by Chess Thomas |
A small amount of red or brown discharge but no period could be an early pregnancy symptom. This may especially be true if your cycle is as regular as clockwork but you have spotting instead of your period. It's common to have light bleeding or spotting in early pregnancy. This type of bleeding may be caused by the development of the placenta.
How do I know if it's spotting or my period?
You can usually tell the difference between pregnancy spotting and a period. Spotting in early pregnancy is much lighter than a period. Spotting shouldn't last longer than three days, and you may only notice it when you go to the loo. Most spotting is painless.
If your cycle isn't always regular though, it's possible that your period is on its way. The quickest way to be sure is to take a pregnancy test.
Pregnancy tests detect the hormone human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG). Your levels of hCG rise quickly after the fertilised egg implants. If you get a negative result, but your period hasn't started properly, try doing another test after a few days.
I have brown discharge but no period
Again, bleeding or discharge that is much lighter in flow than your period is classed as spotting. The colour of blood may get darker as it gets older. So a small amount of red to brown discharge but no period may well be a sign that you're in the early stages of pregnancy.
It’s also common to have some pink or brown discharge, spotting or light bleeding between week six and week seven (Hasan et al 2010, Newson 2014).
If you have bleeding that seems unusual, see your doctor to be on the safe side. Bleeding that’s lighter, and brighter, or darker red than usual, or more watery, may be symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy. An ectopic pregnancy is when the embryo implants outside the womb, and it needs immediate treatment.
Why does pregnancy spotting happen?
In the first weeks of pregnancy, your body does the job
of providing your baby with nutrients and oxygen. It's thought that spotting may be triggered around the time that the placenta becomes your baby's lifeline.
There's also a possibility that it’s caused by the implantation of the fertilised egg in your womb. Or the hormones that control your periods could still be in your body.
There could be other explanations for your spotting. Your cervix could be inflamed, and bleed easily, perhaps because of an infection. If you have a positive pregnancy test, tell your midwife or doctor about the bleeding, just in case.
If you do get your period, and haven't had a pre-pregnancy visit to your GP, it's worth doing so now.
Your GP can check that you are immune to rubella, which can be harmful to unborn babies, with a blood test. They can also have a chat with you about how to get your body ready for pregnancy.
See all in: Am I pregnant?
Great question – it is sometimes frustrating to determine if you could be pregnant, and if you aren’t, why your period might be late! The simple answer is yes, you could still be pregnant even with a negative test, depending on when you took it, but there are also other reasons your period could be late.
A pregnancy test detects HCG levels in your urine which increase the longer you are pregnant. If you took a pregnancy test before your missed period or within the first couple days after, it is possible there wouldn’t be enough HCG in your urine yet to detect the pregnancy. You could also get a false negative if you tested later in the day, rather than with your first-morning urine, especially very early in pregnancy, since there wouldn’t be as much HCG in your urine yet.
You are most likely to get pregnant about 14 days after the start of your last period – this is the typical time women ovulate in their cycle. It is extremely important to remember that this varies from woman to woman and even from month to month. If you happened to ovulate later than expected, or if you did get pregnant closer to your expected period than what is typical, the pregnancy wouldn’t be far enough along to show up on a test yet if you tested right around your missed period.
Why else could your period be late other than pregnancy?
- You ovulated later in the month than usual which caused your period to come later as well
- Birth control
- Hormonal changes
- Stress
- Weight Loss or Gain
If you got a negative pregnancy test but still haven’t started your period, we recommend you test again about 5 days later and first thing in the morning or make an appointment to have a pregnancy test done in our office.
Have additional questions or need to make an appointment? Call (877) 883.7264 or go to www.fpawomenshealth.com to book an appointment online.