Mid cycle bleeding, starting five days
11 January, 2017
Question:For the first time in my life I started bleeding four days after the mikva. I stopped taking cerazette three months ago, but have had two regular periods since then. And I cut down breastfeeding my 9 month old from twice to once a day. So I'm wondering if this could be a cause. I'm almost 40 and would like to try for another baby.
On Tuesday night I saw a brown stain on underwear and waited the 15 seconds to check then wiped blood. No bleeding in the night. On Wednesday, heavier bleeding started but I tried to see if I could class it as a stain rather than a flow as it was mid cycle and I figured from your site that you can be more lenient mid cycle. I told my husband that I wasn't nidda as I wanted it to be a stain, but that I wasn't sure I could hold out and that I'd like to keep harchakot and seperate the beds immediately (Wednesday before shkia) so that we could count Wednesday as day 1 if necessary, which we did. I then notified him on thursday that I was in fact Nidda and counting from Wednesday.
I just want to make sure that my saying I wasn't nidda but wasn't sure I could hold out and the fact that we acted as nidda is enough that we can count Wednesday as day 1. I also want to know if there was a way I could have continued viewing the bleeding as stains. My underwear was bloodied and it leaked through but to coloured pyjamas. I didn't look in the shower to see if my legs were stained (although once I became nidda I saw they were) and I had to change my underwear 3 times during Wednesday. Normally it would be obvious that I would call it a flow, but could I have called it staining b⁄c it was mid–cycle (I'd like to know basically how lenient I can be if chalila it happens again)? I have to say I was glad once I put the tampon in.
Thanks so much.
Answer:Changes in nursing routine are often associated with irregular bleeding. Based on your description, the bleeding you experienced on Wednesday was a flow, not staining, and made you niddah. When it is clear to you that bleeding should be characterized at a flow, its timing mid-cycle does not affect its classification.
The five-day count begins when the couple are prohibited to each other, or are unsure of their status, and act as though they are prohibited out of that concern. When a woman knows she is not in niddah, her five days don't start. Since you were in doubt about your efforts, it would have been best to say "I am not sure if I am in niddah" (as opposed to declaring that you were not in niddah and that you were observing harchakot only as a precaution). In this specific case, where in fact you were unsure of your status, and actually you were in niddah and observing harchakot, you may count Wednesday as the first of your five days.
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