Oral contraceptives are taken primarily to prevent pregnancy and are approximately 99 percent effective when taken correctly. The birth control pill is taken daily and is considered safe for most women of child-bearing age. The time might come...
At some point in a woman's reproductive years, she will experience an irregular menstrual cycle. Irregularities in the menstrual cycle can be caused by hormonal imbalances, stress, pregnancy, perimenopause and reproductive diseases. Most women who...
Birth control pills, or oral contraceptives, are a convenient and effective method of preventing pregnancy. The pills are to be taken on a schedule to maximize effectiveness. The pill should be taken at the same time every day. The pill takes...
Spotting occurs when a small amount of blood is passed through the vagina, according to the Mayo Clinic. At times a small amount of blood can be found on a woman's underwear, but mostly it is visible on toilet paper after urination or a bowel...
The birth control patch is a thin plastic adhesive patch, similar to a square adhesive bandage. The patch prevents pregnancy by a hormonal method, and according to the American pregnancy Association when used properly it is over 99% effective. The...
Passing a small amount of blood through the vagina defines spotting. Light spotting lasts for one or two days. Experiencing light red spotting before the onset of the actual bleeding of a period indicates ovulation or implantation of the...
Spotting in between periods can be a normal occurrance due to several factors. Women just starting or stopping birth control pills can have light spotting in between periods, as can perimenopausal women or girls just starting their periods. In...
For most runners, the benefits of running outweigh the possible drawbacks. While all runners should be concerned with injury prevention and proper nutrition, women runners have some gender-specific issues to keep an eye on while training. Spotting...
Any irregularity in a woman's period can be disturbing and cause alarm. Spotting after strenuous exercise is usually not a signal of anything serious. For the most part, health professionals do not worry about an occasional missed period or...
Birth control pills are a convenient and effective way to prevent pregnancy. They work by preventing the release of an egg by a woman's ovary, a process called ovulation. Without an egg in the uterus, a woman has no way of getting pregnant, even...
The paradox of birth control is that it can both treat abnormal bleeding and cause it. Women with medical conditions that cause abnormal vaginal bleeding can take birth control pills to regulate it. Conversely, women with perfectly normal...
The average menstrual period occurs every 21 to 35 days with a duration and flow that will vary among individual women. Some women will experience menstrual bleeding for 7 to 9 days, while others may have a period for only 2 to 3 days. Any change...
Spotting before a menstrual period can confuse any woman, but particularly those with menstrual cycles that are typically precise and regular. Although most spotting is not cause for alarm, there are some situations where it may indicate a serious...
Birth control pills are a convenient and effective method of preventing pregnancy. They work by stopping the release of an egg by the ovaries. Without an egg in the uterus, sperm that may enter the woman's body will be useless. Women who decide to...
Hormonal birth control suppress other hormones that are needed for female fertility. Both oral contraceptives and other forms of hormonal birth control use either a combination of synthetic estrogen and progesterone or progesterone alone. The...
Spotting can occur in any woman of any age and can stem from vaginal, uterine or ovarian causes. Women who are pregnant may experience spotting in early pregnancy and may experience this spotting during the normal time a period would occur.
Bleeding anytime outside of a normal period can invoke panic in any woman. However, most cases of spotting are benign and usually clear up on their own, while others may require medical treatment or medication. Whichever the case may be, it is...
Many women don't know that while on birth control pills, it is not medically necessary to have a menstrual period. In most cases, the week of placebo pills that is offered at the end of each cycle of birth control pills is to verify that a woman...
Most women experience the phenomenon known as spotting at some point in their lives. Although we are often told that spotting is just 'old blood' or 'leftover blood,' this isn't always the case. Some medical conditions cause spotting and this can...
There are several non-oral methods of birth control. Some of these include natural family planning, male condoms, the Depo-Provera injection, intrauterine devices and surgical sterilization. There are positive and negative aspects of each type of...
Spotting, or light vaginal bleeding, can occur at any time whether or not you're pregnant. The cause of spotting depends somewhat upon the circumstances, as does the significance. If you're on prenatal vitamins, regardless of whether you're...
The experience of pregnancy is different for every woman, and even in the same woman symptoms can vary from pregnancy to pregnancy. After a missed period, if there is a chance of pregnancy, it is important that a woman get tested for pregnancy so...
Birth control pills are one of the most common choices of contraception among women today. They contain synthetic forms of the hormones progesterone and estrogen, and work by preventing your ovaries from releasing eggs, which stops ovulation, and...
Heavy periods, clinically known as menorrhagia, are caused by many factors. They usually occur when the lining of the uterus becomes thicker than it should each menstrual cycle. As it sheds, a heavy flow occurs. Many women wonder if their periods...
The menstrual cycle is between 25 to 36 days, with three to seven days of bleeding, according to Merck. Menstrual bleeding can be light, medium or heavy and should never be heavy enough to soak a pad every hour or contain blood clots larger than a...
Amenorrhea can be a scary experience for some women and welcomed by others. This is a normal event that happens in a woman's life due to pregnancy or menopause. At times in the menstrual cycle, women may experience cycles of amenorrhea. However,...
Having irregular bleeding between your regular periods can be frightening. There are a range of causes for irregular vaginal bleeding, some of which are perfectly normal and some of which are potentially deadly. If you've been experiencing...
Spotting between periods is not uncommon and can have many different causes. In most cases, spotting represents the flow of only a small amount of blood--hence the term "spotting"--which typically takes a while to pass from the uterus to the...
