after 13 weeks till 14 weeks and they weren't worried I called after hours as well. Said unless I was having cramping and alot of blood I was most likely fine.  they offered to let me come in to check heart beat but I felt foolish and didn't do it. Said if I was having cramping and all that I'd have to go to er at that point