Bleeding After Sex - Could It Be My Birth Control?

Published: March 29, 2018
Dear TeenHealthFX,
Hello, I am a 17 year old girl, who is in a healthy but sexually active relationship. I'm currently on a type of birth control, the mirena or iud. I have had it for little over a year now and have never experienced problems with it. My current boyfriend is the first I have had sex with while it's inserted in my cervix. There has never really been issues with sex up until recently. The past week I noticed that I was bleeding maybe 2 hours after I had sex with him which was on Tuesday, so naturally I thought maybe it was my period and it was heavy this time around, so I left it as is and the next day I was fine. On Thursday we had sex again, and my stomach started to cramp, almost like period cramps, and when I checked there was blood again, enough to fill a regular sized pad, but on Friday there was no blood and no cramping I was fine again. On Saturday, I talked to him and told him I needed to test a theory, so we had sex and sure enough, I was bleeding again afterwards and it lasted up until this morning. I have never had this problem with him, and we aren't super rough, so I have no idea what is causing this... please help me figure it out, thank you.
Signed: Bleeding After Sex - Could It Be My Birth Control?

Dear Bleeding After Sex - Could It Be My Birth Control?,

Women can get irregular bleeding from IUDs, however, it would be best for you to reach out to the doctor who put in the IUD to find out if they want you to come in for an exam or to have cultures taken in order to assess what might be going on.

TeenHealthFX would also like to encourage you to speak to your doctor about safer sex precautions for the future. Doctors generally recommend that teens and young adults who choose to be sexually active use condoms each and every time they have sex to protect against unwanted pregnancies and the transmission of STDs, as well as a back-up method of birth control such as the pill or birth control shot. Your doctor can make the best recommendations for you and discuss with you how to use properly use birth control to maximize its effectiveness.

If you don't have a doctor and live in northern New Jersey, you can call the Adolescent/Young Adult Center for Health at 973-971-5199 for an appointment with an adolescent medicine specialist or contact your local teen health center or Planned Parenthood. A Planned Parenthood health center is a good option if you have concerns about cost or confidentiality issues. You can also contact your insurance company for a list of in-network providers.

FX also suggests that you check out the links in our Resource of the Month: Planned Parenthood Resources on Safer Sex so that you can learn about sexual readiness, how pregnancy happens, pregnancy tests, emergency contraception, birth control, STDs and more. The more educated you are about these topics, the more likely you will make healthy decisions for yourself when it comes to your sexual health.

Signed: TeenHealthFX

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