Bleeding disorders
Bleeding Disorders fact sheet (PDF, 97.5 KB)
Bleeding Disorders fact sheet (PDF, 97.5 KB)
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A bleeding disorder is a health problem that makes it difficult for a person to stop bleeding. As many as one in 10 women with heavy menstrual periods may have a bleeding disorder.1 The most common type of bleeding disorder in women is von Willebrand disease (VWD). If left untreated, bleeding disorders raise your risk for anemia and dangerous bleeding after childbirth.
A bleeding disorder is a health problem that makes it difficult for a person to stop bleeding. Normally when a person is hurt, a blood clot forms to stop the bleeding quickly. For blood to clot, your body needs a type of blood cell called platelets and blood proteins called clotting factors.
If you have a bleeding disorder, your platelets or clotting factors do not work correctly or your body does not make enough platelets or clotting factors. This makes it easy for too much bleeding to happen during normal bodily functions such as a menstrual period. People with a bleeding disorder can also bleed too much or for too long after an injury, dental work, childbirth, or surgery.
Bleeding disorders affect both women and men. But bleeding disorders can cause more problems for women because of heavy bleeding during menstrual periods and the risk of dangerous bleeding after childbirth.
It might. As many as one in 10 women with heavy periods may have some type of bleeding disorder.1
But other causes of heavy periods include:
Talk to your doctor or nurse if you have heavy periods.
Your menstrual period is heavy if you:
Menstrual blood is a combination of tissues and blood, so it often comes out in large clumps or clots. These clots are different from the clotting factors that your body needs to help stop bleeding from a cut or other injury. Having many large menstrual blood clots (larger than a quarter) in your menstrual flow is a sign of abnormal or heavy bleeding.
Women with heavy menstrual bleeding often have to change their daily activities because of the bleeding. If you have to change your regular work or school schedule or activities because of too much bleeding during your period, then you probably have heavy menstrual bleeding that is not normal.
Talk to your doctor or nurse if you think you have heavy bleeding. Your doctor will want to do tests to find out what is causing the heavy bleeding. Treatments include medicines or surgery.
Usually, bleeding disorders are inherited, passed down from parent to child when you are born. But it’s possible to have a bleeding disorder even if your parents did not. Talk to your doctor or nurse about your risks if bleeding disorders run in your family.
Sometimes, bleeding disorders can be caused by other health problems or medicines you take:2
Some common symptoms of bleeding disorders include:
If you have any of these symptoms, talk with your doctor or nurse. These can also be a symptom of another health problem.
Bleeding disorders in women and girls are often inherited, meaning the disorders run in families. Sometimes bleeding disorders happen when a girl or woman does not have any family history of a bleeding disorder. Women can also develop bleeding disorders as a side effect of certain medicines or from other health problems.
VWD is the most common inherited bleeding disorder in women in the United States.3 Your blood contains a protein called von Willebrand factor. People with VWD either don’t have enough von Willebrand factor or it doesn’t work correctly. This can lead to heavy bleeding that can be difficult to stop. Women with VWD may have:4,5
Hemophilia is another type of bleeding disorder that is well-known but rare. Hemophilia usually runs in families. Hemophilia affects both women and men, but most children born with hemophilia are male. Women can be carriers of hemophilia, meaning they have one active gene for hemophilia and one inactive gene for hemophilia. Women who are carriers of hemophilia can pass either the inactive or active hemophilia gene on to their children. Some women who are carriers have a mild or less serious form of hemophilia and are at risk for heavy bleeding and bleeding with pregnancy or after childbirth. If you have heavy bleeding, your doctor or nurse may test you for hemophilia.
Women with bleeding disorders are at risk of complications during and after pregnancy:
If you have a bleeding disorder (or think you have one) and are thinking of becoming pregnant, talk to your doctor first. You may also want to find a doctor who specializes in high-risk pregnancies.6 Because bleeding disorders run in families, your baby may also have a bleeding disorder.
To diagnose a bleeding disorder, your doctor will:
You may need to see a hematologist (hee-muh-TOL-uh-jist) for special blood tests to detect a bleeding disorder. A hematologist is a doctor who specializes in problems with the blood.
There is no cure for bleeding disorders, but for many people medicine can help control the symptoms. People with mild bleeding problems may only need treatment before or after surgery and dental work or after an injury. If your symptoms are more serious, you may need to take medicine more often.
Common treatments for bleeding disorders include:
Bleeding disorders can raise your risk for anemia and dangerous bleeding after surgery or childbirth. They can also affect your quality of life. Women with heavy menstrual bleeding may miss days of work or school due to side effects from blood loss, including fatigue, or the need to manage heavy bleeding.
Without treatment, bleeding disorders can also lead to:
If you know you have a bleeding disorder, tell your doctor, nurse, midwife, and dentist to prevent dangerous complications.
For more information about bleeding disorders, call the OWH Helpline at 1-800-994-9662 or contact the following organizations:
Bleeding Disorders fact sheet (PDF, 97.5 KB)
Enter a city, ZIP code (such as 20002), address, state, or place
To receive Publications email updates
The Office on Women's Health is grateful for the medical review in 2017 by:
Donna DiMichele, M.D., Acting Branch Chief, Thrombosis and Hemostasis Branch, Division of Blood Diseases and Resources, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health
Andra James, M.D., M.P.H., Consulting Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Duke University School of Medicine
All material contained on these pages are free of copyright restrictions and may be copied, reproduced, or duplicated without permission of the Office on Women’s Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Citation of the source is appreciated.
