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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffVaginal bleeding after sex means bleeding during sex or just after having sexual intercourse, when you're not menstruating or don't expect to be menstruating. Vaginal bleeding after sex most commonly develops in women between the ages of 20 and 40.
Your cervix — the narrow, lower end of your uterus — is usually the source of vaginal bleeding brought on by sex, especially before menopause. Even if you have a healthy cervix, enough friction during sexual intercourse can cause bleeding. Inflammation of the cervix or some other abnormality can also result in bleeding.
In most cases, vaginal bleeding after sex is the result of harmless cervical changes, many of which don't require treatment.
- Hoffman BL. Abnormal uterine bleeding. In: Schorge J, et al. Williams Gynecology. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aid=3153117. Accessed Sept. 7, 2011.
- Mohan S, et al. Diagnosis of abnormal uterine bleeding. Best Practice & Research. Clinical Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 2007;21:891.
- Goodman A. Overview of causes of genital tract bleeding in women. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 7, 2011.
- Sahu B, et al. Prevalence of pathology in women attending colposcopy for postcoital bleeding with negative cytology. Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics. 2007;276:471.
- Tehranian A, et al. Evaluation of women presenting with postcoital bleeding by cytology and colposcopy. International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics. 2009;105:18.
- Wilkinson JM (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Sept. 7, 2011.
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