Nishmat's Women’s Health and HalachaIn memory of Chaya Mirel bat R' Avraham

  • Hebrew
  • English
  • Espnaol
  • Francais
  • donate
Menu

Shortening neki’im during fertility treatment

5 April, 2005

Question:

I am undergoing fertility treatment, and due to the pills I had 4 days of menstruation (red stains) and 4 more days of brown stains. The doctor says that I shouldn’t wait for the seven blood-free days because I am going to lose the fertility days. What should I do?


Answer:

We’re sorry to hear of your difficulty conceiving and of the additional challenges posed by observing the laws of niddah.

The precise nature of your fertility treatment and timing of the staining are unclear. It’s also unclear to us whether you could have performed an earlier hefsek taharah. Not all colors render a woman niddah, and some browns are acceptable on a hefsek taharah and subsequent bedikot. If at any point this cycle you performed an action that might be able to count after the fact as a hefsek taharah, please be in touch with details.

In the future, please contact a local halachic authority as soon as red staining stops to increase your chances of an earlier hefsek taharah. The number of bedikot required during the shivah neki’im can also be reduced. Make sure to mention the fertility treatment when asking halachic questions.

We also recommend reviewing the laws of stains. While a flow of red blood will render you niddah, it is often possible avoid becoming niddah from staining that does not become a flow.

That being said, it is prohibited to have relations during the clean days without counting the full seven and immersing first. For this cycle, if it can be arranged in time, you might pursue artificial insemination during the seven days, during your fertile window.

You may also find it helpful to consult a Yoetzet Halacha Fertility Counselor. (This is a free service, details here.)

We wish you success with your treatment.

This response was updated on 13 December, 2020.


This internet service does not preclude, override or replace the psak of any rabbinical authority. It is the responsibility of the questioner to inform us of any previous consultation or ruling. As even slight variation in circumstances may have Halachic consequences, views expressed concerning one case may not be applied to other, seemingly similar cases. All health and health-related information contained within Nishmat's Women's Health & Halacha Web site is intended to be general in nature and should not be used as a substitute for consulting with your health care professional. The advice is intended to offer a basis for individuals to discuss their medical condition with their health care provider but not individual advice. Although every effort is made to ensure that the material within Nishmat's Women's Health & Halacha Web site is accurate and timely, it is provided for the convenience of the Web site user but should not be considered official. Advice for actual medical practice should be obtained from a licensed health care professional.

For further questions or comments: 

The Nishmat Women's Health and Halacha Site is a public service of Nishmat, The Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women. This project and others like it are made possible by contributions from people like you. If you have benefited from the service, and wish to enable us to help others, click here to donate.


Users of Internet filtering services: This site discusses sensitive subjects that some services filter without visual indication. A page that appears 100% complete might actually be missing critical Jewish-law or medical information. To ensure that you view the pages accurately, ask the filtering service to whitelist all pages under yoatzot.org.


Accessibility Toolbar