Also called: Dysfunctional Uterine Bleeding · Uterine Bleeding
Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Vaginal Bleeding
Menstruation, or period, is a woman's monthly bleeding. Abnormal vaginal bleeding is different from normal menstrual periods. It could be bleeding that is between periods, is very heavy, or lasts much longer than usual. It also includes bleeding that happens before puberty or after menopause. Causes can include:
- Uterine fibroids or polyps
- Hormone problems
- Hormone pills, such as birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy (menopausal hormone therapy)
- Cancer of the cervix, ovaries, uterus or vagina
- Thyroid problems
Bleeding during pregnancy can have several different causes. It is not always serious, but to be safe you should contact your health care provider right away.
Pelvic exams, blood tests, imaging tests, and other procedures can help your health care provider diagnose the problem. Treatment depends on the cause. Treatments may include medicines, hormones, and surgery.
It sits within Women, Symptoms and Female Reproductive System.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Vaginal Bleeding
144 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Deep Neuromuscular Blockade and a Low-Residue Diet for the Surgical Field in vNOTES HysterectomyFatih Sultan Mehmet Training and Research Hospital
- A Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial to Predict Postpartum HemorrhageHolly Ende
- Administration Of Calcium Gluconate for The Reduction of Blood Loss During Vaginal DeliveryRambam Health Care Campus
- Office Hysteroscopy in Postmenopausal Women: A Randomized Trial of Cervical Preparation StrategiesFaculty of Medicine of Tunis
- Evaluation of DNA Methylation Markers for Endometrial Cancer Risk-stratification Using Patient-collected Urine and Vaginal Samples and Clinician-collected Cervical Samples From Women With Postmenopausal BleedingUniversity of Aarhus
- Expediting Pregnancy of Unknown Location Risk Stratification Using the ROM-Plus Point of Care TestUniversity of California, Davis
Research already completed
- An Explorative Trial to Explore the Safety, Acceptability and Vaginal Bleeding Pattern of Three Etonogestrel-releasing Medicated Intrauterine Systems (Study P06060)Organon and Co
- PK, Safety Study of 90-Day Use of Vaginal Rings Containing Dapivirine and LevonorgestrelInternational Partnership for Microbicides, Inc.
- Tranexamic Acid as an Intervention in Abruptio PlacentaHawler Medical University
- Timing of Carbetocin Administration in Postpartum HemorrhageMehmet Mete Kırlangıç
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Abnormal Uterine Bleeding (AUB)American Academy of Family Physicians
- Vaginal BleedingMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Diagnosis and Tests
- Dilation and Curettage (D&C)Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Pelvis UltrasoundRadiological Society of North America
- SonohysterographyRadiological Society of North America
- When You Visit Your Doctor: Dysfunctional Uterine BleedingHarvard Medical School
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Uterine HemorrhageNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Uterine Hemorrhage. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Vaginal Bleeding, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.