If this happens just a few days before or after your period, it’s perfectly normal.

According to Dr Leath Millheiser of the Female Sexual Medicine programme at Stanford University Medical Centre, these brown spots signify your uterus’ attempt at shedding the last of its lining. But, unlike fresh blood, it’s been oxidised and mixed with your cervical mucus.

Plus, if you’re on birth control, this could be a sign that your breakthrough bleeding is happening or is about to happen.

Completely normal. This usually means that your vagina is doing its job of cleaning itself out and ridding itself of dead skin cells.

Your discharge can tell you a lot about what’s going on down there. In this case, discharge like this signifies that you’re about to ovulate and it’s the best time to get pregnant.

Perfectly normal as well. Your vagina is probably working harder to clear itself of dead skin cells.

This usually means that your period is about to begin. At this point, the chances of getting pregnant are lower.

However, if you’re already pregnant, you’ll tend to see this sort of discharge more thanks to the pregnancy hormones in your body.

It means your period is here but not quite fully here yet. Don’t fret but be sure to carry pantyliners or pads just in case.

This is usually accompanied by vaginal iching, burning sensation and irritation down there.

You might be having a yeast infection.

Yeast infections can occur more often in pregnant women so be sure to consult your doctor.

As mentioned earlier, if you’re on the pill, this could be your breakthrough bleeding.

Otheriwse, this might be a sign that you are pregnant.

However, if the chances of you being pregnant are low and you’re not on any sort of birth control, perhaps it’s time to see a doctor.

If you’re seeing green and experience some sort of irritation down there, see a doctor ASAP.

It might be a sign of a certain STI caused by a parasite.

Smells are usually an indicator that something’s not right down there.

Milky and greyish looking discharge could be a sign of bacterial imbalance in your vagina (don’t worry, it happens sometimes!) especially after you’ve had your period or have had sex with ejeculation.

Visit the doctor ASAP.

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