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Ask A Midwife

Q. I'm about 6 weeks pregnant and have had some brown spotting and cramping. Can you please tell what this could possibly be?

Thank you,
Donna

A. Hi Donna:

Brown spotting and cramping can be anything from an irritated cervix from an exam, a vaginal infection, or an early sign of miscarriage. If it persists, check with your health care provider. They will want to check and see if you have a viable pregnancy. At this point in the game, one in 3 to one in 5 pregnancies aren't viable, and women will miscarry. There would be nothing you could do to prevent this. There are other conditions not so serious that might be causing this, but this can only be determined by an exam. Please check with your health care provider.

Pat Sonnenstuhl is a semi-retired nurse midwife with over 30 years of experience in health care (first as an RN, then as an ARNP, CNM). She has experience with hospital nursing/midwifery and home and birth center midwifery.

Two areas of special interest to her are GBS and nutrition.

She is about empowerment, and helping folks find their own answers, what is right for them, not what is right for her. But, she wants you well informed.