Bleeding a week after period is a frustrating and stressful experience since you don’t have any idea why they would occur between periods. Perhaps your period has ended in the past week but then you found out you’re spotting again. Perhaps this is the first time you’ve experienced blooding or spotting after your period or it could be the second or third time that you notice you’re bleeding again. Whether bleeding or spotting between periods occurred to you for the first time or in frequent occasions, still it is a frightening experience.

Causes of Bleeding a Week After Period

1. Old Blood

If you notice brown spotting a week or two after your monthly period, it would often mean that some amount of tissue and menstrual blood were not properly expelled out of your body. Since they could still be inside the uterus, they need to be discharged in a form of spotting even after your period has ended.

2. Infection

Bacterial infections (Bacterial vaginosis) and yeast infections (Candida albicans) are two of the most common infections that occur in women. These infections often expel colored spotting with foul smell a few days after period. While they are not the main cause, they may have an effect to abnormal bleeding or discharge, which is often mistook as spotting.

3. Deep Penetration During Intercourse

Deeper penetration during a vigorous or rough sexual contact could lead to very light bleeding and may sometimes create physical injury. It can cause bruises to the cervix which is usually accompanied with pain.

4. Unregulated Menstrual Cycle

Untimely bleeding or bleeding a week after period often happens to teenage girls while their bodies try to get accustomed to their menstruation. It may last for a couple of months or years until they are able to adjust to their menstrual pattern.

5. Oral Contraceptives

Birth control pills that contain hormones can trigger some effects on women’s normal body functioning. Thus, women who have started or just discontinued using oral contraceptives may experience bleeding a week after their menstruation. As their body attempts to get accustomed to the elevated levels of hormones, the pills may delay or quicken menstrual cycles. Thereafter, the spotting or bleeding may cease.

6. Polyps

Polyps are non-cancerous cells that grow in the uterus. Sometimes, some of these polyps burst and lead to bleeding or spotting.

7. Uterine Fibroids

Most uterine fibroids are mild. Sometimes this condition leads to bleeding a week after period or in other occasions. However, be wary if fibroids grow larger because they should be removed immediately.

What to Do

If you experience spotting once or twice a week after your menstruation, consider it normal. However, should you have spotting after your period at repeated or frequent instances, it is best to consult a health practitioner for treatment.

If spotting is associated to extreme stress, medication, yoga and meditation are good suggestions. For those suffering higher levels of stress, they can be eased by having enough sleep and rest.

Women who are taking birth control pills and experience bleeding a week after period are also required to get medical help. Doctors can conduct test to determine if the pills have contributed to abnormal bleeding. He or she may also recommend a change of brand or a birth control alternative.

What Should You Know About Bleeding After Period?

• Spotting lightly after your period does not always mean you are pregnant. Most women thought its implantation spotting but it’s not. In fact, implantation spotting does not occur after your period, it happens a week before your menstruation.
• Women can positively conceive a baby only after ovulation and successful fertilization. The process occurs ten days after their menstrual cycle. Thus, the possibility of getting pregnant right after you have your monthly period is too low.
• Spotting a week after your period cannot be linked to early miscarriage. Unlike spotting, miscarriage is always accompanied with excessive bleeding and cramps.