Spotting during sex in early pregnancy

Pregnancy changes the cervix and increases blood flow to nearby tissue. Contact during sex can therefore produce light pink or brown spotting. Other explanations include vaginal irritation, infection, or a pregnancy complication. The timing after sex may suggest irritation, but it cannot prove the cause. Note the amount, colour, duration, cramps, and whether symptoms continue after sex.

Chlamydia can cause bleeding after contact and may have few symptoms. Conditions such as Cervical Dysplasia or Cervical Cancer can also present with unusual bleeding, although pregnancy-related causes and irritation are considered in context. A symptom does not diagnose a condition.

Tell your midwife, obstetric clinician, or doctor about the bleeding. Use a pad to monitor it, avoid tampons, and pause penetrative sex until you have received advice or the bleeding has stopped. Keep your pregnancy dates and details of recent examinations available. Do not take a new medicine for cramps or bleeding without checking that it is suitable in pregnancy.

Seek urgent care for heavy or worsening bleeding, severe or one-sided pain, shoulder-tip pain, dizziness, fainting, fever, or marked weakness. Contact your pregnancy service promptly if spotting continues, returns, or comes with clots or increasing cramps, even if the initial episode was light.

Ask whether you need an examination, infection testing, blood tests, or an ultrasound. Ask when sex may resume, what bleeding pattern is acceptable to monitor, and which service to call overnight or at weekends.