Understanding Spotting and Cramping in Early Pregnancy: 2nd Trimester Concerns

Question
Hi. I'm currently 20.4 weeks pregnant with my first child. Monday I went into the doctor after speaking with her over the phone due to having pink spotting. I'd had brown spotting for a week prior to that. She listened to the baby's heartbeat, which was normal, did a urine test, also normal, and said that my cervix was right as it should be. About 24 hours ago (after this)I started experiencing cramping very low in my abdomen which I attributed to gas. After walking around, drinking a lot of water, and taking Gas-X, the strange pains still seem to come and go. I had a minor bit of pink spotting again today. Is this normal at this stage of pregnancy? My doctor told me not to worry unless I had cramps or the bleeding was heavy. Thanks for any input you might have!

Answer
Your doctor is correct. Unless you have severe cramps and heavy bleeding, you do not need to worry. Sometimes, udring pregnancy, you will have an occasional spotting. This can be due to "subchorionic bleed" in the folds of the placenta and does not interfere with the pregnancy or harm the baby. It could also be "old blooe" that is being forced out of the uterus by the growing fetus. As long as it is not bright red and heavy, don't worry.