Page last updated: December 27, 2018.
A bleeding disorder is a health problem that makes it difficult for a person to stop bleeding. As many as one in 10 women with heavy menstrual periods may have a bleeding disorder.1 The most common type of bleeding disorder in women is von Willebrand disease (VWD). If left untreated, bleeding disorders raise your risk for anemia and dangerous bleeding after childbirth.
A bleeding disorder is a health problem that makes it difficult for a person to stop bleeding. Normally when a person is hurt, a blood clot forms to stop the bleeding quickly. For blood to clot, your body needs a type of blood cell called platelets and blood proteins called clotting factors.
If you have a bleeding disorder, your platelets or clotting factors do not work correctly or your body does not make enough platelets or clotting factors. This makes it easy for too much bleeding to happen during normal bodily functions such as a menstrual period. People with a bleeding disorder can also bleed too much or for too long after an injury, dental work, childbirth, or surgery.
Bleeding disorders affect both women and men. But bleeding disorders can cause more problems for women because of heavy bleeding during menstrual periods and the risk of dangerous bleeding after childbirth.
It might. As many as one in 10 women with heavy periods may have some type of bleeding disorder.1
But other causes of heavy periods include:
Talk to your doctor or nurse if you have heavy periods.
Your menstrual period is heavy if you:
Menstrual blood is a combination of tissues and blood, so it often comes out in large clumps or clots. These clots are different from the clotting factors that your body needs to help stop bleeding from a cut or other injury. Having many large menstrual blood clots (larger than a quarter) in your menstrual flow is a sign of abnormal or heavy bleeding.
Women with heavy menstrual bleeding often have to change their daily activities because of the bleeding. If you have to change your regular work or school schedule or activities because of too much bleeding during your period, then you probably have heavy menstrual bleeding that is not normal.
Talk to your doctor or nurse if you think you have heavy bleeding. Your doctor will want to do tests to find out what is causing the heavy bleeding. Treatments include medicines or surgery.
Usually, bleeding disorders are inherited, passed down from parent to child when you are born. But it’s possible to have a bleeding disorder even if your parents did not. Talk to your doctor or nurse about your risks if bleeding disorders run in your family.
Sometimes, bleeding disorders can be caused by other health problems or medicines you take:2
Some common symptoms of bleeding disorders include:
If you have any of these symptoms, talk with your doctor or nurse. These can also be a symptom of another health problem.
Bleeding disorders in women and girls are often inherited, meaning the disorders run in families. Sometimes bleeding disorders happen when a girl or woman does not have any family history of a bleeding disorder. Women can also develop bleeding disorders as a side effect of certain medicines or from other health problems.
VWD is the most common inherited bleeding disorder in women in the United States.3 Your blood contains a protein called von Willebrand factor. People with VWD either don’t have enough von Willebrand factor or it doesn’t work correctly. This can lead to heavy bleeding that can be difficult to stop. Women with VWD may have:4,5
Hemophilia is another type of bleeding disorder that is well-known but rare. Hemophilia usually runs in families. Hemophilia affects both women and men, but most children born with hemophilia are male. Women can be carriers of hemophilia, meaning they have one active gene for hemophilia and one inactive gene for hemophilia. Women who are carriers of hemophilia can pass either the inactive or active hemophilia gene on to their children. Some women who are carriers have a mild or less serious form of hemophilia and are at risk for heavy bleeding and bleeding with pregnancy or after childbirth. If you have heavy bleeding, your doctor or nurse may test you for hemophilia.
Learn about other types of common bleeding disorders.
Women with bleeding disorders are at risk of complications during and after pregnancy:
If you have a bleeding disorder (or think you have one) and are thinking of becoming pregnant, talk to your doctor first. You may also want to find a doctor who specializes in high-risk pregnancies.6 Because bleeding disorders run in families, your baby may also have a bleeding disorder.
To diagnose a bleeding disorder, your doctor will:
You may need to see a hematologist (hee-muh-TOL-uh-jist) for special blood tests to detect a bleeding disorder. A hematologist is a doctor who specializes in problems with the blood.
There is no cure for bleeding disorders, but for many people medicine can help control the symptoms. People with mild bleeding problems may only need treatment before or after surgery and dental work or after an injury. If your symptoms are more serious, you may need to take medicine more often.
Common treatments for bleeding disorders include:
Bleeding disorders can raise your risk for anemia and dangerous bleeding after surgery or childbirth. They can also affect your quality of life. Women with heavy menstrual bleeding may miss days of work or school due to side effects from blood loss, including fatigue, or the need to manage heavy bleeding.
Without treatment, bleeding disorders can also lead to:
If you know you have a bleeding disorder, tell your doctor, nurse, midwife, and dentist to prevent dangerous complications.
For more information about bleeding disorders, call the OWH Helpline at 1-800-994-9662 or contact the following organizations:
This content is provided by the Office on Women's Health.
A federal government website managed by the Office on Women's Health in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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1-800-994-9662 • Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET (closed on federal holidays).