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

  • Hebrew
  • English
  • Espnaol
  • Francais
  • donate
Menu

Light spotting: first trimester

15 May, 2005

Question:

I am currently about 8 weeks pregnant and have experienced spotting during the past week. The spotting is very light and brown in color. however, about a week ago I looked at the spotting on toilet paper and it was enough to render me niddah.

Is the protocol for spotting during pregnancy the same as normal? Or can I just begin counting seven clean days? What do I do if I continue to spot enough so that I am niddah all of the time? I spoke with my doctor who said that this could continue for another month or so.

Thank you!


Answer:

We're sorry to hear about your spotting problems.  

The protocol for spotting during pregnancy is the same as for other times.  A pregnant woman must wait five days before counting her clean days. If the spotting interrupted an earlier clean-day count, she can immediately do a new hefsek and start a new count..

In a case such as yours, where spotting may be ongoing, it is essential to review the relevant laws.  Please start by looking at our article ketamim.  A light brown such as you describe may not render a woman niddah, regardless of its size.  It would not necessarily invalidate a bedikah or even a hefsek taharah.

Please contact us with any follow-up questions.  B'Sha'ah Tovah!


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