Types of spotting during pregnancy

Light spotting may occur when the cervix is sensitive, including after sex or an examination. Infection, cervical dysplasia, cervical polyps, and cervical cancer can also cause bleeding and need appropriate assessment. Pregnancy-related causes vary with gestational stage, so colour alone cannot identify the cause.

Bleeding that is accompanied by pelvic pain, one-sided pain, shoulder-tip pain, fever, dizziness, or tissue passing needs prompt clinical attention. Uterine fibroids and other conditions can contribute to bleeding, while bleeding between periods is a symptom description rather than a diagnosis.

Contact your maternity team or clinician and describe when it started, its colour and amount, whether it followed sex or an examination, and any pain or other symptoms. Use a pad so you can observe the bleeding; avoid inserting anything into the vagina until you have received advice. Do not rely on spotting colour to decide that assessment is unnecessary.

The assessment may include questions, examination, pregnancy checks, blood tests, or ultrasound. Treatment depends on the cause. A clinician may also consider infections such as chlamydia or changes in the cervix.

Seek urgent care for heavy or increasing bleeding, severe or one-sided abdominal pain, faintness, collapse, shoulder-tip pain, fever, or feeling very unwell. These warning signs can occur with pregnancy complications and should be judged by urgency, not by how common a cause may be. If you are unsure, call your maternity service for immediate guidance.

Ask what the bleeding may represent at your stage of pregnancy, which tests are needed, whether your blood group affects management, and which activities to pause. Ask exactly when to return and what amount of bleeding, pain, or new symptom should trigger emergency care.