Infection may alternatively be the cause of postcoital bleeding. This can include yeast infections, vaginitis, or sexually transmitted infections (STIs) like gonorrhea or chlamydia, reports Medical News Today. Yeast infections, in particular, can cause not just cervical bleeding, but vaginal bleeding, too (via Forbes).
A person may also be more prone to bleeding after sex if they have benign growths known as polyps or fibroids within their cervix or uterus. In some cases, cervical polyps may cause heavier bleeding than expected. “Bleeding [from polyps] is usually bright red and can cause significant flow for some people,” board-certified OB/GYN Dr. Alyssa Dweck told Well+Good. While polyps and fibroids are noncancerous, cervical dysplasia is a condition characterized by precancerous cell growth within the cervical canal, which has also been linked with postcoital bleeding. Furthermore, a person with abnormal tissue growth that occurs outside of the uterus rather than inside — a hard-to-treat condition known as endometriosis — may also be more susceptible to bleeding after sexual intercourse.