Questions About Post-Natal Bleeding and Birth Control

Answered by Ustadha Shaista Maqbool

Question: After a child’s birth, if a woman’s menstrual cycle gets disturbed, how can she determine if its menstruation or not. My due date was 3rd October, i started to bleed but it was like spots with long intervals and not continuous bleeding, on the first two days it was just one spot in the entire day, than the next two days it was more often and on the fifth day i was clear so i made ghusl. Was this menstruation or not? Should i make up the missed prayer?

But now on the 10th day i started to have very heavy bleeding? Should I pray my salah or not?

Also, is it allowed to insert a coil for contraception?

Answer: Wa’alaikum assalaam warahmatu Allah,

In the Hanafi school, all the bleeding within the first forty days after childbirth is considered part of the lochia, or post-natal bleeding, not menstruation. This is so even if the bleeding is intermittent or ceases for some time.

For example: A woman sees a spot of blood on day 1, then the bleeding stops. Then she again sees blood on day 39. She would consider herself to be bleeding for the entire 39 days, because this is all within the 40 day allowance for blood that woman have after childbirth.

Hence, yes, you must stop praying if you see bleeding 10 days after childbirth since it is lochia, the few days of purity you saw are disregarded.

As for the coil, for birth-control, because there are other alternatives, my teachers are of the opinion that it is not allowed since it requires uncovering of one’s private part unnecessarily.

Allah knows best.

wasalaam,
Shaista Maqbool

Checked & Approved by Faraz Rabbani