What Is Implantation Bleeding?

Implantation bleeding is considered to be the first sign of pregnancy, but most of the time, a woman may take it as a type of light spotting that would occur in their regular periods. However, it can be easily identified. Implantation bleeding is nothing but a scanty discharge of blood, which can be pink or brownish in color. It would not occur in every woman, and it is known to normally last for a couple of hours, not days like periods. In certain rare cases, the implantation bleeding discharge may continue for one or two days as well, hence, for this reason, it can be taken as the beginning of a period by most women who are not aware of implantation bleeding.

Impregnation in a woman may happen during the ovulation period, or it can occur right after that as well. This day when the woman is at her most fertile would normally start during the middle of the cycle. As an example, if the menstrual cycle is 30 days and the ovulation is known to occur anywhere from the 13^th to the 16^th day, there are now ten more days required for the ovum to mature and migrate through the fallopian tubes and then into the uterus. Hence, the process of the ovum’s embedment and then progression into the uterine wall is known to begin on an estimated 23^rd to 28^th day of the menstrual cycle. As a result, there is a possibility that the implantation bleeding or spotting may appear just a few days before the start date of the period during the current month, hence, in such cases, women often confuse it with signs of early menstruation.

It is important to learn here that this implantation bleeding is quite a normal process for females, and it is termed as the very first symptom that the woman is pregnant. From then on, the body would go into the global hormonal rearrangement. The existence of spotting during the implantation phase would not cause any kind of impact on the woman’s pregnancy. Rather, it would provide the individual with an indication that they are pregnant a bit earlier.

A few of the common signs that can accompany implantation bleeding are: faint cramping, changes in mood, pinkish or brownish colored spotting or discharge, and headaches.

The implantation bleeding does look different than the average woman’s menstruation. But it is also important to note that not all women have the same kind of flow during their periods. Some of them tend to have a heavier flow, whereas others may experience an unpredictable one. Hence, even keeping this in mind, there are multiple factors which can separate menstruation bleeding from implantation bleeding. They include:

• Color: Most women are well aware of the color of their spotting since it comes from the same location in the woman’s body at all times, hence, regardless of how much of it would appear, the spotting tends to look the same, which is red in color. On the other hand, implantation bleeding is known to mostly appear pinkish or dark brown in color. The dark brown would be almost a rust color and it would look as if the blood had been aged more than the normal bright red discharge.
• Thickness: A few women may experience a thicker form of clotting in their blood during their monthly menstruation flow, but this would not be the case for implantation bleeding since the pinkish or brown colored spotting would have the same consistency throughout.
• Flow: The length of time is also one of the key indicators to spot the difference between implantation bleeding and regular period bleeding. Most women would attribute their bleeding due to their periods, which can last anywhere between five to seven days. But a woman would always begin to show light spotting with a heavier flow just a few days after starting. Meanwhile, implantation bleeding is known to vary from being spotty to a more constant flow, but, again, it does not last for a long duration. Menstruation bleeding would start light and then become heavier. Also, there is no presence of blood clots in the implantation bleeding, which is not always the case with menstrual bleeding.
• Cramps: Menstruation and implantation bleeding can both lead to cramping, but the cramps that occur due to periods would tend to feel more intense and painful. In the case of implantation bleeding, there would be light or faint cramping which does not usually increase in its intensity, and, mostly, it also occurs in combination with the brown- or pink-colored discharge or spotting.
• Regularity: The regular menstrual flow is known to continue through the full length of the period without any instance of stopping, but bleeding that occurs due to implantation may come and go in between. The implantation bleeding is known to often cause spotting, which is an on and off form of bleeding, and it lasts only for a couple of hours or for a day or two. This would completely differ from menstrual bleeding, which is normally known to last for a couple of days, ranging from five to seven days, although it differs from woman to woman.

How Long Does Implantation Bleeding Last and How Does It Occur?

The length of implantation bleeding would vary from as little as a few hours to one or two days in some cases. Women who are experiencing their first pregnancy would most likely bleed more than those women whose bodies are already used to the egg attachment.

After insemination, the embryo is known to implant itself to the wall of the uterus. Due to this movement, it would break down certain blood vessels that are within the walls of the uterus, thereby leading to bleeding. This entire process of movement along with bleeding would take anywhere from ten days to two weeks’ time after the ovulation process. Menstruation is known to occur just 14 days after, hence, it is another reason why both periods and implantation bleeding are often confused with one another. A few women may tend to simply believe that their periods have been delayed for a few days. Around the 22^nd to the 25^th day, there would be an occurrence of light pinkish spots, and this would mostly happen just a few days earlier than the signs of menstruation. Most of the time, women are aware of what their blood flow will look like, and as long as they are not on any kind of medication or drugs and there has not been any change in stress level, the blood flow level, its consistency, and its color would most of the time appear the same. Hence, the moment you notice pink or brown spotting, it is time to have it checked by a doctor.