Spotting in the first week of pregnancy

Light pink or brown marks can occur when the cervix is more sensitive, including after sex or an examination. Bleeding can also happen around the time a period was expected, but spotting alone cannot confirm that a pregnancy is developing normally or explain every cause.

Other possibilities include hormonal changes, irritation, infection, or a pregnancy-related problem. An infection such as Chlamydia may cause bleeding between periods or after sex, sometimes with unusual discharge or pelvic discomfort. A clinician may consider the pregnancy timing, bleeding pattern, pain, examination findings, and testing together.

Note the colour, amount, timing, clots, and any cramps. Use a pad rather than a tampon so you can observe the flow. If pregnancy is possible but unconfirmed, take a home test when appropriate and arrange clinical advice about the result and your symptoms. Avoid sex until bleeding has settled if it increases the bleeding or discomfort.

For background on bleeding outside a period, see [Bleeding Between Periods](/symptoms/bleeding-between-periods/). Persistent or repeated bleeding may prompt assessment for cervical changes, polyps, fibroids, or other conditions; these findings do not by themselves establish a serious diagnosis.

Seek urgent medical help for heavy bleeding, severe or one-sided abdominal pain, shoulder-tip pain, fainting, marked weakness, or dizziness. These symptoms can signal a problem that needs immediate assessment, including ectopic pregnancy or significant blood loss. Contact a maternity or primary-care service promptly for any bleeding in pregnancy that continues, returns, becomes brighter or heavier, or occurs with fever or pelvic pain.

Ask whether you need a pregnancy test, blood tests, an ultrasound, or an examination; what result would change the next step; and which symptoms should send you to urgent care. Tell the clinician the first day of your last period, whether pregnancy was confirmed, and any medicines or recent procedures.