Spotting in Early Pregnancy: Causes and What to Expect

Question
I am 25 years old and had my last period on January 11th.  I am told I am about 8 weeks along so far.  I have been spotting brown and red for the last two weeks.  My Dr. did a sonogram and found a sac but nothing inside it.  He said I just might not be as far along as he thought. He then noticed that it had a small tear from the wall and told me that was most likely the cause of bleeding.  However, that was a week ago and I am still spotting brown. Sometimes lots of it.  Never enough to go on a panty liner and only when I wipe.  

My question is, could this be a miscarriage taking a really long time.  There is rarely red blood and I dont have terrible cramps.  But, I can't help but be scared I am going to have one.  I t is like Im waiting for it.  I have been on bed and couch rest for over a week now and am just so frustrated with the lack of knowing.

Answer
Any time that you have bleeding after a positive pregnancy test, you have to first rule out the possibility of a miscarriage. A miscarriage usually is accompanied by heavy red blood and cramps. Brownish spotting is usually merely some "old" blood that is being pushed out of the uterus by the growing fetus. If your last period started on January 11, you should now be 7 weeks 6 days and you should see a fetus and a fetal heartbeat on sonogram. If you do not see anything except an empty gestational sac, you are either earlier than you thought or you have had a blighted ovum (miscarriage). This occurs in 15-20% of every pregnancy. There is nothing you can do to cause a miscarriage and the there is nothing you can do to prevent a miscarriage. I would suggest that you repeat the sonogram in one week. If you still only see an empty gestational sac with no fetus, it probably is a non-viable pregnancy.