We're sorry to hear of your staining difficulties.

It is very typical for women who are nursing to spot, especially when or if they begin to wean the baby or make another change in the amount of breastfeeding they do. Even so, should the staining persist, it would be appropriate to consult with your physician about its causes and about the advisability of pursuing medical solutions to your staining.

Regardless, if you ever have staining accompanied by or following pain, it is worthwhile to have yourself examined to identify any irritation or abrasion that could be considered a makkah (wound). In the absence of a physical examination, it is difficult to attribute staining to a wound. But a physical examination right after your first stain and bedikah might have turned something up. In Israel as well as in large Jewish communities abroad, there are a number of bodkot taharah, nurses trained to identify makkot. Procedures vary in other countries. In some communities, a rav may refer you to a specific doctor or nurse. Otherwise, you can ask your physician to look and see if he sees any lesion on the vagina or cervix that could bleed, even if it is medically normal.

You are correct that you are not required to look at toilet tissue. If you want to look, then it is important to train yourself to let at least a few seconds (ideally, about fifteen seconds) elapse between urinating and wiping. The halachic concern is that the sensation of urinating may conceal the sensation of hargashah. This concern applies when wiping follows urination immediately. When a few seconds have elapsed, we are confident that the stain on the tissue did not immediately follow a concealed hargashah. Therefore, we can apply one of the leniencies pertaining to stains without hargashah, namely, that a stain on a surface such as toilet tissue does not render a woman niddah. You could add to the grounds for leniency by using colored toilet tissue when you wipe after waiting.

Thus, by being sure to wait, you are neither cheating nor ignoring what occurs. The same rabbis who determined that stains without hargashah make a woman niddah on a rabbinic level determined that there were certain grounds for leniency, including include being found on colored items or on items that cannot contract ritual impurity. Further discussion of this topic can be found in our article on stains.

When a woman discovers a stain on toilet paper after having waited at least a few seconds between urination and wiping, she is not niddah. We still advise a woman in such a case to abstain from relations for twenty-four hours, to be sure that a flow does not begin. This is a precaution, not a halachic requirement. If the twenty-four hours elapse without further staining, she is free to have relations.

A woman is required to perform bedikot during her seven clean days and on her veset days. Otherwise, we strongly suggest contacting a halachic authority prior to performing a bedikah. You can trust your rav to let you know when a bedikah is in order.

This response was updated on 31 January, 2024.