{"id":9595,"date":"2017-08-07T12:58:53","date_gmt":"2017-08-07T19:58:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.avawomen.com\/?p=9595\/"},"modified":"2020-02-11T11:44:56","modified_gmt":"2020-02-11T19:44:56","slug":"implantation-bleeding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.avawomen.com\/avaworld\/implantation-bleeding\/","title":{"rendered":"Implantation Bleeding: An Idea Without Scientific Evidence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Implantation bleeding is the name commonly used to describe light pink or brown discharge<\/a> that occurs in very early pregnancy, before you even get a positive pregnancy test.<\/p>\n

This light spotting is considered by many to be a sign that implantation has occurred and an early symptom of pregnancy<\/a>. It is said to be caused by the egg burrowing into the uterine wall. However, the evidence for this assertion is spotty. More on this below.<\/p>\n

How can you tell if spotting is caused by implantation?<\/h2>\n

Light bleeding or spotting is common during the premenstrual phase (also called the luteal phase<\/a>) of a woman’s cycle, whether or not she is pregnant. So how can you tell the difference between normal luteal phase spotting and a true implantation symptom<\/a>?\u00a0You can’t.<\/p>\n

Can implantation cause bleeding?<\/h2>\n

According to the research, implantation probably does not cause bleeding.<\/p>\n

Why? Well, for one thing, when bleeding does occur during early pregnancy, it’s unlikely to occur during the implantation window of 6 \u2013 12 days past ovulation. A 2003<\/a> study of 151 pregnant women found that most episodes of bleeding occurred at least 5 days after implantation.<\/p>\n

The authors of that study concluded: “We found no support for the hypothesis that implantation can produce vaginal bleeding.”<\/p>\n

Is bleeding a sign of pregnancy?<\/h2>\n

Bleeding in the days before your period is due should not be considered a positive sign of pregnancy.<\/p>\n

According to a 2016 study<\/a> of 549 women who were trying to conceive, bleeding is more likely to indicate an impending period than pregnancy. The authors of that study concluded:\u00a0 “Intermenstrual bleeding statistically significantly decreases the odds of conceiving in that cycle.”<\/p>\n

How can you tell if it’s implantation bleeding or your period?<\/h2>\n

Bleeding can occur both during early pregnancy and in the days leading up to your period. When a woman who has premenstrual bleeding goes on to find out she’s pregnant, we often call it implantation bleeding. But this is Monday morning quarterbacking: we decide what to call the bleeding based on whether a woman ends up being pregnant, not based on real evidence that the bleeding was caused by implantation.<\/p>\n

According to medical research, when bleeding does occur in early pregnancy, it is probably not caused by implantation.<\/p>\n

Bleeding is common in early pregnancy<\/a>, affecting 10 \u2013 15%<\/a> of all pregnant women. Most of the time, this bleeding is unexplained. There’s simply no convincing evidence that points to implantation as the cause of this bleeding.<\/p>\n

What causes implantation bleeding?<\/h2>\n

It’s common for bleeding to occur during very early pregnancy, but as described above, there is no evidence that this bleeding is caused by implantation. But something<\/em> must have caused it, so what was it?<\/p>\n

There are several possible alternate explanations for implantation bleeding:<\/p>\n