Brown discharge during pregnancy: normal or pathological?

Future mothers are probably the most restless people in the world. The changes that occur in their bodies can be both joyful-exciting, and frightening-disturbing. And to all such changes and inexplicable manifestations of their delicate situation pregnant women are very sensitive, because they are responsible for the birth of a new life that must see the world in time and in full health. It is not surprising that brown discharge during pregnancy so worries future mother, because menstruation in this period should not be, however, like her forerunners. However, with such a symptom, women are faced quite often, so it is worthwhile to figure out whether there is a cause for concern in this case or fears of pregnant women are groundless.

Norm or pathology?

Before pregnancy, a woman regularly menstruation and brown secretions on the eve of a month on a regular basis and in the last days of menstruation do not frighten anyone, because they are a variant of the norm. But the appearance of such secretions in the period between menstruation can alarm any woman, as they usually talk about some hidden pathology of the female reproductive system.

When pregnancy is not the case. Monthly after conception, it should not be, except in the first 4-5 weeks after conception, otherwise it is no longer a normal pregnancy. But in the absence of menstruation by analogy with non-pregnant, there should not be an ointment hinting at possible violations of women's health. And if there are brown discharge during pregnancy, then everything is bad.

Approximately so reason many future mothers, faced with a similar symptom for the first time, especially if previous pregnancies were treated without color discharge. To say unequivocally that they are right or wrong are impossible, because even an experienced doctor can not always determine by eye  what Brown meanings mean in pregnancy - this is a norm   or a pathology, until he carries out the necessary examination.

One can say for sure that in the early stages of pregnancy and on the eve of childbirth, the smearing brown discharge appears quite often. And in their appearance there is usually nothing pathological that would be worth serious experiences of a future mother, for whom unrest is no less dangerous. In the first case, they can testify to the onset of pregnancy, in the second - about the quick joy associated with the birth of a new life.

But always everything is so rosy. The causes of brown discharge during pregnancy can be different, and often it is a serious violation, which threatens premature termination of pregnancy. Still, despite the color, it's about bleeding, albeit insignificant. And how dangerous it is, you can judge by the attendant symptoms and the period of pregnancy.

The most dangerous are the discharges that appeared at the end of the first or second trimester of pregnancy. In this case, it is definitely about serious problems, because there are no such physiological reasons that could provoke such a symptom. Here everything depends on the woman herself and her desire to keep the pregnancy, which will be facilitated by timely treatment in the medical institution.

Non-pathological causes of brown discharge

Let's try to figure out first  when the brown discharge during pregnancy is normal. But you need to realize that understanding the causes of an unusual symptom gives a woman the hope that everything is safe with her and the baby, and yet she does not get rid of the need to get a consultation about this with a woman's consultation doctor.

The first days and months of pregnancy is the period when a rapid restructuring in the woman's body occurs, caused by changes in the hormonal background and the preparation of the organism for a long journey from conception to the birth of the baby. The main female hormones estrogen and hormone, responsible for the normal course of pregnancy and called progesterone, can cause the appearance of unusual dark secretions. In addition, the processes occurring in the body of a woman natural for the onset of pregnancy, can provoke small bleeding, which look like brown spotting.

Hormonal reorganization can provoke regular smearing during the first, second, and sometimes third month of pregnancy. Allocations appear regularly on days when menstrual bleeding begins before a woman begins pregnancy. Their duration rarely exceeds two days.

Sometimes allocation can even get scarlet shade and remind usual monthly, though also more poor. However, in the absence of other suspicious symptoms (pulling or sharp pains in the lower abdomen, unpleasant odor of secretion, nausea, unusual weakness, etc.), they do not carry harm to the future mother and the fetus in her womb.

The non-hormonal cause of brown secretions in the first couple of weeks of pregnancy is the transition of a fertilized egg to a new place of residence - the uterus. Implantation process in some cases is accompanied by damage to small vessels, the blood from which enters the vagina, where it mixes with natural physiological secretions and, together with them, gets outside.

Bleeding is so insignificant that droplets of blood only slightly tint the vaginal secret, and it acquires a pink, beige or light brown hue. Such discharge, having a creamy consistency, can last for 24 hours and should not cause any worries, if they are scant, do not have an unpleasant smell and foreign impurities (pus, white cheesy lumps), do not cause itching in the genital area and vagina, are not accompanied by painful sensations .

To unusual bleeding in the first weeks of pregnancy, women are treated differently. Sometimes you can hear such a statement that there  were brown discharge and passed during pregnancy. In fact, these secretions only confirm the occurrence of pregnancy, which the woman did not yet suspect, until she visited the gynecologist, and they quickly pass, because hemorrhages from small capillaries are insignificant, and the scarring of the vascular walls occurs in a short time independently.

