Yes, that’s what this blog is about. Sharing photos and discussion on the different ways women’s menstrual blood flows onto their pads – specifically cloth pads. If you’re offended or not interested, then I suggest you go look somewhere else. If you are interested, welcome!

The idea of this gallery is not to offend or shock people, it is to provide a place where women can get a better understanding of what happens on other women’s pads. Which can also be particularly useful for makers of cloth pads, who can see the variety of needs women have, and may be able to use this to provide greater coverage for customers.

If you’ve ever wondered why some women wear gigantic pads, and others only small ones? Or how some women complain about leaking all over a pad, while others can seem to bleed neatly only in the centre…. It may surprise you to know that not only do women bleed in different amounts, but women bleed in different ways too.

Several factors contribute to different blood flow patterns. The shape of the labia might have one of the biggest effects. Some women experience “channelling” – where the blood flows forward and out the front of the labia, and back out through the “crack” of the buttocks – rather than straight down. My theory is that the more “closed” the labia is, the more channelling happens. Where a more “open” labia will allow the blood to flow onto the pad more and thus cause less channelling. The more ample the bottom, the worse this problem might be, but smaller women do have this problem too.

The fabric that a cloth pad is made from can also contribute to the way the blood is distributed on the surface. “Grabby” fabrics like terry, velour and fleece can catch the blood quicker than a flatter fabric like cotton, so blood tends to spread out less with those types of fabrics. Having sewn “Channel lines” in a pad can also help to direct the flow, keeping it central.

Some of the common ways women bleed have been tagged in each post:

• Mostly out the front (tagged “front”) – More out the front than the back or middle. Women who bleed like this need to position their pads up higher at the front to cover up to their pubic bone as the blood often comes out the very front of the labia.
• Mostly out the back (tagged “back”) – More comes up out the back (”bum crack”), than the middle or front. Women who bleed like this sometimes need very long pads, or styles with a longer (and perhaps wider) back section, that cover more of the “crack” area… Sometimes needing night time length pads to wear during the day.
• Straight Down (tagged “straightdown”) – Bleeding more or less straight down with no forward or back bleeding. Women who bleed like this can wear shorter pads and tend to have a lighter flow.
• Down the middle (tagged “middle”) – Bleeding comes out in a line from the front, and out to the back, but stays mostly central to the pad, and not onto the wing area.
• All Over (tagged “allover”) – Bleeding spreads out, virtually covering the whole pad, or a large portion of it.
• To the Side (tagged “side”) – Bleeding that falls more to the side of the pad than in the centre. Not all women bleed down the centre of their pads. While lots of women find they bleed to the side if sitting/laying on their side, some women have this sideways bleeding no matter what.

Occasionally there will be a stand out shape which mat be tagged as well for interest, such as a heart shape.

Because very few pads fit perfectly into one of those categories, most pads will be tagged with more than one. For example if the flow pattern is mostly out the front, but also fairly straight down, then it will be tagged as “front” and “straightdown”. Tags are also given in both colour and black & white versions, so that you can choose which pictures to view. Special tags (such as heartshaped) will not be sorted into colour/B&W

These galleries contain images of pads that have blood on them – used pads. If this offends you, DO NOT look. There are 2 versions so you can choose black and white pics if you want something less confronting.

Please see the “start here” link on the side to start with.