Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Can you get pregnant without having a period in months? There are some normal—and some not-so-normal—reasons this can occur.
What could cause you not to get your periods? Could you be pregnant and not know it? What do your periods have to do with getting pregnant? It marks the end of one menstrual cycle. What happens next depends on whether you have have had sexual intercourse within five days of ovulation.
If you have, there may be sperm waiting in the reproductive system. Sperm can survive in the female reproductive system for up to five days. Sexual intercourse on the actual day of ovulation, and even the day after, can also lead to conception. If a sperm cell fertilizes the egg, you will become pregnant. If you conceived, an embryo will implant itself into the uterine lining between seven and 10 days after ovulation.
This will trigger different hormones to prepare the body to nurture a pregnancy. Lowering levels of progesterone will eventually signal the endometrium to break down and expel itself. This is your period. Your period marks the ending of one cycle.
If you get your period, it is likely but not certain that you ovulated within the past two weeks. Ovulation is required to get pregnant. If you are not getting your periods, you are probably not ovulating regularly. There are a number of reasons this may occur more on that below.
As mentioned above, menstruation marks the end of one cycle. The end of your cycle is marked by your period starting, but there are no obvious signs that your body has begun a cycle. Unless you're a very early ovulator the average timing for ovulation is 14 days before the start of your period—track yours by using a basal body temperature chart or an ovulation predictor kit , there's little chance your man's sperm will actually have any eggs to work with during this phase of your cycle.
Your chances of conceiving: Almost zero. It's not detrimental to have intercourse, though, and some women see menstruation as a breather from the rigors of frequent procreation-oriented sex. Here's why: Around day seven of your cycle, you'll notice a vaginal discharge that seems a little springy to the touch. Within a few days, it will turn white and creamy, a cue that your fertility is returning once again. It doesn't mean the egg has been released yet, but it indicates that ovulation is on the way and that your cervical mucus is a friendly environment for sperm.
Remember, you can get pregnant right after your period, even if you're not yet ovulating. That's because sperm can live up to five days if it's trapped in fertile cervical mucus —so it behooves you to get a few of his swimmers in place.
Bayer, M. Your chances of conceiving: Good. An egg isn't technically released during this phase, but you'll want to step up your sexual routine in the event that you ovulate earlier than planned.
Welcome to prime time for conception! No matter the length of menstruation, ovulation generally starts about 14 days before your next scheduled period. When it happens, your body temperature rises about a half a degree detected by a basal body thermometer —but bear in mind that this also takes place after you're already ovulating, which could be too late for conception.
Bayer explains. These kits detect a surge in luteinizing hormone LH that happens about 36 hours before you ovulate.
After the test kit shows this surge, Dr. Bayer recommends having sex in the next 24 to 36 hours. Sperm can survive for some time in the reproductive tract, so it will be ready to meet the egg once it's released during ovulation. Another good indication of fertility is a change in the consistency of your cervical mucus. Anovulation can make getting pregnant tricky; in fact, it accounts for an estimated 25 to 30 percent of infertility cases in women.
Even if you do ovulate occasionally, irregular periods can make it hard to time sex. The vast majority of women with PCOS who go on ovulation medications, however, do conceive. The same goes when you start taking medications to treat other conditions, including hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, hyperprolactinemia and hypothyroidism. Clomiphene citrate or letrozole can help regulate your hormone levels if you have PCOS to help you ovulate and get pregnant.
Some medication lowers prolactin production and decreases tumor size if you have hyperprolactinemia, while other drugs can regulate thyroid hormone levels to treat hypothyroidism. And estrogen and progesterone pills or skin patches can treat hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. If you have ovarian insufficiency, IVF may help you to get pregnant.
But since the number of eggs in your body is fixed at birth, you may need to use donor eggs. If you have irregular cycles or any other symptoms of anovulation, schedule a visit with your practitioner. Treating conditions including PCOS, hypothyroidism and hyperprolactinemia can greatly increase your odds of getting pregnant.
What to Expect follows strict reporting guidelines and uses only credible sources, such as peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions and highly respected health organizations. Learn how we keep our content accurate and up-to-date by reading our medical review and editorial policy. The educational health content on What To Expect is reviewed by our medical review board and team of experts to be up-to-date and in line with the latest evidence-based medical information and accepted health guidelines, including the medically reviewed What to Expect books by Heidi Murkoff.
This educational content is not medical or diagnostic advice. The fertile days occur during the days leading up to and including ovulation. Having unprotected sex during ovulation will increase the chances of sperm being able to fertilize an egg, and that you'll get pregnant. Another important consideration is that ovulation can vary month to month depending on a variety of emotional factors, like stress, exhaustion, emotional events like grief , and nutrition.
Unlike the acutely obvious signs of menstruation, the signs of ovulation are often more subtle. Ovulation predictor kits also sometimes called an OPK detects the presence and concentration of luteinizing hormone LH in your urine about hours before ovulation takes place. Ovulation predictor kits may be especially helpful for women who are trying to conceive and want to improve their chances of getting pregnant.
Typically testing should begin at least 2 days before the expected day of ovulation and continued until the LH surge or through day Indeed, there are many fertility apps available to help you predict your most fertile days right from the palm of your hand. They all use a similar algorithm to collect data, track changes in your cycle, and predict ovulation periods.
They also typically work best for women who have regular periods. During the two weeks after ovulation the Luteal Phase , the egg breaks down and the follicle in the ovary where the egg was released becomes the corpus luteum. The corpus luteum releases a hormone called progesterone. Progesterone causes a few changes in the body that are designed to support a pregnancy if one has occurred:.
After all, it takes two to do the baby tango: An egg and a sperm. During other times of your menstrual phase, your chances of conception are lower but not zero! Medically reviewed by Dr.
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