Mazal tov on the birth of your baby!

Some irregular staining postpartum is fairly common, especially while nursing, even if a woman has not had it following previous childbirths.

There is no way to know if this is some residual postpartum bleeding or if this indicates that menstruation will resume sooner than it has in the past.

Slight staining such as you describe on colored undergarments does not make a woman niddah. For more information on staining and when it makes a woman niddah, please see our articles on “Stains” and “Toilet Paper” and get back to us with any follow up questions.

There are different opinions regarding whether a woman becomes niddah through IUD insertion or bleeding in the day or so afterwards. We follow the opinion that they do not make a woman niddah. A woman can usually avoid becoming niddah from subsequent bleeding by being careful about the laws of stains (referenced above).

Since colored undergarments and not performing bedikot are important in this context, we recommend waiting until after mikveh for insertion, as you did. At this point, you can make the appointment at your convenience.

If you are concerned about any time lag until you have the IUD inserted, spermicide as a backup method to the lactational amenorrhea method is generally effective contraception at this stage.

Please write back with any further questions.