{"id":35866,"date":"2020-01-03T13:41:12","date_gmt":"2020-01-03T21:41:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.avawomen.com\/?p=35866"},"modified":"2020-02-20T15:02:46","modified_gmt":"2020-02-20T23:02:46","slug":"can-you-be-pregnant-and-still-get-a-period","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.avawomen.com\/avaworld\/can-you-be-pregnant-and-still-get-a-period\/","title":{"rendered":"Can You Be Pregnant and Still Get a Period?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not hard to find online stories about women who still got their periods while they were pregnant, but is there any science to back up those claims? A missed period is supposed to be one of the first and most clear-cut signs of pregnancy<\/a>. Unfortunately, our bodies don\u2019t always like to play by the rules. Two common examples of this are:<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. Many women experience period-like bleeding and PMS symptoms, even after getting a positive pregnancy test<\/a>.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Some women experience period-like bleeding, assume that they\u2019re not pregnant, and <\/span>then<\/span><\/i> start experiencing unexpected symptoms of pregnancy.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Can You Really Get Your Period While Pregnant?<\/span><\/h2>\n

    The short answer is no. Your period, by definition, only occurs after you ovulate, and you cannot ovulate when you are pregnant.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    During the first half of your cycle, your uterine lining thickens in preparation for a possible pregnancy. After ovulation, your progesterone levels increase, maintaining your uterine lining.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    If you don\u2019t get pregnant, progesterone levels drop after about two weeks, and your lining begins to shed\u2014this is your period.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    If the egg <\/span>has<\/span><\/i> been fertilized, and if it successfully implants in your uterine lining, then it will start secreting the hormone <\/span>hCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin<\/span><\/a>. This hormone signals to your body to keep your uterine lining intact. You may still experience some form of bleeding or spotting, but, by definition, it is not your period.<\/span><\/p>\n

    How Common Is Period-Like Bleeding in Early Pregnancy?<\/span><\/h2>\n

    This epidemiological study<\/span><\/a> looked at the pregnancies of 4,539 women and found that 27% of women without miscarriage reported experiencing some form of bleeding during pregnancy. The most common time for bleeding to occur was 5 \u2013 8 weeks of gestation (or 1 \u2013 3 weeks after a missed period).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Of those women:<\/span><\/p>\n