Am I Pregnant Even While Menstruating?

The question that won’t go away, a doubt for 8 out of 10 women who attend or visit TF: am I pregnant? Is it possible that even after menstruating I could still be pregnant?

Everything can start when your period comes in a different amount, volume, color, or appearance than usual. Some women may find the sudden change strange. And then, pregnancy is the first possibility that comes to mind. It isn’t always the explanation, but it is certainly a possibility for women of childbearing age. But how do you know if your period was different because of pregnancy? Am I pregnant even while menstruating? Where did it come from? Where does it go? These are questions Famivita will answer now!

The most direct way to know if you’re pregnant is with a pregnancy test. The test depends on the hCG hormone, which only appears in the body after implantation¹. Some tests are more sensitive than others, like the FamiVita test which has the highest sensitivity on the market. This way it is possible to detect pregnancy and clear up doubts faster. You can find our pregnancy test in our online store.

A decrease or even a change in the color of menstrual flow may be due to hormonal causes. The tricksters—hormones, always them! The change can occur due to an increased production of one of them (estrogen and progesterone). Another cause may be a very thin endometrium (less than 5mm), which can cause a woman to have much less menstruation than she would normally have. Low flow can give false hope to those who desperately want a baby. And it can also terrify those who are on the verge of a nervous breakdown, afraid they might be pregnant. Panic aside, menstruation can really play tricks. That’s why relying only on it to determine the possibility of pregnancy can indeed be misleading.

The fact is: pregnant women DO NOT menstruate, but they can have bleeding. The problem is that rarely do women know how to distinguish this bleeding from an abnormal period². Basically, a woman who menstruates no longer has endometrium to house the embryo in its early stages. Without it, a pregnancy cannot occur. Heavy periods are a sign that all the endometrium has detached, especially when there are clots. Those pieces present in menstrual blood are often parts of endometrial tissue. Don’t be alarmed if you ever see less blood or if you don’t see these clots. It may just be a sign that the endometrium grew less this cycle. As we’ve mentioned, if you have doubts, take a pregnancy test to be sure.

When does blood indicate pregnancy?

Normally, bleeding associated with pregnancy that many women mistake for menstruation is implantation bleeding. It’s not uncommon to see questions on the site about slight, oddly colored flows that may be possible implantation bleeding. Many women trying to conceive get confused between implantation bleeding and their period. However, implantation bleeding is not heavy, nor does it resemble even a light period. IMPLANTATION BLEEDING DOES NOT HAVE FLOW. It usually appears subtly when a woman wipes after using the bathroom or as a slight smudge on her underwear. This ‘bleeding’ is minimal and only slightly visible. The vast majority of women do not have implantation bleeding. So, don’t get your hopes up if you had enough flow to soak a pad. It’s likely you just had a less intense period than usual.

Flow can also raise doubts if it shows differences in its color and texture³. Besides blood clots, there is also altered clotting bleeding, known as ‘coffee grounds’ bleeding. This is actually a partial reason for concern. It can mean that your body is producing less progesterone than it should. So, the expelled endometrium looks different. This happens because your body might take longer to shed this already reduced endometrium. The tissue retained inside the uterus then oxidizes. This gives it the characteristic ‘coffee grounds’ color. Dark periods are a sign of low progesterone, while bright red to deep red clots with heavy flow indicate an excess of estrogen.

Sometimes these imbalances can also come from insufficient amounts of vitamins—did you know that? That’s why it’s recommended to properly supplement the body, either through diet or appropriate multivitamins for this phase.

So to reinforce: bleeding that indicates pregnancy is implantation bleeding. But this bleeding SHOULD NOT HAVE FLOW, soak a pad, or drench your underwear. It should be subtle, appearing and disappearing within a few hours and at most in 3 days. Bleedings with flow, even if lighter, but that have different characteristics, are in the vast majority really your period. If the duration of your menstrual cycle (days of bleeding) is shorter than usual, but there is still flow, it is your period. Only consider the bleeding suspicious if it appears and, within a maximum of 3 days, your period does not come as normal.

Don’t be fooled if you had lighter bleeding but with flow. They can trick you, just like other pregnancy symptoms. A pregnant woman who has bleeding is at risk with her pregnancy! Bleeding during pregnancy is a sign that something is wrong and not all pregnant women have bleeding. Fortunately, the vast majority don’t have any symptoms of an oncoming period.

If you had a lighter period and think you might be pregnant, take a test to clear up your doubts. But take it without much hope and be mindful. In most cases, this lighter flow is simply a period during a cycle where the endometrium didn’t grow adequately. It’s not impossible to be pregnant, but the chances are very small when you’ve had a considerable menstrual flow.

See also: Is It Possible to Get Pregnant Without Menstruating?