Can a woman have a period and still be pregnant?

From our video partners

Pregnancy
Taking care of yourself with baby on the way.

Periods During Pregnancy

It seems like at some point every woman has heard that their sister's friend's cousin had a period while they were pregnant. This is a myth. Women often confuse any vaginal bleeding as their period because that is what they are used to happening.

You cannot have a period while you are pregnant because both of these functions cannot happen at the same time. If you were pregnant and began menstruating, inevitably you would lose the pregnancy or have a miscarriage. Although you can't be pregnant and have a period at the same time, you can, in fact, experience vaginal bleeding and continue to be pregnant. These are two very different terms: vaginal bleeding and menstruation (period), but it is usually vaginal bleeding that women confuse as their periods.

Bleeding early in pregnancy, as in the first trimester, is scary, but luckily it usually doesn't signal a problem. It is also rather common among women. There are a few common causes of first-trimester bleeding, none of which is an indication of trouble.

1. Normal implantation of the pregnancy into the uterine wall. This bleeding, which sometimes also occurs when a fertilized egg (embryo) attaches itself to the wall of the uterus (generally two to five days after conception), is brief and light and only lasting a couple of days. Implantation normally occurs around five to ten days after conception.

2. Hormonal changes when the period would have otherwise occurred. This type of bleeding is also usually very light, but it can sometimes seem like an actual period. Many women report that they do actually bleed regularly during the early portion of their pregnancy, none of which is a true menstrual period, and this is usually the culprit for that. It is often referred as early pregnancy bleeding and is caused by hormonal changes in the body due to the pregnancy. This is also rather common among women and, again, can appear to be a menstrual period. It's not though.

3. It could be a subchorionic bleed. This is when a small blood clot forms at the edge of the placenta. It usually stops on its own and isn't normally an emergency. But your doctor will want to monitor this with ultrasound to be sure that the clot has resolved itself.

4. Decidual bleeding. This is period-like bleeding (but not your period) when your hormones may get out of whack. It will cause you to loose parts of the lining along the uterine wall. This is especially common in the very early stages of pregnancy because the lining hasn't had a chance to completely attach to the placenta. Although a scary thought, it is not generally considered to be a health risk to neither mother or baby.

5. Getting pregnant while on the pill. This is often associated with bleeding during a pregnancy and can be confused with a menstrual period. Many women will have several bleeding episodes before they realize something isn't right. This will cause the woman to be unable to accurately tell her doctor when her last real menstrual cycle because of the confusion, and an ultrasound will be required to determine an estimated due date.

Often the real case can't be pinpointed, but the bleeding stops spontaneously and in the situations above, the pregnancy continues just fine. As a precaution though, any bleeding should be reported to your practitioner so that he or she can evaluate it. Record whether it is intermittent or persistent, when it started, the color, the heaviness or lightness of the flow, any odor, or any tissue fragments (bits of solid material) that may have passed with the blood. If there were, try to save them in a jar. Also report other symptoms like excessive vomiting, any pain, fever, weakness, and whatever else you might feel.

Any other kind of bleeding than those above, you should make a quick call to the doctor, or if he isn't in, a visit to the ER. It could indicate a less common, and much worse, cause of early bleeding, which includes:

1. Miscarriage. The light bleeding will turn into heavy bleeding and will be accompanied by strong lower abdominal pain that comes and goes. When a miscarriage is taking place, you should find a passage of embryonic material in the blood. A brownish discharge may mean a missed miscarriage. Sometimes, if the fertilized egg doesn't develop, the sac is empty and no embryonic material could have passed.

2. Ectopic pregnancy. Signs include brown vaginal spotting or light bleeding, continuous or not, and have abdominal and/or shoulder pain that is often severe. This type of pregnancy will have to be surgically aborted as it poses potential harm to the mother. The fetus would not be able to survive in this type of pregnancy anyway.

3. Molar pregnancy. Signs include a continuous brownish discharge. This one is a very rare, yet very serious, problem. See the related links below for more information on this condition.

Why You Cannot Have A Regular Period During Pregnancy

The pregnancy hormone completely prevents ovulation in the first place. Ovulation is required to have a period.

You cannot have a period while you are pregnant by the very definition of the two.

Your cycle is what causes a period! Your body releases hormones during this cycle. Those hormones send signals to your reproductive organs to perform certain tasks. An increase in hormones causes an egg to be released from your ovaries. While it travels, a layer of blood and tissue thickens to protect the uterine wall. If the egg is not fertilized, hormone levels drop and you start your period as that extra thick layer of blood and tissue detaches itself and comes out.

While you are pregnant, your body focuses on providing a healthy environment for the fetus. Your brain sends signals to your ovaries to stop the cycle so that the baby can grow. As a result, hormones continue to build and rise for the next nine months because it can't drop.