An identical situation can be observed in the last weeks of pregnancy, and although the cause of dark secretions will be slightly different, namely, the mucosal plug  gap before delivery, the  pathogenesis of bleeding will be similar - the rupture of small vessels in the cervix as a result of its shortening and smoothing. The droplets of blood in this case fall on the slimy plug and are withdrawn outward along with it.

Mucous plug is called a lump of mucus that blocks access to the uterus of infection. This way the body of the mother provides additional protection to their offspring, while it is in her womb. When the time of childbirth is coming, the cervix begins to prepare for the passage of an already noticeably grown-up fetus. Expansion of its lumen (the uterus is slightly opened) leads to a spontaneous cessation of the plug. This process can be either one-time or long-term, if the plug leaves in parts.

Most often this occurs either immediately before birth (in the primiparous), or 3-5 days before they begin. But sometimes the mucous plug leaves earlier for some weeks. If we are talking about 38 weeks or later, there should not be any special unrest, we need to prepare for childbirth. Although notify your doctor will be superfluous.

But with the appearance of brown discharge during pregnancy until week 37, it is not necessary to delay with a visit to the gynecologist, even such a meager bleeding may be a harbinger of premature birth. Although in some cases, women safely after pregnancy for several more weeks.

Pathological causes of brown discharge

It would not be desirable, of course, to move from pleasant to worrying, because any unrest for expectant mothers are considered  risk factors for  spontaneous abortion. But the reality is that in most cases brown discharge during pregnancy indicates various complications that are dangerous for a woman and her unborn child. Therefore, their appearance can not be ignored.

Frozen pregnancy. Fetal embryos can occur at any time of pregnancy, but most often it occurs in the first trimester at 7-8 weeks. It is during this period that most of the organs and systems of the baby are formed, and its needs are increasing. According to statistics, the probability of this pregnancy outcome is about 0.7%, but this does not mean that the problem can be ignored due to the low risk of its appearance.

Pregnancy fading is most often a consequence of its incorrect course, as a result of which the embryo receives less from the mother nutrients necessary for its development, or is affected by harmful factors. Among the risk factors for stopping child development are:

• hormonal failures, such as hormone deficiency in pregnancy, progesterone, thyroid and ovarian diseases that produce hormones,
• meager for vitamins and trace elements of the diet of the future mother,
• rhesus-conflict, provoked by the difference in the Rh factor of the blood of the mother and the child, which causes the organism of the pregnant woman to react to the fetus as an alien body, producing specific antibodies,
• Some autoimmune disorders, characterized by increased production of antibodies to blood components,
• various infectious diseases, regardless of the form of their course (the most popular pests that can lead to fetal death are herpetic infection, mycoplasma, chlamydia, cytomegalovirus, papillomavirus, etc.)
• strong nervous experiences and stresses,
• any bad habits,
• the impact of negative factors on the pregnant woman (vibration, exposure, inhalation of poisonous substances, etc.),
• lifting weights,
• hereditary factor, etc.

In most cases, it is a violation of health and nutrition of the future mother, as well as the impact of harmful factors on it. But sometimes the cause of pregnancy fading are the chromosome pathologies of the fetus, which do not allow it to develop normally, as well as unknown reasons why a healthy and normally eating woman has a miscarriage. Preceding this event, the symptom is just the brown discharge.

The fact is that embryonic fading is always accompanied by an inflammatory process in the body of a woman who reaches its peak 2-3 weeks after the onset of the pathological process. The appearance of brown discharge in this case already speaks of the detachment of the fetal egg, and in the presence of pus in them - a necrotic process against the background of a long-frozen pregnancy.

Detachment of the fetal egg and threat of miscarriage. All of the above factors can provoke a detachment of the fetal bladder from the uterine wall in the early stages of pregnancy, even if the fetus develops normally. The rejection of the envelope surrounding the embryo and amniotic fluid from the chorion is accompanied by vascular damage and the formation of a hematoma.

In this case, moderate scarlet secretions indicate a beginning detachment, especially if they are accompanied by pulling pains in the lower abdomen, nausea and vomiting. An increase in the size of the hematoma contributes to further detachment of the fetal bladder, which can result in complete rejection and fetal death. Outwardly it looks like a spontaneous miscarriage. 

Brown discharge during pregnancy in this case may be evidence of an end to bleeding and resorption of the hematoma, but the risk of re-tearing the junction of the chorion and the fetal egg remains, and therefore it is careless to treat the symptom blithely.

However, in some sources one can also find another opinion. The adherents consider the detachment of the fetal egg as an examination of the embryo for strength, a kind of natural selection. A healthy, viable embryo is able to survive not one, but even several partial detachments. A fetal egg can detach itself and grow back to the chorion. But at the same time only a strong fetus can survive.

