Can you get your period at the beginning of pregnancy

Q: Can you bleed like a period in early pregnancy?

Bleeding early in pregnancy isnt normal. But it is common. If youve seen any bleeding, you may be concerned. But keep in mind that bleeding alone doesnt mean something is wrong.

Top things to know about bleeding during pregnancy

Spotting is any bleeding from the vagina, outside your menstrual period
Table of Contents Show
Spotting is a common symptom of early pregnancy
Bleeding during pregnancy is usually nothing to worry about
If you’re pregnant and experience heavy bleeding, call your healthcare provider

What is spotting?

Spotting is any bleeding from the vagina outside your menstrual period. Light bleeding at the beginning or end of your period is not spotting. In this article we use bleeding and spotting interchangeably.

Download Clue and track bleeding episodes and spotting.

an image of 3 mobile
screens of the Clue app

Bleeding during early pregnancy is common

Vaginal bleeding is a common symptom of early pregnancy. About 1 in 4 people experience spotting during early pregnancy, usually in gestational weeks 5 and 8 — this is about 1 to 4 weeks after someone expects their period (1). This bleeding can sometimes be confused with a light period (2).

Is bleeding during pregnancy a symptom of miscarriage?

Light bleeding is usually nothing to worry about—research has shown that people with spotting are not more likely to have a miscarriage than people who don’t have spotting (1). However, heavy bleeding may be more of a concern. If you’re pregnant and bleeding, call your healthcare provider to check in, just so they know what’s going on.

Is spotting during early pregnancy the same as implantation bleeding?

While many sources call spotting in early pregnancy “implantation bleeding,” there is not strong evidence that this bleeding is associated with an embryo’s implantation in the uterus.

Bleeding in early pregnancy may actually be related to hormonal changes, as the production of progesterone switches from the ovary to the forming placenta (1).

Is spotting a symptom of ectopic pregnancy?

Spotting can be a symptom of an ectopic pregnancy (3). This is a pregnancy that is growing somewhere other than the uterus, usually the fallopian tube. Ectopic pregnancy bleeding may be coupled with other symptoms including abdominal pain on one side, shoulder pain, and/or dizziness.

If you experience symptoms of spotting and suspect you may have an ectopic pregnancy, seek immediate medical help.

Whether you're trying to become pregnant or trying your hardest to avoid it, you can usually take your period as a sign that you don't have to think about a baby anytime soon. But, in a new interview with InStyle, Serena Williams says she actually got a period during the early stages of her pregnancy—and she was completely floored to find out that she was actually pregnant.

In the interview, Williams says that she didn’t think it was even possible that she could be pregnant. She hadn’t seen her now-husband Alexis Ohanian “in like four weeks” and “literally had a cycle just before.” Williams says she took the test “just to shut my friend up” and was completely surprised when it was positive. She was even more shocked when her doctor told her she was seven weeks along. Oh, and she was playing in the Australian Open at the time.

Having your period when you're pregnant is pretty darn unlikely.

“I have heard from some women who say they had periods throughout their first trimester,” Jonathan Schaffir, M.D., an ob-gyn at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, tells SELF. “But in reality, physiologically it’s pretty impossible to have actual periods during pregnancy.”

Just a little refresher: Every month (if you're ovulating), the lining of your uterus thickens and an egg makes its way from one of your ovaries through the fallopian tubes. If it comes in contact with sperm, the sperm can fertilize the egg. If fertilization happens, the egg will continue its journey to the uterus and can implant on that lining. If things continue from there, the fertilized egg becomes an embryo (and, later, a fetus) and the placenta will develop from the uterine lining.

But, if the egg doesn't get fertilized, your body sheds that built-up uterine lining through your vagina, causing a period. And, as you can probably guess, it's kind of an either/or situation—either the egg is fertilized and the process of pregnancy begins, or it isn't and the process of your period begins instead.

That said, there are several situations that can cause period-like bleeding early in pregnancy.

If you get your period at the usual time, it lasts for the usual amount of days, and the amount of blood that you see is pretty typical for you, it’s pretty unlikely that you’re pregnant, G. Thomas Ruiz, M.D., lead ob-gyn at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California, tells SELF. But you could have bleeding in early pregnancy that just so happens to coincide with when your period is due, Dr. Schaffir says. In fact, up to 30 percent of pregnant people have some form of bleeding in early pregnancy, according to the American Pregnancy Association.

For instance, you might experience implantation bleeding, which is light spotting or bleeding that can happen when the embryo burrows into your uterine wall, and can also be a cause of bleeding in early pregnancy. But Dr. Ruiz says it’s unlikely this would be mistaken for a normal period because it tends to be much lighter.

Or you might have a cut or tear in your vagina, inflammation of your cervix, or irritation of your cervix from an infection that causes bleeding, Dr. Schaffir says. It can even be caused from sex: “Sometimes women have blood vessels close to the surface of the cervix and, during sex, the friction causes a little bleeding,” he explains. However, again, these usually produce far less blood than a period.

The placenta can also be a cause behind the bleeding if it starts to tear or separate a little. Early in pregnancy, you might see bleeding due to something called a subchorionic hematoma, which is when blood gathers between your placenta and the wall of your uterus, Dr. Schaffir explains. Although the condition can raise your risk for a miscarriage, research suggests that most who have it go on to have a healthy pregnancy.

So what if you really truly thought you got a period while you were pregnant? It's possible that you can actually shed part of your uterine lining after you get pregnant in what's called "decidual bleeding." When you become pregnant, the embryo will implant in one side of your uterine wall, usually at the back, Dr. Ruiz says. But your uterine lining has still built up all over your uterus at that point, and it’s possible for the lining to shed just from the other side of the uterus, he explains. This can look a lot like a period.

In some cases, bleeding during pregnancy can be a sign of a serious issue. So if you're not sure what's causing it, definitely check in with your doctor.

As SELF reported previously, if your bleeding is particularly heavy, comes with abdominal pain, or lasts for more than a few days, that's a sign something more serious may be going on. You might be experiencing an ectopic pregnancy (a condition in which the fertilized egg implants outside the uterus) or a miscarriage.

According to the Mayo Clinic, you should tell your doctor at your next regular appointment if you have any light spotting that goes away within a day. But if you have bleeding that lasts for more than a day, you should contact them within 24 hours. And if you pass any tissue from your vagina, experience moderate to heavy bleeding, or have bleeding along with abdominal pain, chills, or cramping, you should get in touch with them immediately. But, again, many cases of bleeding during early pregnancy aren't serious.

And, on the other hand, if you're not sure if you're pregnant and notice you’re having a period that comes at a weird time, isn't as heavy as usual, doesn’t last as long as usual, and comes with any other pregnancy symptoms, it’s worth taking a test, just in case.

Related:

3 Times Bleeding During Pregnancy Could Signal a Problem
This Is Exactly What Happens During Your Menstrual Cycle
8 Subtle Signs You Might Be Pregnant and Not Know It

Can you get a period at the very beginning of pregnancy?

The short answer is no. Despite all of the claims out there, it isn't possible to have a period while you're pregnant. Rather, you might experience “spotting” during early pregnancy, which is usually light pink or dark brown in color.

Can you bleed like a period in early pregnancy?

Bleeding early in pregnancy isn't normal. But it is common. If you've seen any bleeding, you may be concerned. But keep in mind that bleeding alone doesn't mean something is wrong.

Can you have a period at 1 week pregnant?

Implantation bleeding is an early sign of pregnancy. It is not like a menstrual period. Instead, it is light bleeding that may involve a single spot of blood or a small amount of pink discharge. The spotting may last for a few hours, or it may last for a few days.