I have come been asked this question by clients in so many scenarios. “I haven’t had a period yet, can I get pregnant?” or they just assume they won’t get pregnant until they see a period. The a few situations in which I see this the most are:
- In teenagers who haven’t started their periods yet.
- Women who have given birth and haven’t yet resumed their periods.
- Women coming off the pill or other contraception methods that stopped their reproductive system.
- Women who have long cycles or periods of amenorrhea.
This is a great question and I love that so many of you have asked so let’s work through the logic.
Let’s Think About How The Menstrual Cycle Works
The cycle starts with a signal from the pineal gland to the pituitary gland and then from the pituitary gland to the ovaries to start developing the eggs in the ovarian follicles. As the eggs develop, they produce oestrogen which causes the endometrium to grow and eventually, when one egg is ripe, it will rupture and be collected by the fallopian tube, which is known as ovulation.
If there is sperm in place, then the egg may get fertilised and then it descends into the womb. After two weeks, if the egg hasn’t been fertilised we have a bleed known as a period.
So, ovulation, the event necessary for fertility and pregnancy occurs BEFORE you get your period not after.
What This Means For Anyone Who Doesn’t Have A Period
If you have a period, you had a fertile period a few weeks before, in which you could have gotten pregnant. But wait, doesn’t that sound a bit like a stab in the dark?
We are however super lucky in that our bodies have signs that tell us when our body has started the ovulation process and when it has moved into the infertile phase such as cervical fluid and Basal Body Temperature (BBT). Luckily, all the symptom-thermal charting methods combine both so that you can tell what is going on with your body.
To learn symptom-thermal method of charting you can check out my starter courses here.
