Question: Is it normal to bleed after having sex? It wasn’t my first time and I had some bleeding, so I was wondering…

Answer: Is it normal? Not exactly. Is it common? Yes. I have heard from lots of girls who experienced bleeding over the years. Sometimes the reason seems obvious. Maybe a girl got her period during sex, or right after. Maybe it wasn’t her first time, but her second or third, and her hymen was still stretching. Sometimes, though, the reasons for bleeding are a little trickier to figure out.

A few years ago, Angie, a girl I was training as a peer educator, told me that sometimes sex made her bleed. Sex didn’t hurt, and she made sure to use a lot of lube, but there was still spotting. I suggested a few possible causes, but none seemed right. Eventually, she went to her doctor, and after revealing that she also had really heavy, irregular periods, they figured out what was wrong. Angie had endometriosis, a condition where uterine lining (what your period is made of) was growing outside her uterus. With that information she was able to treat the real problem behind the symptoms, and as a result help the symptoms as well.

That was a pretty dramatic situation and endometriosis is by no means the most common cause of bleeding during or after sex. But it is helpful to know that there can be a lot of reasons for bleeding, even if it isn’t someone’s first time.

Here are a few more:

Sex shouldn’t be an injury inducing event. If you notice bleeding, like Angie, you might want to see a professional to help you figure out what is going on.

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