Implantation Discharge After Conception: What does it looks Like?
While in the clinic some days back, I met a young lady with her husband. They wanted to know what implantation discharge after conception looks like.
She has been trying to conceive for years now, and surprisingly, she noticed a brown discharge that lasted for about a week.
As expected, she thought she was pregnant. However, after carrying out some investigations, we identified that she was not pregnant but had a fibroid.
If you are trying to conceive, I’ve put together this guide to understand what implantation discharge after conception looks like. Is it whitish, yellowish, brownish, reddish, or greenish?
How long should you experience implantation discharge? What other sign of pregnancy will you experience if you are pregnant? And then, possible other reasons you have a brown or red discharge when you are not pregnant.
So, to easily identify implantation discharge, it is crucial you go through this guide. Let me know if you have questions below. Hopefully, I will help.
What is implantation?
But first, before trying to discuss what implantation discharge looks like and the color, it is important you understand what implantation means.
Think about your body as a complex place with fertile organs. These organs are your reproductive organs that are necessary for you to have a baby
In a woman, the reproductive organs are the ovaries, fallopian tube, uterus, cervix, and the vagina. Without these organs, it is difficult to have a baby.
Not just that, if you have a problem with any of these organs, it becomes difficult for you to conceive. Take, for instance, If you have a problem with the uterus like a fibroid, it may reduce your chances of conception.
However, if your reproductive organs are working optimally, ovulation, fertilization, and implantation will occur when due.
Now, After you’ve had intercourse in your fertile period, sperm transports itself all through your reproductive tract until it gets to the fallopian tube.
Right there, Fertilization occurs. Fertilization means the sperm fuses with the egg released during ovulation forming a tiny baby called an embryo. Without implantation, even after fertilization, you are not pregnant.
So, after fertilization, the embryo is taken back into your womb and fixed into the uterus where it starts growing.
This process is called implantation and must happen if you must get pregnant.
The concept of implantation bleeding?
While all women will need to have implantation before getting pregnant, not all women will experience implantation bleeding.
First of all, implantation happens in the uterus. The uterus is one of the female reproductive organs. It is situated just inside your hip bone.
There are three layers of the uterus: the endometrium, myometrium, and the perimetrium. The endometrium is the most inside layer of the uterus and its the layer that houses the fertilized embryo.
Just before implantation happens, due to hormonal influence, there is thickening and increased blood supply to the endometrium.
So, when the baby finally burrows into the endometrium, it causes bleeding. This bleeding is called implantation bleeding.
What does implantation discharge look like?
After implantation finally happens, there are different signs you should notice. One of those signs is change to the texture and color of your discharge.
Discharge after implantation is watery, milky, and slightly excessive. You may notice that your discharge has a mild odor but not foul smelling.
At this point, you may or may not be experiencing other signs of pregnancy (discussed later in this article)
So, how will implantation discharge look like?
White discharge after implantation
For over 70 to 80 percent of women that get pregnant, discharge after implantation is whitish. That is, it looks white, excessive, non-smelly, not itchy, and a little bit slimy.
When you get pregnant, your hormones, specifically estrogen and progesterone, spikes resulting in an increased secretion of cervical mucus.
This change causes women to experience a slightly heavier discharge, and so, its nothing abnormal.
Hence, if you are expecting, this type of discharge just before your period could indicate you are already pregnant.
Brown implantation discharge
As previously mentioned, not all women will have implantation bleeding. If you do, you will experience a change in the color of your discharge.
Implantation discharge is brownish, jelly-like, and may have a mild odor. This brown color only lasts for about a few days.
So, if you are having spotting for over weeks, it is not implantation. You should see your doctor.
Other colors of implantation bleeding are discussed here.
What other signs will I experience?
Besides implantation discharge that may be white, brown, red, or pink, you could have other signs of pregnancy even before you’ve missed your period.
The most common complaint is breast pain. Right before your period, it is not abnormal for ladies to get pain in both of their breast. This happens because of the spike of progesterone that occurs around the last week of your menstrual cycle.
During pregnancy, ladies will continue to have pain in their breasts too. This is because progesterone level will remain high and cause changes to your breast.
Another sign of pregnancy is a high, soft cervix. This is not reliable, but during pregnancy, if you’ve regularly examined your cervix, you will notice it is soft and slightly up in your vaginal canal.
Other signs of pregnancy you should watch out for are back pain, implantation cramps, vomiting, nausea, mood swing, fatigue, and restlessness.
What else could it be?
Not all brown or white discharge mean implantation. Here are other possible causes of brown discharge
- Uterine fibroid
- Vaginal infections
- Ovulation bleeding
- contraceptive use
- Yeast infection
- Vaginal tear after sexual activity
