What is spotting

There are several reasons you might experience spotting before your period. Many of these causes can be effectively treated or dealt with. Hormonal birth control pills , patches, injections, rings, and implants can all cause spotting between periods. Sometimes, birth control is used to treat abnormal bleeding between periods. About 3 percent of women experience spotting related to ovulation. Ovulation spotting is light bleeding that occurs around the time in your menstrual cycle when your ovary releases an egg.

For many women, this can be anywhere between 11 days and 21 days after the first day of your last period. Ovulation spotting may be light pink or red in color, and will last for about 1 to 2 days in the middle of your cycle.

Other signs and symptoms of ovulation may include:. Implantation spotting may occur when a fertilized egg attaches to the inner lining of your uterus. If it does occur, implantation spotting happens a few days before your next period should occur. Spotting during pregnancy is not uncommon. About 15 to 25 percent of women will experience spotting during their first trimester.

The bleeding is often light, and the color may be pink, red, or brown. If you experience heavy bleeding or pelvic pain, contact your doctor right away. This could be a sign of miscarriage or an ectopic tubal pregnancy. This transitional time is called perimenopause. During perimenopause, your periods become more irregular, and you may experience some spotting.

Polyps are small abnormal tissue growths that can occur in a number of places, including the cervix and uterus. Most polyps are benign, or noncancerous. Your doctor can easily see cervical polyps during a routine pelvic exam. If they do need to be removed, removal is generally easy and not painful. Uterine polyps can only be seen on imaging tests like ultrasounds. These polyps most commonly occur in people who have finished menopause.

Sexually transmitted infections STIs , such as chlamydia or gonorrhea , can cause spotting between periods or after sex. Other symptoms of STIs include:. Contact your doctor if you suspect an STI. Many STIs can be treated with minimal complications when caught early. Abnormal bleeding between periods is a common symptom of pelvic inflammatory disease PID.

You can develop PID if bacteria spreads from your vagina to your uterus, fallopian tubes, or ovaries. If you experience any signs of an infection or PID, see your doctor. Many infections can be successfully treated with the right therapies. Read on to learn about them. The birth control pill introduces different hormones into your system. Learn how this may affect your menstrual cycle. Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Is It Spotting or a Period?

Risk factors. Medically reviewed by Euna Chi, M. Read this next. Medically reviewed by Deborah Weatherspoon, Ph. Medically reviewed by Debra Sullivan, Ph. Medically reviewed by Debra Rose Wilson, Ph. This includes spotting that lasts across several cycles, or that is accompanied by:. About a week after a sperm fertilizes an egg, the egg must implant in the uterus. Sometimes this causes light bleeding known as implantation bleeding.

The bleeding typically only lasts a day or two and occurs around a week after ovulation. Hormonal contraceptives, including birth control pills and hormonal shots and implants, can cause spotting. Spotting may change over time, occur intermittently, or follow a predictable pattern. If spotting begins several months after starting contraceptives, with no previous spotting, it may point to an underlying problem and the woman should visit her doctor.

Breast-feeding suppresses ovulation, particularly if the baby is exclusively breast-fed. It is important to know that ovulation will occur about 2 weeks before the first period, so it is possible to get pregnant while breast-feeding.

However, many women who are breast-feeding experience spotting. Hormonal shifts related to breast-feeding can cause spotting. Hormonal changes that occur as the body prepares to ovulate for the first time after childbirth may also trigger spotting. An injury to the vagina, cervix, or uterus may cause abnormal bleeding. Rough sexual intercourse or a PAP test , for example, can irritate the cervix or vaginal tissue and cause bleeding. However, unexplained bleeding that is heavy or accompanied by pain can be a medical emergency.

About half of women who experience bleeding during pregnancy will have a miscarriage. In some cases, bleeding is the first sign that a woman is pregnant. Very early miscarriages may even be mistaken for unusually heavy menstrual periods. Some sexually transmitted infections STIs can cause abnormal vaginal bleeding that looks like spotting. Gonorrhea is a common culprit, and may also cause unusual discharge or burning during urination.

Pelvic inflammatory disease PID is a type of chronic pelvic inflammation caused by an infection. Women with PID can experience infertility if symptoms go untreated. PID often causes spotting, particularly after intercourse. It can also cause pelvic pain. Although rare, spotting may be a symptom of cancer. Types of cancer that can cause spotting include:.

Spotting is often accompanied by pain and other symptoms and can last several months. Symptoms may get better and then worse, or get progressively worse.