If the withdrawal bleeding occurs close to the time when a woman normally has her period, it can be considered a menstrual period. If the bleeding occurs in the middle of the period or about a week before the period, it is not a period and is called withdrawal bleeding, and the woman’s period will come normally. Withdrawal bleeding is when a woman stops taking hormone pills, at which point the endometrium loses its hormonal protection and sheds, resulting in bleeding. Such bleeding is called withdrawal bleeding in clinical terms.