Bleeding after sex: could I be pregnant?

A home test is most useful from the day your period is due. If your cycle timing is unclear, test about three weeks after the unprotected sex in question. A negative result taken too early may need repeating after several days.

Bleeding triggered by penetration is called postcoital bleeding. Friction, vaginal dryness, a small surface injury, inflammation of the cervix, a cervical polyp, or an infection such as chlamydia can cause it. During pregnancy, increased blood flow can make cervical tissue bleed more readily after contact.

Bleeding after sex can also occur with cervical cell changes and, less commonly, cervical or vaginal cancer. The symptom alone cannot identify the cause, so recurrent or unexplained episodes deserve assessment even if the amount is small.

Pause penetrative sex until the bleeding has stopped, and note whether it happens again, how much blood you see, and whether there is pain, unusual discharge, odour, or burning when passing urine. Arrange a pregnancy test if relevant.

Book a clinician visit if bleeding recurs, happens without an obvious minor injury, continues between periods, or occurs after menopause. Assessment may include a pregnancy test, examination of the vagina and cervix, infection testing, and checking whether cervical screening is due.

Seek urgent medical care for heavy or increasing bleeding, severe or one-sided pelvic pain, shoulder-tip pain, fainting, marked dizziness, weakness, fever, or feeling acutely unwell. These warning signs matter whether or not you have taken a pregnancy test.

If a pregnancy test is positive and you have bleeding with pain, dizziness, faintness, or shoulder-tip pain, urgent assessment is needed to rule out an ectopic pregnancy.

Ask whether the timing of your pregnancy test makes the result reliable, whether infection testing or a pelvic examination is appropriate, and whether your cervical screening is current. Mention contraception, missed periods, recent new sexual partners, vaginal dryness, discharge, and any pelvic pain because these details guide the examination and tests.