Pregnant and bleeding after sex

Bleeding after sex can be caused by menopausal side effects or it can be the sign of a more serious condition that will require medical attention. Vaginal bleeding after sex is also called postcoital bleeding and can be caused by:. Vaginal bleeding during sex can be caused by many of the same things that can cause bleeding after sex. These include infection, vaginal trauma due to dryness, cervical polyps, menopause, and cancer. However, there are some other conditions that can cause bleeding during sex specifically. These can include:.

Vaginal bleeding occurs in 15 percent to 25 percent of pregnancies, usually in the first trimester, but blood flow can appear on and off throughout your term. As scary as it looks, even copious bleeding in expectant moms can be normal. One study found that half of women with bleeding profuse enough to send them to the emergency room went on to have healthy pregnancies. Chances are, bleeding after sex means your pregnancy is going along fairly normally. Light to medium vaginal bleeding can be a sign of implantation , especially during the first trimester, or it could be the result of natural changes to your cervix. More rarely, heavy bleeding can be a sign of miscarriage or an ectopic pregnancy. The bleeding itself is rarely anything to worry about, but you should check with your practitioner to identify the cause.

After a love-making session with your partner, it can be frightening to discover you are spotting or bleeding after sex during pregnancy. A thick, protective mucus plug seals the cervix and your baby is surrounded by the warm, amniotic fluid in the amniotic sac. If you have a history of miscarriage, your midwife or doctor may have advised you to hold off with intercourse during the first trimester, just to be safe.

Back to Your pregnancy and baby guide. In early pregnancy, you might get some harmless light bleeding, called "spotting". This is when the developing embryo plants itself in the wall of your womb. This type of bleeding often happens around the time your period would have been due.