


Jane Harrison Hohner on WebMD says that some dark brown spotting can occur before your period while taking birth control pills. These changes to your estrogen and progesterone levels affect your monthly cycle and can cause dark period blood.ĭr. Oral contraceptives affect your body’s hormones to prevent monthly ovulation and affect the lining of the uterus to prevent any conception and pregnancy taking place. When you start taking birth control pills you may find that you have a dark or black period in the first few months. This is especially true if you have heavy bleeding, severe abdominal pains between periods, and offensive-smelling vaginal discharge. However, if you have just started having irregular menstrual periods with abnormal vaginal bleeding, doctors from the Cleveland Clinic recommend making an appointment with your doctor. As this type of dark brown discharge is part of your monthly cycle when the “cleaning process” happens, it is usually nothing to worry about. If your periods become lighter and less frequent, then you may notice that you have dark brown or black period blood near the end of your period. This can cause your periods to become lighter or heavier and can affect the length of your menstrual cycle. Irregular periods can result in changes to your menstrual flow which can result in old blood being passed during your period.ĭoctors from the National Health Service report that irregular periods can be caused by fluctuations in your hormone levels, stress, or extreme changes in weight. 5 Irregular menstrual cycleĪn irregular menstrual cycle may also be a reason why your period blood is dark or black. They explain that the period blood that looks dark brown or almost black is just older blood that gets expelled at the end of menstruation. For example, some women experience light menstrual flow resulting in some blood not being expelled as quickly as usual.ĭoctors from WebMD explain that darker menstrual blood can be part of a woman’s cycle and can appear towards the end of your period. Depending on your blood flow, some small bits of blood may stay in the vagina and turn brown. The most common reason for black period blood is that it occurs at the end of your period. Let’s look at some of the reasons why period blood can be black. Having dark and even black menstrual blood doesn’t always mean that there is something wrong.

These clots are normal and they usually have black or deep brown color.īut If you feel that something isn’t right or you have any concerns check it with your doctor. This old uterine lining is expelled at the beginning of the period and appears like dark brown or black period blood.Īt the first few days of your period you may also notice period blood clots.

This could indicate that some of your old uterine lining (your endometrium) wasn’t expelled in the previous period. Black Period Blood at the Beginning of the PeriodĪt the beginning of your period you may notice dark brown or black period blood which could be completely normal. Depending on the amount of menstrual blood together with old blood, period blood can range from brown to dark brown to black. They can cause heavy and prolonged menstrual periods.Therefore, when period blood is black or dark brown, it usually means that there is some old blood in the flow. Uterine fibroids are growths in the uterus that are not cancer. This infection of the reproductive organs can cause irregular menstrual bleeding. People who have this condition, also known as primary ovarian insufficiency, might have irregular or occasional periods for years. Premature ovarian failure refers to the loss of typical ovarian function before age 40. People who have PCOS often have more follicles in the ovaries than other people. These follicles can be seen during an ultrasound exam. They also can have enlarged ovaries that contain small collections of fluid - called follicles - located in each ovary. People with this common disorder may have irregular periods. Eating disorders - such as anorexia nervosa - extreme weight loss and higher physical activity can interrupt your period. Eating disorders, extreme weight loss or too much exercising.Breast-feeding typically delays the return of your period after pregnancy. A missed period can be an early symptom of pregnancy. Menstrual cycle irregularities can have many different causes, including:
