Why Do I Bleed Between Periods?

In an ideal world, your periods would come like clockwork, last for a few days, and then leave until the next cycle. Well, millions of women in the United States are not so fortunate — up to one-third of women will experience abnormal bleeding at least once in their lives.

If your abnormal bleeding is showing up as spotting between your periods, the team of women’s health experts here at Capital Women’s Care wants to review some of the common causes here.

For clarity, we’re only going to discuss spotting between periods and not vaginal bleeding during pregnancy or after menopause.

Uterine bleeding basics

Let’s first review why there’s even bleeding in the first place. When you go through your menstrual cycles, the lining in your uterus — the endometrium — thickens with blood and nutrients in anticipation of receiving a fertilized egg. 

When that egg doesn’t arrive, the lining breaks down and bleeds out to prepare for the next round of ovulation. And that’s what leads to your period.

So, when bleeding occurs outside your menstrual cycle on an ongoing basis, it’s worth investigating, as it might signal an issue with your reproductive health.

Common causes of bleeding in between periods

At our practice, we routinely help women with abnormal uterine bleeding, and here’s what we’ve found to be the most common causes of spotting between periods:

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

PCOS is a hormone disorder that affects up to 10% of women during their reproductive years. With PCOS, there’s an excess of androgens (hormones associated with more male characteristics) which leads to ovary dysfunction and irregular periods, which includes spotting.

Uterine fibroids

Up to half of women develop uterine fibroids, which are mostly benign growths in the uterine wall. Most fibroids don’t lead to symptoms, but sometimes they can lead to heavy bleeding and bleeding between periods.

Sexually transmitted infections

In 2023, more than 2.3 million cases of syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia were reported to the CDC. Left untreated, some STIs, especially chlamydia, can lead to spotting between periods.

Perimenopause

While we said we’re not discussing bleeding after menopause, the road leading up to the hormonal transition — perimenopause — can lead to erratic periods and spotting between periods.

Getting to the bottom of your vaginal spotting

As you can see by the list above, if you’re regularly experiencing bleeding between periods, it’s a very good idea to have us check it out. By identifying and treating the underlying cause of your abnormal bleeding, we can improve your reproductive health.

The first step toward preventing bleeding between periods is to contact one of our three conveniently located offices in Frederick and Mount Airy, Maryland, to schedule an appointment.