Can you get your periods during pregnancy

Pregnant and Period: Is It Possible?

The short answer is no. Despite all of the claims out there, it isn’t possible to have a period while you’re pregnant.

Rather, you might experience “spotting” during early pregnancy, which is usually light pink or dark brown in color.

As a rule of thumb, if there’s enough bleeding to fill a pad or tampon, then it’s a sign you’re probably not pregnant. If you’ve had a positive pregnancy test and are bleeding heavily, seek medical care.

Your period occurs every month or so in lieu of an egg becoming fertilized. Eggs are released once a month from the ovary. When they aren’t fertilized, the egg travels out of the uterus and sheds through the vagina.

Bleeding during a “normal” period often starts off light, then gets heavier and darker red. It also lightens in color and quantity toward the end of the cycle.

The differences between menstruation and being pregnant are supposed to be clear-cut: Once you’re pregnant, you don’t get periods anymore. But it isn’t always so obvious.

Some people claim they’ve gotten periods while pregnant. Fueling some of the inquiries in the “periods while pregnant” conspiracy are social media, blogs, and even television shows like “I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant.”

Bleeding is a warning sign, but it doesn’t have to be something bad. Many people go on to have healthy babies after experiencing spotting during their first trimester. If you do bleed during pregnancy, it’s related to something else other than regular menstruation.

After all, periods only happen when you’re not pregnant. Learn about the different types of bleeding during pregnancy and when you need to call your OB-GYN.

Between 15 and 25 percent of people spot during early pregnancy. Some of the causes are:

implantation bleeding
changes in the cervix
infection
molar pregnancy (abnormal mass fertilizes instead of a fetus)
ectopic pregnancy (a pregnancy outside of the uterus)
early signs of a miscarriage

Implantation bleeding

This happens in the earliest stages of pregnancy. At this point, you likely haven’t gotten a pregnancy test yet. This type of bleeding occurs when the fertilized egg implants into the uterus, usually around the time your period would be expected.

Implantation bleeding is sometimes mistaken as a period, though the bleeding is usually light or just spotting.

Shortly after pregnancy, you might also experience spotting from cervical changes. Unless there’s an infection, this isn’t often cause for concern.

Other causes

Other types of early bleeding that can indicate an emergency medical issue include:

infections
ectopic pregnancy
molar pregnancy
miscarriage

These can also be accompanied by:

severe cramps or abdominal pain
back pain
faintness or losing consciousness
fatigue
shoulder pain
fever
vaginal discharge changes
uncontrollable nausea and vomiting

The bleeding is also much heavier, unlike spotting. It’s more like a normal period.

Bleeding beyond the first trimester often requires medical attention. Regardless of whether bleeding during the second and third trimester is light or heavy, with or without any other symptoms, you need to call your doctor for an emergency visit.

Common causes of bleeding during the rest of pregnancy include:

term or preterm labor or cervical dilation
miscarriage
placenta previa
placental abruption
uterine rupture (rare)
vasa previa (rare)

Preterm labor

This refers to any birth that happens before 37 weeks. Before preterm labor, some people experience symptoms similar to a period as well as a large amount of mucus discharge.

While cramping may also be felt, preterm labor also causes contractions. Symptoms of preterm labor might also include:

backache
a sensation of pressure in the vagina
changes in discharge

Placenta previa

This happens when the placenta is implanted low in the uterus and very close to, or covers, the cervix. The bleeding varies, but there are no other symptoms. Placenta previa can hinder labor and delivery.

Placental abruption

This occurs most commonly during the last few months of pregnancy. The placenta detaches from the uterus, usually causing heavy bleeding and possibly severe stomach pain and cramping. Certain health conditions, such as high blood pressure, can increase the risk of placental abruption.

Uterine rupture

A uterine rupture means that the muscle of the uterus separates or tears. This can cause uncontrolled bleeding. It occurs most commonly in those who have delivered via cesarean delivery in the past. Though rare, this type of tear happens on old scar lines along the uterus.

Many of the conditions that happen in the latter part of pregnancy cause bleeding and other symptoms similar to a period. These aren’t really menstruation, though.

It’s not possible to get your period while pregnant. You may, however, experience similar symptoms of a period during the first trimester. These include:

vaginal bleeding (light and short term)
light cramping
fatigue
irritability
lower back pain

The difference is that these symptoms are related to your body’s natural preparation methods for pregnancy. If any of the above symptoms are severe or don’t go away, you’re in the second or third trimester of pregnancy, or both apply, seek immediate care.

Sometimes it’s difficult to tell whether bleeding is indicative of a medical emergency or not. As a rule of thumb, if you’re bleeding at any stage of pregnancy, call your doctor right away.