According to this theory, the expectant mother can take a wait-and-see attitude, pinning her hopes that her baby will cope with adversities. By the way, it is not uncommon for women when they appear brown precipitations and drawing pains either did not go to the doctor, or simply did not react to the confirmation of the fact of detachment of the bladder by ultrasound, but at the same time gave birth to healthy babies. But to take risks or not is worth it, this is already the choice of the future mother herself, which she does immediately for herself and for her child, taking his destiny into their own hands.

In any case, you need to understand that the threat of miscarriage is not equivalent to the miscarriage that occurred. With timely access to a doctor, pregnancy in most cases can be saved by hormonal therapy (achieving a normal level of progesterone to maintain pregnancy), normalization of the psycho-emotional state of a pregnant woman, physical rest.

Chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus and gall bladder. This is a very unpleasant condition in pregnancy, when either a part of the placenta or all of its tissues undergo pathological changes, while the villi of the chorion (the embryonic part of the placenta) take the form of vesicles, growing like a bunch of grapes. Strangely enough, the reason for this phenomenon is most likely lies in the chromosome set of the fetus.

Since the structure and characteristics of the chorion of the placenta and fetal bladder correspond predominantly to male chromosomes, their predominance is precisely conducive to pathological measurements in these organs. When diagnosing bladder drift, embryo studies showed the majority of them had a triple set of chromosomes, where 2 sets were paternal. In the other part of the children, only 2 sets of chromosomes were found, as expected, but both were paternal.

The exact causes of this pathology have not been established so far, therefore it is necessary to rely only on the hypothesis. However, a relatively small number of pregnant women are diagnosed with abnormal placenta development, characterized by dysplastic processes. In other words, small benign tumors form on the fibers of the chorion - cystic formations with a liquid inside.

This pathology is not characterized by the most favorable prognosis. With partial bladder skipping with lesions of individual placental tissues there is some chance of a healthy baby's birth, but in most cases the fetus freezes in the second trimester of pregnancy. If all tissues are affected, they become unable to maintain the viability of the embryo and stimulate its development, so the fetus dies within the first months after conception.

Brown discharge in this pathology most often occur with complete bladder drift, which caused fading of pregnancy. However, they are not the only symptom. The general condition of the patient worsens, so a problem pregnancy will not be difficult to distinguish from normal.

Polyps in the uterus. Sometimes in the diagnosis of brown discharge during pregnancy in the first trimester in the cervical canal of the cervix uteri can be found small harmless neoplasms - polyps. These benign growths can provoke minor bleedings, which on the underwear have the appearance and character of the swelling discharge. In some cases, polyps are removed (they disappear and are removed from the vagina together with a vaginal secret) and do not require treatment. But it is also possible to promptly remove them, not involving scraping of the uterus, which means it is safe for a pregnant woman.

Ectopic pregnancy. Among all the above disorders, this pathology has the worst prognosis, since it always ends with the interruption of pregnancy, which threatens the life of a woman. The salvation of the embryo growing and developing in a fetal egg outside the uterus (in the fallopian tube) is not a question, it is removed surgically.

The fact that ectopic pregnancy as the fetus grows and develops can be complicated by a rupture of the wall of the uterine tube, which is not subject to recovery. But this is not the worst thing. Much worse for a pregnant woman will be a bleeding caused by a ruptured fallopian tube, which is more intense and provokes more blood loss.

Brown discharge in this case may be the first bell, after which there will be abundant bloody discharge, an unpleasant contraction from the side where the fetus or strong pains in the lower abdomen are located. And the earlier a woman turns to for help, the more likely she is to save her life and maintain her reproductive function.

Detachment of the placenta. This pathology usually occurs in the middle and in the late stages of pregnancy, i.e. In the second and third trimester, and is dangerous for both the pregnant woman and the baby in her womb. The placenta is a kind of mediator between the mother and the baby. It is she who supplies the fetus with the necessary nutrients and oxygen, obtained from the blood of the future mother.

If the placenta exfoliates, the connection necessary to maintain the vital activity of the organism forming within it is lost. The baby dies from hypoxia and a deficiency of vital substances. And the detachment of the placenta is accompanied by bleeding, on the strength of which the condition of a woman depends and in some way the possibility of maintaining a pregnancy.

The cause of the problem pregnancy in this case may be abdominal injuries in this period, previously conducted abortions and cesarean section, accompanied by the formation of scar tissue, a shortened umbilical cord, hypertension in a future mother, smoking during pregnancy.

The detachment of the placenta occurs gradually, passing through several stages. In the first stage of pregnancy, a woman may have brown discharge. But they will not malleable for long, afterwards they acquire a more intense scarlet color and moderate intensity. At the last, most severe stage of the pathology, the excretions can already be strong enough to be called a full-fledged bleeding.

