During the shivah neki’im, a woman performs a series of internal examinations (bedikot), to verify that the bleeding has not recurred and to establish her awareness of the seven days. She should do two bedikot each day, one upon arising in the morning (any time after dawn, but preferably after sunrise), and one in the afternoon, before sunset.
If she forgets one bedikah, or even both, on days 2-6, she may continue counting. In some cases, when the examinations present difficulties, a halachic authority may instruct a woman to omit some examinations, depending on her particular circumstances.
It is critical to perform at least one bedikah on the first day and one on the seventh. If she omits either of these two critical examinations, she may have to postpone her immersion (although she should first consult with a halachic authority).
In general, the shivah neki’im remain valid as long as they meet all three of these conditions:
- they are preceded by a hefsek taharah
- they include a bedikah at the beginning and at the end,
- no more than five days elapse without a bedikah.
For this reason, a woman instructed to perform a minimum number of bedikot is often told to perform one bedikah on day 1, one on day 7, and at least one on an intermediate day. In this way, if she forgets the bedikah on day 7, she can make it up on day 8 and need not start her shivah neki’im over from the beginning.
There is no requirement to look at toilet paper during the shivah neki’im. The halachot concerning discharge on toilet paper are the same during the shivah neki’im as when tehorah. For details, please see the article on Toilet Paper.
