Brown (or pink) discharge for a couple of days around the time of your period can also be an early sign of pregnancy — and it’s often one many women don’t notice (or even have). It’s caused by implantation bleeding, which occurs when a fertilized egg attaches itself to the uterine lining (usually five to 10 days after conception).
Whether or not you’re pregnant, in rare cases brown discharge can be a sign of a more serious issue — though you’ll almost always notice other symptoms there’s a problem. For instance, if brown discharge is due to a cervical infection like pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), you may also experience pain in the abdomen or during sex, fever, an unusual smelling vaginal discharge or burning during urination. Another possibility is an ovarian cyst, a fluid-filled sac that forms on or inside an ovary. It’s benign in the majority of cases; in addition to brown discharge, it may cause abdominal pain or pressure, a dull ache in the lower back and thighs, and pain during sex and your period (though often ovarian cysts don’t cause any symptoms; cysts are usually detected by ultrasound). Brown discharge due to PCOS, a hormonal imbalance, may be accompanied by excessive hair growth, acne and weight gain. The most serious possible reason for brown discharge is cervical cancer, though the National Cancer Institute estimates just 0.7 percent of women will be diagnosed with this condition in their lifetimes. In this very unlikely scenario, the discharge would be accompanied by pain during sex and bleeding afterward, heavier or longer periods and bleeding between periods.
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