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

  • Hebrew
  • English
  • Espnaol
  • Francais
  • donate
Menu

Bleeding after supracervical hysterectomy

26 November, 2015
Question:

I had a supracervical hysterectomy 2 months ago. I went to the mikveh 6 weeks later. I had a little bleeding at the time I should have been having my period, I still have my ovaries and have symptoms like headaches when I should have gotten my period. I spoke to my doctor who said I have no uterus and the bleeding is coming from some glands in the cervix. Since the source of the bleeding is the cervix, I assume I am not a niddah. Is this correct?


Answer:

The halachic status of cervical bleeding depends on where in the cervix it originates. Bleeding from a wound or trauma to the external part of the cervix does not render a woman niddah. However, the bleeding you experienced seems to be from endometrial tissue that remains attached to the cervix where the uterus was formerly was connected. Even though you no longer have a uterus, this is halachically considered uterine tissue. Thus, the bleeding is considered uterine and can render you niddah.

If you experienced an actual flow of blood, comparable to a light period, then you are niddah. You need to count the five minimum days, perform a hefsek taharah, count seven clean days, and immerse in the mikveh. You should continue to keep all onot (yom hachodesh, the haflagah, and onah beinonit). Please read our article on veset haguf to determine whether you have established a veset haguf from your headaches and whether you need to separate then as well.  Once you cease to experience menstrual-like bleeding, you can get back to us for further guidance.

If your bleeding was lighter, your status depends on the laws of stains. Please review our articles on stains and toilet paper, and get back to us with any further questions.

If you are not niddah, or after you have gone to mikveh, we strongly suggest taking precautions, such as wearing colored underwear and not looking at toilet paper, to avoid becoming niddah from any staining.

We wish you a refuah shleimah.

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