To ask you to settle a debate around periods and pregnancy

[mayaknew]

Topic of discussion with colleagues around people who have periods during their pregnancy

A couple have said that while people do absolutely have bleeding for different reasons ... people who claim to have a monthly period throughout are lying.

Any mners out there had periods during pregnancy?

From personal experience, you can bleed whilst pregnant, I did and thought they were any periods (I have PCOS so am not regular I the sense of every 28days) but if you're like me, found out when I was 25weeks. No symptoms by the way!
As for actual periods, releasing an egg etc, then I highly doubt it. But some woman do bleed.

So I guess it depends who you ask!

I had a 'period' whilst pregnant. Baby was fine.

I realise it wasn't actually a menstrual period. But at the time I thought it was. It felt exactly like my usual periods in every way (flow, duration, pains). It felt nothing like the spotting and the bleeding I've had J other pregnancies and nothing like a miscarriage.

So sure, you can't have actual periods, but you can definitely have something which does a stellar job of disguising itself as a period!

I had what I thought was a period at 6 weeks pregnant (when I didn't know I was pregnant, just thought period was a bit late from stress. Therefore I didn't know I was pregnant until 13 weeks.

In hindsight, the period was a bit lighter and didn't start off bright red as it usually does.

@MyMabel I'm aware of that being a pharmacist lol. It is however shocking that many women have a poor understanding of how their own bodies work and often do consider this a period!

I had regular bleeding in pregnancy that could have been mistaken for a period if I hadn't known I was pregnant. I had HG so no mistaking that I was pregnant but in every pregnancy I had a 3-4 day bleed every four weeks. With DC it stopped by 24wks, DC2 by 12wks, DC3 by 32wks, and DC3 by 8wks. If I didn't know I was pregnant, was bleeding every four week, wasn't showing very much, and wasn't being constantly sick then I could have presumed I wasn't pregnant and carried on as normal until I went into labour.

I had a monthly bleed for months and had no idea I was pregnant until 6 months- no weight gain or any other symptoms

Can I ask how you found out you were pregnant? I tested (bfn) 3 months ago when I thought I was pregnant. I’ve been sick on and off this past month, (if I was pregnant it would be weeks 7-13) my stomach feels like it’s doing somersaults :(

I’m really confused as I’m still bleeding very heavy (and having loads of cramps) every month, but the sickness comes on so suddenly which is odd. I’m just not sure what to do. Has this happened to anyone else?

Yup. Just the same as the normal period when doing the 7 day break on the Pill. Not a single bit of difference.

Which was why I was slightly surprised horrified to find out I was 17 and a half weeks pregnant and the dizziness that led to the news was because my iron levels were through the floor.

During my first pregnancy I had monthly bleeds lasting 4 or 5 days like clockwork every 28 days.
If I hadn't known I was pregnant, I would have thought they were just my regular periods. My midwife reassured me that although not common, it did happen to some women.

I bled every 28 days for 4 days throughout both pregnancies. Obviously not actual periods, but it was impossible to tell that they weren't other than the fact I wasn't pregnant. Weirdly I didn't get a period for 2 years post birth due to breastfeeding!

Thank you for your replies. Can I ask if any of you got positive home pregnancy tests?

@Nelly101

Thank you for your replies. Can I ask if any of you got positive home pregnancy tests?

Yes. If you have periods and negative tests then you either aren't pregnant or are too early to test.

@Nelly101

Thank you for your replies. Can I ask if any of you got positive home pregnancy tests?

Never occurred to me that I might need one - I was on the Pill and having identical bleeds/cramping to every other month since I'd started taking it aged 16 and a half.

That’s great! Thank you very much - I’ll know for sure when I test this weekend then :)

So I would assumed the majority of people who find out they’re pregnant at a late gestation most likely aren’t trying and probably most likely aren’t therefore really paying attention to their cycles. It’s unlikely that they are bleeding dead on 28 days days, but some people have irregular and light cycles and so probably haven’t noticed they might be even more spaced out and actually it isn’t a menstral bleed.

I completely missed my period by 3 weeks, I was busy and stressed and totally didn’t think about it. I could vaguely recall I had period in March, couldn’t tell you beginning middle or end. If I hadn’t felt so dire I wouldn’t have taken a test, it was positive, we had been being careful, I wasn’t expecting it. I bled a week later and had one more episode of bleeding four weeks after that, if I hadn’t felt pregnancy symptoms I probably wouldn’t have noticed and just assumed they were periods when I was in fact pregnant.

Hi everyone, I was negative :(

I guess there’s something else not quite right then. Thanks for all your help anyways x