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Can there be menstruation during pregnancy?
Pregnant women often face this question, especially in the first trimester of pregnancy. We will immediately answer: no, menstruation during pregnancy is impossible!
Why can’t there be menstruation during pregnancy?
During pregnancy, a woman’s body undergoes many hormonal changes. Hormones such as estrogen and progesterone increase rapidly, prolactin increases, and FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) decreases. These hormonal changes make ovulation (the growth and release of an egg) impossible.
Menstruation is the shedding of the inner lining of the uterus – the endometrium, which occurs in the absence of pregnancy every month, cyclically. As soon as pregnancy occurs, the fertilized egg is implanted in the uterine cavity, the endometrium, on the contrary, begins to thicken, becomes lush and helps the placenta to form. Therefore, true menstruation during pregnancy is impossible.
However, during the entire course of pregnancy, and especially in the early stages, there are bloody discharges. Vaginal bleeding is a common complication of pregnancy and indicates its possible threats. The prevalence of this phenomenon ranges from 7 to 24%.
Report on vaginal bleeding during pregnancy by month of pregnancy. 334 of 2806 women were interviewed at 7 months of pregnancy; 4 (1.2%) of them had bleeding. (Yang, Juan & Savitz, David & Dole, Nancy & Hartmann, Katherine & Herring, Amy & Olshan, Andrew & Thorp, John. (2005). Predictors of vaginal bleeding during the first two trimesters of pregnancy. Pediatric and perinatal epidemiology. )
What can be the main causes of bleeding in the first trimester of pregnancy?
- Detachment of the fertile egg
- Hematoma (accumulation of blood clot)
- Ectopic pregnancy
- Hypertonus of the uterus (often due to a decrease in the level of progesterone in the body of a pregnant woman)
The main thing to remember: any bleeding during pregnancy can threaten its termination and requires immediate consultation of an obstetrician-gynecologist.
There is only one case when there may still be slight smearing. This is the so-called “implantation discharge”. During the period when the embryo is attached, it is implanted in the thicker endometrium, which contains a lot of blood vessels. And during this period, small vessels can be injured and cause minor discharge. However, in this case, they will not be massive and voluminous. Such discharges last no more than 1-2 days, in the form of “smudges”.
If you are pregnant and you have bleeding, you should immediately inform your doctor and ask for an examination.
Take care of yourself and your baby! Let your pregnancy pass easily, with joy and without any threats!