10 Weeks Pregnant Spotting – Causes and Symptoms
Whilst spotting during early pregnancy can be scary- it’s quite common and is usually no cause for concern. Despite this, it is still important that you get checked out to ensure that everything is okay.
If you are reading this and are, by chance over 12 weeks pregnant and experiencing any form of bleeding, whether it is heavy vaginal bleeding, light bleeding or spotting, you should consult your nearest health care provider to rule out any issues or complications.
Causes of Spotting or bleeding at 10 Weeks Pregnant
Usually discharge at 10 weeks pregnant is white or whitish-yellow and creamy. This is called leukorrhea.
However, if you find that you are spotting at 10 weeks pregnant, it may be alarming for you.
Light spotting or bleeding is common during the first trimester- and most women who experience light bleeding or spotting during the first trimester go on to have a healthy pregnancy.
Implantation Bleeding
Implantation bleeding- which is sometimes accompanied by mild cramping- is a positive sign that implantation has occurred successfully. Implantation is where the fertilized egg attaches onto the uterine lining.
Implantation bleeding or spotting is typically very light and pink or brown in colour. You should definitely not soak through a sanitary pad or underwear.
What DPO Does Implantation Occur?
Implantation bleeding typically occurs between 10 and 14 days past ovulation (DPO). In some cases, implantation bleeding has occurred later than 8 weeks into pregnancy.
Early Miscarriage
On rare occasions, at 10 weeks, spotting or bleeding may be a sign of an early miscarriage. An early miscarriage is a pregnancy loss that occur before the 3rd month of pregnancy. Symptoms of early miscarriages at 10 weeks pregnant include:
- Heavy bleeding
- Cramping
- Abdominal Pain
- Back pain
- A discharge of tissue from your vagina
- A discharge of fluid from your vagina
- No longer experiencing usual pregnancy symptoms
If you suspect that you might be having a miscarriage, you should consult your nearest early pregnancy unit at your local hospital or A&E as soon as possible.
Some women may experience a threatened miscarriage- which is where bleeding occurs throughout the pregnancy, but the pregnancy remains healthy. It is important to remember that many pregnant women who experience bleeding during pregnancy still go on to have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby.
Ectopic Pregnancy
If you are experiencing spotting at week 10, or light bleeding at 10 weeks pregnant, on rare occasions it may be due to an ectopic pregnancy. Ectopic pregnancies are when the egg is fertilised outside of the womb- typically within a fallopian tube. Ectopic pregnancies are serious and life threatening.
Symptoms of an Ectopic Pregnancy include:
- Pain on one side of your tummy
- Pain in the tip of your shoulder
- Vaginal bleeding
- Discomfort when urinating or having a bowel movement
Cervical Softening
During pregnancy, your cervix softens due to the increase of blood supply to the cervix. This can cause the cervix to become easily irritated and bleed.
Cervical irritation can occur after sexual intercourse and cause bleeding. This is called “post-coital bleeding”.
If you regularly experience pain after sexual intercourse, then you should consult your healthcare provider, as this may be a sign of an issue.
Infection
Vaginal infections can cause vaginal bleeding in women who are pregnant and those who are not.
Symptoms of vaginal infections include:
- Itching
- Vaginal Bleeding
- Redness of the vagina
- Swelling of the vulva
- Discharge that is yellow, green or grey in colour
- Discharge that is clumpy or thick
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a common infection that can be treated easily.
Bacterial vaginosis can increase your risk of your baby being born prematurely, or having a low birth weight, so it is important that you seek treatment.
STIs can also cause a variety of serious issues if passed onto the baby. These include:
- Eye infection
- Low birth weight
- Deafness
- Blindness
- Brain damage
- Pneumonia
- Meningitis
- Stillbirth
- Lack of body coordination skills
- Acute hepatitis
- Chronic liver disease
- Infection of the baby’s blood
If you believe that you may have a vaginal or sexually transmitted infection, you should contact your healthcare provider, who will be able to prescribe the appropriate treatment.
Cervical Polyps
Cervical polyps are fleshy mounds or growths of tissue that grow within the passage that connects the uterus to the vagina.
Bloody discharge at 10 weeks pregnant may be due to the cervical polyps bleeding.
Cervical polyps may have no identifying symptoms, or they may present the following symptoms:
- Recurent vaginal bleeding
- Infection
- Discharge
- Premature labor
- Chorioamnionitis
- Increased bleeding during labour
The majority of time, cervical polyps will not impact your pregnancy.
However, there is some evidence that suggests that removing the cervical polyps during the first trimester of pregnancy can increase your risk of “spontaneous preterm birth or late abortion” (nsago, 2021).
Uterine Infections
Like vaginal infections, uterine infections can, at 10 weeks pregnant, cause vaginal light bleeding.
Uterine infections can be dangerous during pregnancy and potentially harm the developing baby and placenta, cause premature labour and lead to birth abnormalities.
Uterine infections may also cause labour itself to be more dangerous- increasing your chances of organ failure during labour.
Treatment of uterine infections include antibiotics, to help fight the infection, and even hospitalisation.
Symptoms of a uterine infection include the following:
- Fever
- Chills
- Paleness
- Headache
- Loss of appetite
- Pain in the lower abdomen or pelvis
- Fever
References
nsago.com (2021) Cervical Polyps During Pregnancy [Online] Available at: <https://nsago.com/cervical-polyps-during-pregnancy/>
My name is Louise and I am the Digital Marketing and Administrative Assistant at MyBump2Baby. I have been writing in the parenting niche for over 2 years specialising in fertility, pregnancy, baby and baby name support articles.