{"id":5374,"date":"2021-11-13T00:50:44","date_gmt":"2021-11-13T06:50:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanpregnancy.org\/?p=5374"},"modified":"2021-12-09T13:35:58","modified_gmt":"2021-12-09T19:35:58","slug":"spotting-during-pregnancy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanpregnancy.org\/healthy-pregnancy\/pregnancy-concerns\/spotting-during-pregnancy\/","title":{"rendered":"Spotting During Pregnancy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spotting is when you see a light or trace amount of pink, red or dark brown blood. It will be lighter than your menstrual period and there won’t be enough blood to cover a panty line. Spotting during pregnancy isn’t always a sign that something is wrong. It’s actually a common concern that many pregnant women experience during their first 12 weeks of pregnancy<\/a>. The majority of women who experiencing spotting during pregnancy go on to have a healthy pregnancy and baby.<\/p>\n

Spotting During Pregnancy Versus Bleeding<\/h3>\n

Vaginal bleeding during pregnancy<\/a> is any discharge of blood from the vagina. It can happen anytime from conception (when the egg is fertilized) to the end of pregnancy.<\/p>\n

Light bleeding, or spotting, during pregnancy is common, especially during the first trimester<\/a>. It is considered spotting when you notice a few drops of blood occasionally in your underwear, or if you wipe yourself with tissue and see a little blood on the paper. There should not be enough blood to fill a panty liner.<\/p>\n

Bleeding is a heavier flow of blood. With bleeding, you will need a liner or pad to keep the blood from soaking your clothes. Whether you are bleeding or spotting, it is best to contact your healthcare provider and describe what you are experiencing.<\/p>\n

What Causes Spotting During Pregnancy?<\/h3>\n

Implantation bleeding<\/a> is a common cause of spotting early on in pregnancy. Implantation bleeding happens when the fertilized egg attaches to the uterine lining.\u00a0 This can trigger a few days of light bleeding or spotting. This spotting occurs before a woman even knows she is pregnant and is often mistaken as a pending period. Bleeding that occurs after the day a woman expects her period is typically too late to be considered implantation bleeding, and is more likely related to early pregnancy in general.<\/p>\n

Another common cause of spotting is a cervical polyp (a harmless growth on the cervix), which is more likely to bleed during pregnancy due to higher estrogen levels. This may occur because there is an increased number of blood vessels in the tissue around the cervix during pregnancy.\u00a0 As a result, contact with this area (through sexual intercourse or a gynecological exam, for example) can cause bleeding.<\/p>\n

Even without the presence of a cervical polyp, there are a few things that may cause some spotting in the couple days after:<\/p>\n