Brown discharge at early terms of pregnancy may be provoked by implantation (the egg’s invasion into endometrial lining). Usually this discharge is very scant, it appears earlier than the expected period, is not accompanied by pain, but can give rise to other early pregnancy symptoms.
The brown color of vaginal discharge is associated with admixture of a little blood. Going down through the uterine cavity and while passing through the uterine cervix, the blood congeals and acquires dark shades.
Which vessels can slightly bleed at early stages of pregnancy? These are obviously vessels of the uterine mucous lining (endometrium), aggressively proliferated under the influence of progesterone. Their integrity may be broken during the egg’s implantation.
How can one make sure that brown discharge in early stages of pregnancy is normal?
Bloody vaginal discharge at early pregnancy can be caused only by implantation bleeding (IB). This is when some blood discharges from endometrial vessels, which are being affected by the invading fetus.
Let us study the distinctive features of implantation bleeding:
- It takes place approximately on the 20th day of a 28 day menstrual cycle.
- IB appears in the form of spotting or thick brownish discharge.
- It does not imply any painful sensations.
- After spotting in early stages, other sighs of pregnancy may come in sight.
Allowed time for brown discharge
Classically, ovulation occurs in the middle of a regular cycle, which lasts 21-35 days. That means, implantation can take place on the 16th to 23rd day, depending on the length of your cycle. Thus, brown discharge can be expected starting from the initial phase of implantation, when the ovum is just adhering to the mucous lining, previously affected by special bioactive substances.
Most often, complete healing of endometrium, which kind of envelops the new born life, protecting it, takes place in 13 days following “implantation”. In order to find out the period when there are best chances to see implantation bleeding, you can divide your cycle into two (calculating the ovulation) and add 10 days (implantation “fervor”). This spotting can last for a few more days.
Blood admixture – permissible limits
At early pregnancy bloody discharge is permissible only in the form of spotting (bloody spots on the underwear) or thick brownish mucus. This can be easily explained by the fact that implantation cannot provoke heavy bleeding, while any other type of affection, indicate to a pathology, rather than to pregnancy.
Can it be accompanied by cramps?
Normal implantation occurs on the cellular level and cannot be accompanied by painful sensations. In case you experience cramps or abdominal dragging pain in the early stages of pregnancy, then you should look for other causes. IB does not imply any pain.
In case your still experienced certain discomfort during the discharge of brown mucus, while ultrasonography does not show any pathologies, then it is quite possible that implantation has overlapped with gastrointestinal distension.
Other early pregnancy symptoms
In case you are concerned with brown spotting, you should be attentive to other parallel symptoms that you might have:
- Morning sickness;
- Taste disturbance;
- Drowsiness;
- Frequent urination, etc.
Having more than two of the mentioned symptoms, you might consider the chances of impregnation. In order to make sure, that this thick brown discharge testifies to pregnancy , when it is too early to take a pregnancy test (no delay of the period), you should go to a clinic to have an analysis, which is more sensitive to HGG (hormone- that is indicative to the growth of the embryo).