In the vast majority of cases, brown blood during menstruation is simply old blood being dispelled, normally occurring either in the beginning or end of a woman's period. Other possible causes often involve the timing and nature of the brown blood. Spots of brown blood may occur naturally during a woman's ovulation stage, while brown spotting instead of a woman's normal period flow can be an early sign of pregnancy. A woman taking an oral contraceptive pill may experience dark blood during menstruation either soon after taking the pill or shortly after being off of it. In other cases, brown bleeding, especially if accompanied by pain, bloating or other symptoms, can be a sign of a polyp, cervical erosion or similar condition.
Brown blood during menstruation is, in an overwhelming majority of cases, old blood that has taken longer to be released from the body. Residual blood from the prior period may cause a woman to experience brown bleeding in the beginning of her flow. Towards the end, old blood that has not been released will gradually be expelled from the body, leading to brown bleeding for a period of time after a woman's period seems to have ended.
A woman's ovulation, typically mid-cycle, may also lead to minimal brown bleeding or discharge. If a woman experiences brown blood instead of her regular period, however, especially if the flow is lighter than usual, it may be a first sign of pregnancy. Women who are sexually active and have experienced this should take a pregnancy test. If these symptoms are combined with other symptoms, such as a sharp pain her lower abdominal area, it may be a sign of an ectopic pregnancy and a physician should be contacted as soon as possible.
Women taking contraceptive pills are especially subject to significant hormonal changes, and this can often lead to dark blood during menstruation or outside of it. When this occurs anywhere within a month after a woman has started using oral contraceptives, she should generally allocate around six to eight weeks for her hormones to stabilize. If this occurs after recently coming off the contraceptive, it may take much longer for her cycle to return to normal, but if the brown discharge continues for a matter of months, a physician should be contacted to eliminate the possibility of any other medical conditions.
In the most serious cases, brown blood during menstruation can be a sign of infection. This is especially true if it is accompanied by other unusual discharge, such as clotting, and other symptoms such as abdominal pain or bloating. More specifically, a woman may be experiencing a polyp, which is a growth of tissue that can form out of any mucous membrane, including the uterus or cervical canal, and is most common in women who have already been pregnant but have not reached menopause yet. It may also signify a cervical erosion or similar condition, in which the bleeding comes from the infected area. Women who experience these symptoms should consult a physician as soon as possible.