Q:

What’s the earliest you can test and get a positive pregnancy result?

Anonymous patient

A:

Home pregnancy tests measure a level of a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in the urine. Urine usually has less measurable hormones than blood, so urine tests may not be as accurate early in the pregnancy. Several factors can affect the accuracy of the home urine pregnancy test: the type of test or brand, error in interpreting the results, female cycle length, and interference from another diagnosis or treatment are a few examples. The best time to take a home pregnancy test is at the time of a missed menstrual cycle. However, even on the first day after a missed period, more than a third of pregnant women will have a negative home pregnancy test result. Some women report having positive results before the date of their expected menstrual cycle, though this isn’t common.

Kimberly Dishman, MSN, WHNP-BC, RNC-OBAnswers represent the opinions of our medical experts. All content is strictly informational and should not be considered medical advice.

Can You Get Your Period While Pregnant?

Pregnancy brings lots of changes to your body, so it’s normal to wonder what might remain the same. One commonly asked question: “Can you get your period while pregnant?” Here, we tapped experts to find out. Keep reading to learn more about whether you can have a period while pregnant, and what to do if you experience period-like bleeding or cramps during pregnancy.

In this article:
Can you get your period while pregnant?
What to know about period-like bleeding during pregnancy
What to know about period-like cramps during pregnancy

Can You Get Your Period While Pregnant?

Experts agree that you cannot get your period while pregnant. Let’s revisit why women get periods in the first place: Over the course of a menstrual cycle, the lining of a woman’s uterus slowly thickens in preparation for a fertilized embryo to implant in the uterine wall, explains Christine Greves, MD, an ob-gyn at the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies, located in Orlando, Florida. However, if a woman doesn’t get pregnant at the end of her menstrual cycle, that uterine lining is then shed, resulting in a period, Cynthia Flynn, MD, a Florida-based ob-gyn with JustAnswer, adds.

Here’s the thing: Though you can’t get your period while pregnant, some women might experience some spotting and bleeding, and even cramping, that may mimic your period. (More on this below.)

What to Know About Period-Like Bleeding During Pregnancy

It’s understandable to be concerned if you experience period-like bleeding during early pregnancy, as it can potentially be a sign of miscarriage or an ectopic pregnancy. But bleeding during pregnancy doesn’t always mean that something is terribly amiss. In fact, approximately a third of women will experience some spotting and bleeding during their first trimester, says Mary Jane Minkin, MD, a clinical professor of obstetrics at Yale School of Medicine. While half of these cases may sadly end in miscarrage, the other half will proceed as usual.

Some possible reasons someone might experience bleeding during pregnancy include:

Implantation bleeding: This happens during early pregnancy, when the newly fertilized embryo travels from the fallopian tube and attaches to the uterine lining, Minkin says. Implantation bleeding is usually light and not a cause for concern.
A subchorionic bleed: This is a small collection of blood behind the placenta that could appear during early pregnancy. “It’s very common and usually resolves on its own,” Flynn says.
A sensitive cervix: This could be a result of the cervix getting softer during pregnancy. “Occasionally even having intercourse can lead to some spotting,” Minkin says.
Placenta previa: This occurs when the placenta is very low in the uterus and covers the cervix, blocking baby’s exit path.
Placental abruption: This is when the placenta begins to detach from the uterus before labor starts.
Preterm labor: This is when labor begins before 37 weeks of pregnancy. However, you might also experience bleeding at the onset of labor at term, Minkin states, due to the stretching of the cervix.
Cervical polyp: Cervical polyps are small growths of tissue on the cervix. They’re typically not a cause for concern but may bleed due to the increased number of blood vessels in the cervix.

The best thing to do if you’re experiencing period-like bleeding during pregnancy is to call your ob-gyn or midwife, so they can make sure everything is okay with you and baby. While some circumstances may call for further treatment, “in many cases, an ultrasound will show that everything is okay and may even determine the cause of the bleeding,” Flynn notes.

What to Know About Period-Like Cramps While Pregnant

You can’t get your period during pregnancy, but you may still unfortunately experience some period-like symptoms, such as cramps during pregnancy. They could be due to implantation pain in early pregnancy or the growth of the uterus in the first trimester. “It often feels like you are about to get your period, but it never comes,” Flynn explains. “In the second trimester, you may get a few Braxton Hicks contractions or round ligament pain. Both are felt as cramping.”

While some period-like cramping is par for the course, severe cramping at any point during the pregnancy could be a sign of a more serious issue, such as an ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage or preterm labor. If you do experience any cramps during pregnancy, reach out to your ob-gyn or midwife, especially if the cramping is persistent. More moderate cramps are likely no cause for concern, but as Flynn says, “These are the symptoms your doctor wants to hear about.”