If you continued to have a period while you were pregnant, it would be shedding the lining of the uterine wall. This lining is what helps to nourish your baby each month. So in biological terms, it makes no sense to have a period while you were pregnant and simply not possible. Therefore, the spotting or bleeding that you are experiencing is caused by something other than your period.

Always Tell Your Doctor

Make sure you record all information and even descriptions of, especially, the first and also subsequent vaginal bleeding episodes. You need to tell your OB/GYN every possible detail that you can about the odor, appearance, any tissue, color, flow, and any other concurrent symptoms elsewhere in the body. Your OB/GYN will need to evaluate you and determine whether your particular cause of vaginal bleeding is cause for an emergency, or more commonly, a non-emergency issue. If you experiencing symptoms of a miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, or molar pregnancy, you need to call your doctor for instructions, or if he isn't in visit your nearest ER pronto.

Don't be embarrassed about it, and don't worry about "grossing out" your doctor. If your doctor was "grossed out" by this, he or she would have chosen a different career path. They answer these types of questions and put mothers-to-be at ease every single day.

For more information regarding vaginal bleeding during pregnancy, visit the links below. They are reputable sources of information from the medical community and can further explain this and other related pregnancy concerns.

Other Opinions and Answers from WikiAnswers Users:

• Yes, it is possible. You really should have read some of the other questions in this particular forum, before you asked this question. Please, give some serious thought to procuring and using some form of contraceptive in the future.

• When conception begins and the egg enters the uterus, signals are sent to the brain to start making progesterone. In response to this, another signal is sent out that tells your body not to produce eggs for the next nine months and for the cervix to remain closed for the next nine months. Because of all of this, 98% percent of women will not experience a period while pregnant, as it is next to impossible. However for some reason, 2% of women somehow continue to have periods. What is much more likely is that A) a woman will experience implantation bleeding or "spotting" and think that it is her period, though much lighter or B) a miscarriage has started or a women has miscarried and she does not yet know it.
  
• My sister had her period for 5 months with her second daughter. she never knew she was pregnant till she started gaining weight. And with my second daughter i had one period while i was pregnant. (The first few weeks of pregnancy)
  
• I believe in this stuff because the stories of women having babies and not knowing because they still got there periods. Did anyone who had a period while pregnant did you get Implantation bleeding 2 weeks before you got your period I did but I don't know if I can still be pregnant every1 who had Implantation bleeding there periods stopped but mine just came.
  
• No. That is impossible.
  
• You can still have a light period, so I'm told , and be pregnant. If your period is usually heavy and you have a light period you could be pregnant.
  
• yes you can have periods while pregnant, i wasn't even aware that i was pregnant, because i was still getting my period, on time and heavy, each month before my period i would still get ovulation pains, which i have always suffered with, and the breast tenderness..... i had no idea i was pregnant. It wasn't until i started feeling sick in the mornings that i even considered being pregnant... i only took a test just to make sure i wasn't, because my friend had got her periods up until the 7 month of her pregnancy, i started to think "what if?" so i took a test and i got a positive result straight away .... i was 3 months pregnant before i even found out.
  
• Hi I got Implantation bleeding on the 2nd may then 2 weeks later I got a period what does this mean???? Could I still be pregnant and not know? could I have a period while pregnant? Omg that's scary I'm only 16 when do you put weight on when you had a period while pregnant? should i just wait till February and see if i go in labour . I'm still having periods
  
  I kinda believe in this period while pregnant but some people don't that's why they end up saying no you can't because they haven't experienced it before bet there kinda jealous in a way
  
• Yes, my mother-in-laws had a weak period every month while she was pregnant with my husband. She didn't think she was actually pregnant until she went into labor. Luckily she worked at a hospital and was a work at the time.
  
• If you know for sure that you are pregnant, it is probably not going to be your period, although some women have experienced a "first" period then learns a couple of weeks later that they really are pregnant. It is possible that it could be implantation bleeding caused by the fertilized egg to attach itself to the uterine wall. Or it could be a cervical change that can cause vaginal bleeding. Vaginal bleeding can also be a symptom of ectopic (tubal) pregnancy. Another cause for bleeding during pregnancy is a miscarriage although the first two reasons for bleeding are more common, it is still a good idea to contact your doctor if you are too concerned.
  
• No, you can't have your period when you are pregnant, well, you shouldn't. You get your period when the egg realises it's not being fertilised and it leaves your body with the blood that was surrounding the walls of the womb. If the egg is fertilised, it won't need to leave the body and will remain in the body and grow into a baby, therefore, you will not have periods.

no if you have a period you are not pregnant

no because when you become pregnant your period stops so if you get your period you're not pregnant i'm not talking about spots of blood i'm talking about the whole deal

First answer by ash. Last edit by Amlove32. Contributor trust: 207 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 164 [recommend question]