Regardless of whether there is a partial detachment, diagnosed in most cases, or complete detachment of the placenta, pregnancy ends with caesarean section. It's another matter at what time it will be held. With severe bleeding, everything is decided in the first minutes and hours after going to a medical institution, and the child can not be saved. With smearing discharge, characteristic for the initial stage of detachment, doctors try to pull the time to at least 30-32 weeks, when the fetus is considered to be completely viable, after which they again resort to Caesarean section.

Placenta previa. This is another violation, in which brown discharge occurs due to vascular damage, but already in the placenta. Preposition is the location of the placenta close to the cervix. At short notice, this does not cause any trouble, but as the child grows, it begins to press hard on the walls of the placenta, which in turn rests against the walls of the uterus. This pressure and provokes the rupture of small vessels of the placenta, accompanied by a small allocation of blood.

In rare cases, strong pressure on the tissues of the child's place leads to detachment of the placenta, but this happens only with prolonged bleeding. Usually everything is limited to smearing secretions and a feeling of pressure on the cervix, with which women go to the gynecologist, so that later they can be monitored right up until the very birth.

The entire period from the appearance of the first bleeding and until the birth of a child, he is in danger, because squeezing the blood vessels of the placenta, he disrupts the supply of oxygen and may die from hypoxia. This danger does not decrease even at the time of natural birth, so doctors prefer to be reinsured and practice caesarean section.

Late pregnancy pathology. In the last trimester of pregnancy, if it is not a question of the removal of the mucous plug, among the possible causes of brown secretions can be considered such unpredictable disruption of the structure and functions of the placenta, as its stratification (detachment), which makes it impossible for natural childbirth.

A uterus rupture is also considered a dangerous complication of pregnancy if its walls were previously weakened by inflammatory-degenerative processes or surgical interventions (abortion, cesarean section, cleansing). In this case, bleeding of different intensity, which is dangerous for the future mother, is also possible. But the violation of blood circulation in the uterus entails a failure in the supply of oxygen to a child who is not yet able to breathe on his own and can die directly in the womb on the eve of the date of his birth. The most effective solution to the problem is a cesarean section with a subsequent operation to repair the uterus.

Gynecological problems. It is wrong to think that a pregnant woman can not have any gynecological diseases. Pregnancy usually does not heal, but provokes exacerbation of already existing hidden diseases. For example, such a latent flow may be characterized by erosion of the cervix. Before the woman got to the gynecological chair, the erosive-inflammatory process could go sluggishly and not give symptoms. But afterwards, the uterus's tissues, disturbed by the gynecological instrument, may begin to heal, which will be accompanied by the appearance of smearing brown secretions, until the wound is tightened.

An identical situation can be observed after active sexual contact. The fact is that hormonal changes make women's tissues more sensitive to any aggressive effects, and to damage them is not difficult. It is not surprising that many women diagnose erosion of the cervix uteri during pregnancy, although the possibilities for effective treatment of pathology during this period are limited. Admissible drug treatment does not give the desired effect, so after the birth of the baby, women still have to undergo a procedure of cauterization of erosion.

Another danger is considered to be sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and inflammatory processes in the internal genital tissues of women arising from infectious factors or from mechanical damage. In pregnancy, taking place against the background of such diseases, brown discharge is not uncommon. But usually they are accompanied by other symptoms, for example, an unpleasant odor of the allocated vagina, itching, pulling pains in the lower abdomen, etc.

The cause of such diseases can be:

• unprotected sexual contact, because there is no reason to be protected from possible conception, and about infection, few people think,
• decrease in immunity of the future mother, which provokes the development and reproduction of opportunistic microflora in her body, which was previously in an inactive state,
• damage to the vaginal mucosa by all kinds of devices that enhance orgasm, gynecological tools, poor quality intimate hygiene.

It is important to understand that the presence of infectious diseases (and any inflammation will attract infection) is not just some discomfort for a pregnant woman, but also one of the main risk factors for a complicated course of pregnancy. Infections can provoke miscarriage or death of the fetus, as well as cause various disabilities of the child's development, so care must be taken to treat them, because the possibilities of treating infectious and inflammatory diseases during pregnancy are limited by the fact that many antibiotics and antifungal agents can have toxic and teratogenic effects on fetus.

Brown discharge during pregnancy, although often indicates a variety of pathologies, is not the reason for panic. The reasons for their occurrence are many, therefore it is simply impossible to determine the one that caused this symptom. It is not necessary to put in advance frightening diagnoses and make unpleasant predictions, but you should not carelessly treat such a situation. It is known that the majority of successfully resolved pregnancies, at which mucus secretions appeared on one or another period, became such only thanks to timely access to help for doctors. And even if the fears turned out to be in vain, could someone accuse the future mother of taking care of her health and her child? After all, the baby during the stay inside the mother's tummy depends only on her and her vigilance.