About the experts:

Christine Greves, MD, FACOG, is a board-certified ob-gyn at the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies, located in Orlando, Florida. She received her medical degree from the University of South Florida College of Medicine.

Cynthia Flynn, MD, is a board-certified ob-gyn based in Florida with over 20 years of experience. She is also an expert with the online platform JustAnswer. She received her degree from the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine.

Mary Jane Minkin, MD, is a practicing gynecologist and a clinical professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. She also received her medical degree and completed her residency there.

Please note: The Bump and the materials and information it contains are not intended to, and do not constitute, medical or other health advice or diagnosis and should not be used as such. You should always consult with a qualified physician or health professional about your specific circumstances.

Plus, more from The Bump:

Can You Get Pregnant on Your Period?

Bleeding and Spotting During Pregnancy: What It May Mean

What to Know About the Bloody Show During Pregnancy

Menstruation during pregnancy - maternity hospital "Leleka"

Young women often wonder if pregnancy and menstruation can happen at the same time. Indeed, during pregnancy, some women experience spotting, which is mistaken for menstruation. But it's not.

There can be no full menstruation during pregnancy. The endometrium, the layer of cells that lines the inside of the uterus and is shed during menstruation, helps the placenta develop during pregnancy and stays in the body. The cycle of monthly renewal of the endometrium during pregnancy stops.

However, spotting during pregnancy is not uncommon. Their appearance indicates that there are some malfunctions or pathological conditions in the woman's body. It can be a hormonal imbalance, a threatened miscarriage, and even an ectopic pregnancy.

Unfortunately, many young women underestimate this symptom, believing that periods during pregnancy are possible, and do not worry about discharge. They do not go to the doctor until the situation becomes critical. And in some cases, a timely reaction can save not only the unborn child, but also the life of the mother.

What causes bleeding during pregnancy

In order to understand how menstruation can start during pregnancy and what should be done, let's turn to the processes that occur in the body of a pregnant woman.

During intercourse, semen enters the vagina and then into the uterus. But fertilization may not occur immediately: spermatozoa remain active for three days. After the sex cells fuse, the fertilized egg attaches itself to the wall of the uterus. This, too, may not happen immediately, but within a few days. If these processes are delayed in time, the usual regular menstruation may begin. In this case, the egg will be fixed in the uterus, the pregnancy will develop normally. A pregnancy test will show a positive result. Alas, this rarely happens. More often, spotting is an alarming symptom.

Pregnancy and early periods

In some cases, the fertilized egg does not implant in the uterus, but in the fallopian tube or outside the genitals. An ectopic pregnancy develops - a severe pathology that poses a serious threat to the life of the mother and excludes a favorable outcome for the fetus. In an ectopic pregnancy, spotting may indicate a ruptured fallopian tube. The walls of the fallopian tubes are only 2-3 mm thick, they are inelastic. If an embryo develops and grows in the tube, the wall breaks, internal bleeding begins. This usually happens within 3-4 weeks. In this situation, urgent surgical intervention is necessary.

With detachment of the epithelium and the threat of miscarriage, characteristic discharge may also appear. This is possible with hormonal disruptions in the body of a woman. But sometimes spontaneous abortion occurs due to some internal failures that are almost impossible to predict in advance. If a young woman leads an unhealthy lifestyle - drinking alcohol, other toxic substances, or doing a lot of physical labor - this can increase the risk of spontaneous abortion. Allocations will just mean that the process of rejection of the embryo has begun.

Sometimes the cause of discharge is the death of one of the fetuses during a multiple pregnancy. If the pregnancy is multi-ovarian, that is, several eggs were fertilized, the development of other embryos can continue. But the risk of death of other embryos in this situation is quite high.

In some cases, the cause of the discharge is pathology or disease of the uterus. The egg does not manage to gain a foothold in the uterus successfully, especially if the uterus has pathologies or neoplasms. If the pregnancy develops normally, but the woman continues to have discharge similar to menstruation, this indicates a hormonal imbalance. Insufficient production of the necessary hormones is an alarming, but usually not a dangerous condition.

If menstruation starts during pregnancy, is there a chance to keep the baby?

Fortunately, the appearance of spotting does not mean termination of pregnancy. Of course, in the case of severe pathologies, such as an ectopic pregnancy, it will not be possible to save the fetus. But if in all these cases you do not consult a doctor, the risk of losing a child, and in some cases, a mother, is very high.

