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

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Spotting on pills before wedding

19 May, 2014
Question:

My wedding is in one month. I am taking birth control pills; however, I have still had some spotting. I am nervous about this before the wedding. Do you have any suggestions?


Answer:

Mazal tov on your upcoming marriage!

We hope that the staining will abate within the next month and allow you to successfully complete the clean days prior to the wedding.

Even if you still experience some staining next month, not all stains will invalidate the clean days. You can change your white underwear more frequently during the clean days to prevent stains from accumulating to a gris (the size of a US dime or Israeli shekel). Stains smaller than a gris on white underwear may be disregarded. You should also wait at least a few seconds (ideally 15 seconds) after urinating before wiping and/or avoid looking at toilet paper. Of course, you should also be careful to take your birth control pills regularly each day.

If necessary you may also reduce the number of bedikot required. You should perform the hefsek taharah, and then only one bedikah per day during the seven clean days if staining is a problem. In cases of serious need, one may reduce further to the hefsek taharah, and one bedikah each on days 1, 7, and one bedikah on an intermediate clean day. Finally, any problematic stain found on a bedikah or on underwear should be brought to a halachic authority for evaluation, since there are many colors that are acceptable and do not invalidate the clean days.

Once you complete your clean days, you should take precautions against becoming niddah from any further staining by wearing colored underwear and waiting after urinating before wiping. See our article on stains for more details.

We recommend you discuss your concerns with your kallah teacher, and be sure to reach out to her for any assistance you may need during the clean days.

Please feel free to get back to us with any further questions.

B’Hatzlacha!

This response has been updated to reflect the rulings of our current Rabbinic Supervisor, Rav Kenneth Auman, regarding waiting before wiping.

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