What counts as spotting?
Spotting is when you notice small amounts of blood outside your period: a few drops on a liner, pink or brown traces when you wipe. It's different from a period, which is heavier and lasts several days.
Spotting is often harmless, but it shouldn't be ignored. The NHS is clear: any unusual bleeding between periods or after sex should be checked by a GP or sexual health clinic. This article isn't meant to worry you, but to help you understand possible causes and know when to get checked.
Common causes
Hormonal contraception
This is one of the most common causes. According to the NHS, bleeding between periods ("breakthrough bleeding") or changes to your periods are common in the first few months of the combined pill. Missed pills, problems with patches or rings, and taking emergency contraception can also cause bleeding. If it continues beyond three months and bothers you, the NHS suggests speaking to a pharmacist or doctor: a different pill or regimen may help.
Ovulation
Some women have light bleeding mid-cycle, around ovulation. Cleveland Clinic explains that estrogen drops just after ovulation, which can cause a small amount of the uterine lining to shed. This spotting is very light, pink to light red, sometimes brown, and usually lasts one to two days. It's a minority experience: about 8% of women according to Cleveland Clinic, and 4.8% of participants in the BioCycle Study, which tracked 201 regularly menstruating women day by day.
Early pregnancy
The NHS lists among early signs of pregnancy a bleed similar to a very light period, with some spotting, around the time your period is due — known as implantation bleeding. If in doubt, a pregnancy test will clarify things.
Polyps, fibroids and infections
The NHS also lists small growths in or around the womb, such as polyps or fibroids, and sexually transmitted infections such as chlamydia. Cleveland Clinic adds other infections (yeast infections, bacterial vaginosis) and issues with the uterine lining. After sex, bleeding can also come from cervical ectropion, a cervical polyp or vaginal dryness.
When to see a doctor
The NHS recommends seeing a GP or going to a sexual health clinic if you bleed between periods or after sex — especially if it's new, unexplained or recurring. It notes that such bleeding can sometimes be a sign of cancer: that's rare, but it's exactly why it's better to get unusual bleeding checked than to wait.
- Urgently: if you've missed a period, have unusual bleeding and pain in your tummy or lower tummy. The NHS says this could be a sign of an ectopic pregnancy. Call emergency services if pain is severe, you feel faint, or bleeding is heavy.
- Soon: bleeding after sex, repeated bleeding between periods, or bleeding with unusual discharge, fever or pain.
- At a routine appointment: spotting on the pill lasting beyond three months, or periods becoming heavy.
What happens at the appointment
According to the NHS, a doctor or nurse will ask about your symptoms and medical history and may offer a pregnancy test, a blood test, STI testing (urine or vaginal swab) and an examination of your vagina and cervix. If needed, you may be referred for an ultrasound or a more specialized test.
You'll make the appointment far more useful by bringing a few precise details: when in your cycle the bleeding happens, how long it lasts, its color and amount, whether it follows sex, and what contraception you use.
Logging spotting with Luteal
In Luteal, you can record light bleeding outside your period and see it placed in your cycle. You'll see, for example, whether spotting always returns mid-cycle or appears irregularly — useful information to share with your clinician. Cleveland Clinic itself notes that tracking when spotting happens helps you and your provider understand what's going on.
Luteal is a tracking and wellness tool: it doesn't diagnose and doesn't replace a medical exam. If your cycles are irregular too, our guide to tracking irregular periods may help, as may our article on normal cycle length.
