Bleeding or spotting can occur at any time during your cycle, regardless of your period. It is a light (but sometimes also heavier), mostly brownish-reddish discharge.
What can be the causes of interstitial bleeding?
The causes of bleeding between periods can be varied, but they are often hormonal. A brief drop in hormones can cause light bleeding outside of your period. When your hormone levels return to normal, the spotting will stop on its own. In addition to hormonal causes, there may also be organic causes, e.g. tumors, fibroids, infections or inflammations. Or there may have been mechanical triggers for a short period of bleeding, such as sex. Small injuries of the endometrium or the vaginal mucosa can also lead to intermittent bleeding.
Spotting can also occur with too much stress, hypothyroidism, medication and endometriosis. If you have recurrent spotting, you should always have it checked out by your gynecologist. We have summarized the most common hormonal causes of spotting for you.
Ovulation bleeding
Immediately after ovulation, the estrogen level drops while the progesterone level rises. This can result in a short period of bleeding around the time of ovulation. It is also thought that blood or other fluids from the follicle may be secreted due to the expulsion of the egg during ovulation. If you notice ovulation bleeding in you, however, this is no reason to worry! With OvulaRing you can always keep a close eye on your ovulation and the fertile phase and can correctly interpret this brief bleeding.
Yellow body weakness
If the corpus luteum is weak, ovulation does occur, but the remaining corpus luteum does not produce enough progesterone. This sometimes leads to bleeding during the second phase of the cycle. Even if your second cycle phase is often < 10 days, this can be an indication of luteal insufficiency.
If you have a luteal insufficiency, your uterine lining does not build up sufficiently due to the lack of progesterone. This can make it difficult or even impossible for a fertilized egg to implant. This means that you do not become pregnant despite ovulation. Alternatively, implantation may take place under unfavorable hormonal conditions, resulting in an early termination of pregnancy. Once detected, however, luteal insufficiency can be treated very well.
With OvulaRing you can determine whether your second half of the cycle is permanently shortened, regardless of any bleeding that may occur. If this is the case, you should see your gynecologist.
Implantation bleeding
The implantation of the embryo can sometimes cause small injuries in the uterine lining. In some women, this causes a weak, short, bright red bleeding. This occurs about 7-10 days after ovulation. Gynecologists also refer to this as nidation or implantation bleeding. This bleeding can be stronger or weaker from implantation to implantation. In most women, however, the bleeding is so light that it does not come out of the vagina at all and is therefore not noticed. It is therefore not a bad sign if you do not notice the implantation. The implantation bleeding occurs rather rarely. It is assumed that the bleeding occurs in only 30% of women.
By the way: Just because the time between ovulation and a (bright red) bleeding is shorter than 14 days, does not automatically mean that it is an implantation bleeding. If you have luteal insufficiency, for example, your second cycle phase is only 10 days long and then you will have a period. It is therefore important to know the length of your second cycle phase before the pregnancy cycle so that you can interpret the bleeding correctly. With OvulaRing you can determine the length of your second cycle phases very accurately and super easy.
During puberty and menopause
During puberty and menopause, hormones are not yet or no longer in balance. In short, the hormonal balance is subject to major changes. This hormonal imbalance can easily lead to intermenstrual bleeding. Spotting during menopause can also occur independently of the menstrual cycle.
With the Pill, IUDs & Co.
Hormonal contraceptives such as the pill can cause spotting, especially at the beginning of use, due to the added hormones estrogen and progestin. This is especially the case if the dose of estrogen in the pill is too low. Intermittent bleeding can also occur with progestogen-only preparations. Intermittent bleeding while taking the pill is also called breakthrough bleeding. Intermittent bleeding can also occur if you forget to take the pill on one or more days. If you experience spotting while taking hormonal contraceptives, talk to your gynecologist about this side effect.
By the way: In the integrated cycle diary of OvulaRing you can document your period and any bleeding or spotting that may occur. They are then clearly displayed in your OvulaRing cycle curve. This way, you can always keep an eye on your cycle health and can also better identify the causes of intermittent bleeding!
