Can a woman still have a period while she's pregnant?

A lot of women want to know if they can ever have a period while they're pregnant. And that's a good question, because some women have vaginal bleeding during pregnancy, but it's not related to having a period. A period happens because about once a month, your body builds up a rich lining in the uterus, and this will support a pregnancy if one develops. If the egg and sperm meet up, and the egg is fertilized, then it travels down and it starts to grow in this rich, thick lining. But if pregnancy never occurs, then this lining is shed, and that's what you see when you have a period. So again, if you have bleeding and you're pregnant, it's not due to a period. Up to 20% to 40% of women can experience vaginal bleeding during the first trimester, and it's usually due to 1 of 4 things - an ectopic pregnancy, a miscarriage (either threatening or absolute), pelvic organ problems, and the fourth is a diagnosis of exclusion given if all other things have checked out.

Some women experience what's called implantation bleeding or spotting 10 to 14 days past ovulation, or around the time of a missed period. So some women have an abnormally short or light period, or what they think is a period, when actually, it's implantation spotting. So this is why it's always good to take a home pregnancy test if your period is abnormally short or light. If you ever do get a positive pregnancy test result, and you have had any bleeding or spotting, be sure to call your doctor, and they can determine if further investigation or treatments are warranted. If you have any other questions for me in the future, feel free to ask them on our Facebook page at   / intermountainmoms  , and recommend us to your friends and family too.