History and Objectives: DMPA is one of the commonly used contraceptive methods because of its high rate of success, less complications, easily applicable and rapidity. The major complication of DMPA is the occurrence of irregularity in menses that is of high concern in Islamic culture. Therefore, the present study was carried out to determine the effect DMPA on the pattern of vaginal bleeding in referrals of Mahdieh hospital in Tehran in 1999.

Materials and Methods: The clinical strategy of this study was performed on 50 women with a history of regular menstrual cycle. DMPA at a dose of 150mg was injected and for 90 days thereafter, the bleeding pattern was determined and classified. In addition, the role of BMI in this regard was determined.

Results: Out of 50 studied cases at an age range of 18-45 years, 20 cases showed bleeding itself or its signs. For the latter, it occurred for one time in 35% of them, for 2 times in 35% of them and for 3-6 times in 35% of cases. The average days of bleeding for all them were 41.8±26.6 days. It is also evident that BMI can not affect the vaginal bleeding.

Conclusion: It is concluded that the bleeding pattern is not a problem of high concern in consumers of DMPA, but it is recommended to perform more studies in this field.