CAN A PREGNANT WOMAN GET HER PERIOD?

My name is Aline. I’m 13 years old and I live in Gatsibo. Aunty, can a pregnant woman get her period?

Good question! I used to ask myself this question when I was your age, and I’m sure others do as well. A pregnant woman doesn’t menstruate; so if she gets her period, it means she’s not pregnant. Each month during ovulation, a woman’s uterus prepares to receive a fertilised egg that becomes a child if she conceives.

If the egg isn’t fertilised, perhaps because no sexual relations have occurred, or if the couple is using contraception, then the uterine lining is shed. That is the time when a woman will get her period.

The bleeding that occurs is known as menstruation and only happens if she hasn’t conceived. If fertilisation does occur, the woman will be pregnant for around nine months before giving birth. During this time, menstruation does not occur.

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