What should you know about minor bleeding during pregnancy?

Spotting can appear as pink, brown, or red blood on toilet paper or underwear. It may happen after sex, after an examination, or when the cervix is more sensitive during pregnancy. Other causes include changes around the pregnancy, infection, miscarriage, or a pregnancy developing outside the womb. The colour and amount alone cannot identify the cause.

Bleeding can occur with or without pain. Keep track of when it started, how much you see, its colour, and whether you have cramps, dizziness, fever, shoulder pain, or fluid leakage. Your maternity team may ask about your stage of pregnancy, blood group, previous pregnancies, and recent intercourse or procedures.

Contact your obstetric or maternity service promptly, even when the bleeding is light or has stopped. Use a pad rather than a tampon so you can observe the amount, and avoid putting anything in the vagina until a clinician advises you. Rest if you feel unwell, drink fluids, and do not drive yourself if you are dizzy or faint.

Assessment may include questions, an examination, urine or blood tests, and an ultrasound depending on your pregnancy stage and symptoms. Do not assume that bleeding confirms a miscarriage or that it is harmless; the same symptom can arise from different causes.

Go to emergency care for heavy or increasing bleeding, severe or one-sided abdominal pain, shoulder-tip pain, fainting, marked dizziness, fever, or feeling suddenly very unwell. Seek urgent assessment for bleeding with pain because an ectopic pregnancy can threaten your health and needs rapid evaluation. Call emergency services if you collapse or cannot reach maternity care safely.

Ask what amount of bleeding should trigger a return call, whether you need blood-group testing or an ultrasound, and which activities to pause. Ask how to recognise an [Ectopic Pregnancy](/conditions/ectopic-pregnancy/) and when your next review should happen.