Can menstruation go on during pregnancy?

Blood During pregnancy

Pregnancy starts with a delay. Menstruation does not come on time and no longer appear during the entire period of gestation of the baby, as well as at the initial stage of breastfeeding. This fact is known to every woman, but from time to time it is questioned, and expectant mothers ask themselves the question: maybe not everything is so simple? Let’s see what menstruation is during pregnancy – a norm or a pathology?

Normally, they should not be. Therefore, any blood-containing vaginal discharge during this period is termed “obstetric bleeding” 1. Some of them are harmless, others are very dangerous, but the most important thing that every expectant mother should know about them is that it is impossible to ignore “menstruation” during pregnancy in any case. Many of them are a sign of pathologies in which the risk of death of the child, mother, or both increases significantly1. Therefore, any bleeding should be reported to your doctor immediately!

This concludes our article 🙂 But we will tell you what conditions can be similar to menstruation during pregnancy. Perhaps this knowledge will be useful to you and help you not to miss the characteristic signs of obstetric bleeding, which means to give your doctor important information for diagnosis and treatment.

Why do “periods” appear during the first half of pregnancy?

Obstetric bleeding most often occurs in the first half of pregnancy. During this period, the life and health of the fetus is most vulnerable, and any unusual signs should be treated with special attention. Consider the main causes of vaginal bleeding.

Implant bleeding

After fertilization, the egg moves towards the uterus and after about 6-10 days is attached to its wall. In this natural process, little damage to the endometrium (the inner lining of the uterus) occurs and may be accompanied by minor bleeding.

These false periods occur already during pregnancy, but often a woman does not yet know that a new life has arisen inside her. Implantation bleeding is characterized by a small amount of discharge2 and lasts 1–2 days, so it can be confused with regular menstruation, which for some reason came a little ahead of schedule and is surprisingly easy.

Don’t worry. Rather, it is cause for joy: these unexpected “periods” during pregnancy are most likely a sign that you are becoming a mom.

Irritation of the cervix

Under the influence of hormones, the cervix of a pregnant woman becomes more vulnerable and sensitive. In some women, this can lead to minor bleeding with almost any external influence on her. For example, this can happen after taking a swab by a gynecologist or having sex with a loved one.
 
It is difficult to say for sure whether there is a discharge similar to monthly discharge precisely for this reason, or they are associated with more dangerous conditions. Even if the day before you really had sex or a visit to the gynecologist, it is better to play it safe and report your symptoms to your doctor.
 

Ectopic pregnancy

If bleeding is accompanied by persistent and severe abdominal pain, this is a bad sign. This condition is often a sign of an ectopic pregnancy4 and requires immediate medical attention. Alarming symptoms may not appear immediately and begin to bother a woman already in the second month – up to the 8th obstetric week.
 
In no case should you try to endure them. Ectopic fetal implantation is fatal to the mother. In most cases, it requires immediate hospitalization and surgical removal of the fetus.
 

Risk of miscarriage

A spontaneous abortion usually occurs in the first trimester. Sometimes it happens very early on, and the woman does not even always understand what happened. Due to the delay, she may think that pregnancy has come, but bleeding soon comes, which can be confused with menstruation.
The threat of miscarriage may appear later, when the pregnancy has already been confirmed. Bleeding in the first trimester is always a reason to see a doctor immediately. In many cases, spontaneous abortion is a reaction of the pregnant woman’s body to dangerous chromosomal abnormalities and other critical fetal malformations6. However, situations are not uncommon when the threat of miscarriage occurs due to hormonal imbalances or other reasons that modern medicine can eliminate and ensure the birth of a healthy baby.
The answer to the question of why menstruation occurs during pregnancy after several weeks without menstruation may be associated precisely with the threat of miscarriage. In such a situation, you must definitely consult a doctor, and do it as quickly as possible.
 
 

Menstrual bleeding

So we got to the main question: is it possible to be pregnant during menstruation? Oddly enough, some obstetric bleeding may indeed be associated with the work of the mechanisms responsible for the menstrual cycle. Rarely, but during pregnancy, menstruation may occur, which differ from the usual minimum volume of bloody discharge, but sometimes coincide in the calendar with the menstrual cycle.
So we got to the main question: is it possible to be pregnant during menstruation? Oddly enough, some obstetric bleeding may indeed be associated with the work of the mechanisms responsible for the menstrual cycle. Rarely, but during pregnancy, menstruation may occur, which differ from the usual minimum volume of bloody discharge, but sometimes coincide in the calendar with the menstrual cycle.

Are there other reasons for false periods during pregnancy?
There are, and a lot. Obstetric bleeding can be associated with a variety of pathologies and diseases. In particular, polyps of the cervix, fibroids located in the placenta, cervical cancer and other causes can lead to them.

Determining what exactly happened, guided only by external signs, is beyond your power. In most cases, even an experienced specialist will not be able to identify the cause without additional research. Remember this, as a rule, without exception: any period during pregnancy is a reason to immediately contact your doctor!

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