Vaginal bleeding during pregnancy is most often associated with complications of pregnancy including miscarriage but there is one type of bleeding which is completely normal – implantation bleeding. It is one of the earliest signs of pregnancy and is relatively common. About 20 to 30 percent of pregnant women are estimated to experience this type of vaginal bleeding. Implantation bleeding is related to conception. It is thought to be caused by the blood leaking from the fertilized egg after it implants into the wall of the uterus. It occurs about 6 to 12 days after conception and typically causes light bleeding or spotting which usually lasts from a few hours to a couple of days. It is difficult to mistake the bleeding that is caused by implantation of the fertilized egg with the menstrual period because it is much lighter than the normal menstrual flow and typically occurs earlier. However, it may be hard to tell what is causing vaginal bleeding if it occurs around the time you expect your menstrual period. Considering that most women ovulate about 14 days before their next menstrual period and that bleeding caused by implantation of the fertilized egg occurs 6 to 12 days after conception, it is not impossible to confuse it with an early period.

Other symptoms of implantation bleeding such as abdominal cramping are not helpful either because they are experienced by many women just before they are about to start their menstrual period. However, if vaginal bleeding is not caused by implantation of the fertilized egg, it will get heavier within a day or two. Another way to distinguish pregnancy-triggered bleeding from the normal menstrual flow is the color of the blood. If vaginal bleeding is caused by implantation of the fertilized egg, it will be either pinkish or brown in contrary to fresh-colored blood in menstrual flow.

If you experienced vaginal bleeding a few days before your menstrual period and if it was significantly lighter than the normal menstrual flow, there is a great chance that you are pregnant. But if it occurred around the time of your menstrual period, it is not impossible that you only had a lighter menstrual period. The best way to determine is to take a pregnancy test. It is highly accurate and can be easily found in just about every drugstore. However, make sure to take the test at least seven days after the “abnormal“ menstrual period because you may not get an accurate result if you take the test too early. In fact, it can give you a negative result even if you are pregnant.

In case the pregnancy test is positive, there is no need to worry about vaginal bleeding because the bleeding that is caused by implantation of the fertilized egg is completely harmless and cannot hurt your baby nor affect his or her development. However, make sure to make an appointment at your doctor as soon as possible to confirm pregnancy and start prenatal care.

Related Stories:

First Week Pregnancy Symptoms If you would like to know what are first week pregnancy symptoms,...

Sportime aDOORable Swing Bar aDOORable Swing Bar Recalled by Sportime Due to Fall Hazard The...

Symptoms of Infertility Symptoms of infertility often go unnoticed until women are actually...

BOB Navy Revolution Stroller If your baby loves to see the zoo, the park or just loves to...