The SM-Clinic gynecologist told if menstruation can occur during pregnancy

Is bleeding in a future mother a reason to see a doctor or is it normal for early pregnancy? We understand.
Tatyana Vladimirovna Grigoryeva, an obstetrician-gynecologist at SM-Clinic, told the readers of Letidor about what the menstrual cycle is, as well as about menstruation during pregnancy.

Tatyana Vladimirovna Grigorieva, obstetrician-gynecologist "SM-Clinic"

Can menstruation guarantee that pregnancy has not occurred

First, let's remember what the menstrual cycle is. This is the alternation of the menstruation itself (lasts 3-7 days), the follicular phase, ovulation and the luteal phase. During menstruation, the mucous membranes of the uterus are shed. The process is accompanied by bleeding (this happens at the end of the ovulatory cycle). If there was no ovulation, then the bleeding is called menstrual-like.

It is extremely rare for two eggs to mature in one cycle (but this happens!): one is fertilized, and the second is rejected by the body and causes the onset of menstruation.

Menstruation during pregnancy is not normal.

However, do we always understand the nature of bleeding from the vagina without medical diagnosis? If during the alleged menstruation a woman noticed spotting, but their nature is different from the usual menstruation (the discharge is scarce, ends quickly, has a brown or bright scarlet color) and you remember that unprotected intercourse took place - this is a reason to do pregnancy test and see a doctor.

What can menstruation mean during pregnancy

After fertilization of the egg and the onset of pregnancy, menstruation does not occur throughout the entire process of bearing the fetus.

It should be remembered that the appearance of any bloody discharge from the vagina during a confirmed pregnancy (positive urinary pregnancy test, ultrasound data, hCG values) indicates possible pathologies. For example, when there is a threat of miscarriage and termination of pregnancy (started spontaneous abortion), placenta previa (low, marginal, complete).

Scanty spotting during the first days of pregnancy may be nothing more than implantation bleeding. Implantation of a fertilized egg (blastocyst) into the endometrium occurs 7-10 days after conception, that is, in fact, approximately on the days when menstruation should come in case of late ovulation.

The introduction of the blastocyst is accompanied by the destruction of the capillaries, and, consequently, there is a release of blood in a small amount. But, unlike true menstrual bleeding, implantation does not last long: in most cases, a day, or even less.

What effect does progesterone have on the mucous membranes of the uterus

Progesterone is the most important hormone throughout pregnancy. It is involved in the preparation of the endometrium for the implantation of a fertilized egg, the development of the fetus, and prevents premature birth. The reason for the occurrence of bloody discharge from the vagina, including on the days on which the woman previously had menstruation, may be a lack of this hormone.

Left unattended, hormonal bleeding can lead to spontaneous abortion.

However, in most cases, with timely treatment, it is possible to remove the deficient condition and minimize the risks.

Can spotting indicate an ectopic pregnancy

An ectopic pregnancy is when a fertilized egg deviates from its intended path and attaches in the wrong place - outside the uterine cavity. The appearance of bloody discharge from the genital tract is not uncommon in ectopic pregnancy.

Unlike menstrual bleeding, they have a thicker consistency and dark color.

It should be remembered that in the early stages, the signs of an ectopic (ectopic) pregnancy are very similar to those of a normal pregnancy (delayed menstruation, swelling of the mammary glands, positive urine pregnancy test).

Any suspected ectopic pregnancy is an indication for emergency hospitalization, as this is a life-threatening condition.

When do menstrual flow occur and what does it mean

In most other cases, bleeding during early pregnancy (in the first trimester) is an alarming symptom.

For example, it may indicate that the placenta is located in the lower part of the uterus and covers its internal os (this can be interpreted as a threat of abortion).

In the second and third trimester, bleeding may indicate uterine rupture (eg, may occur if there is a scar on the uterus from a previous birth), premature detachment of a normally located placenta, and other problems.

Bleeding during pregnancy is a sure sign for the expectant mother that an urgent need to see a doctor.

It is important to remember that periods during pregnancy are not normal. For any bleeding in this case, the help of a specialist is needed.

How often do periods occur during pregnancy

15-20% of pregnancies end in spontaneous abortion in the early stages. However, it is important to understand that although bloody discharge from the vagina against the background of a live intrauterine pregnancy is designated by doctors as a “threat of miscarriage”, but in a large number of cases, despite a formidable diagnosis, such a pregnancy is safely carried out.

If the interruption does occur, in most cases (overwhelming) we are talking about genetic abnormalities of the fetus that are incompatible with life. Other reasons include infectious diseases in the early stages, hormonal disruptions, physical overload, and so on.

Should I see a doctor if bleeding during pregnancy occurs only after intercourse

The appearance of bloody discharge from the genital tract after intercourse may indicate erosion of the cervix, the presence of polyps of the cervical canal.