I Got My Period But Im Having Pregnancy Symptoms: Why?

Question: I got my period but I’m having pregnancy symptoms, why?

If you got your period and you have pregnancy symptoms, it does not always mean you are already pregnant. Sometimes it may be due to early pregnancy, but it can also be a sign of a miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, late ovulation, vaginal infection or normal hormone changes (PMS).

Do you have pregnancy symptoms — Tummy pain, spotting before period, nausea and breast changes?

This article explains the reasons why you feel pregnant after your period.

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Reasons why you feel pregnant after period

These are some reasons why you may feel pregnant after your period.

1. Pregnancy

In some women, very light bleeding before their period is an early pregnancy sign. This bleeding occurs due to implantation.

Did you have light spotting before your period that lasted 1 – 2 days? Implantation bleeding is lighter than period and occurs due to attachment of fertilized egg into the endometrium. The endometrium covers the inner part of the uterus and nourishes the fertilized egg or embryo during early pregnancy.

During the menstrual cycle, both estrogen and progesterone play important roles to thicken the endometrium in preparation for implantation or pregnancy.

If implantation does not occur, your thickened endometrium is washed out from your vagina a period.

However, if implantation occurs, some women may experience a light bleeding or spotting just days before period.

How does implantation bleeding look like?

Implantation bleeding is lighter than period and sometimes described as bloody mucus discharge or brown discharge before period. (see picture here)

Did you feel abdominal cramps that are lighter than your normal menstrual cramps? Then it is probably due to implantation cramping that occurs when you get pregnant. Mild cramps can also happen for other reasons.

If you have persistent bleeding in between period or cramping throughout your menstrual cycle, then its likely not due to pregnancy.

So when does implantation bleeding occur?

Implantation bleeding usually occurs about 10 – 14 days after ovulation or a week or few days before your period. If you’ve had an early very light period with mild cramps, then it may be a sign you’re pregnant.

How can I confirm pregnancy?

If implantation successfully occurs, you may have some of these pregnancy symptoms

• Brown spotting a week before period

• Mild cramps before period

• Feeling very tired easily

• Body weakness

• Avoiding some types of food and smell

• Breast swelling and soreness

• Breast pain

• Low back pain

• Abdominal bloating

If you’ve had any of these symptoms, then its possible you are pregnant.

Should I get a pregnancy test to confirm?

Pregnancy test many days before your period is usually not accurate. Some women may have positive pregnancy results a few days before period with very sensitive test kits, but a negative test at that time does not exclude pregnancy.

The best time to confirm pregnancy is from the day your period is late or missed, and in the next 1–2 weeks. Most home tests are very accurate when used at this time.

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2. Miscarriage

If you’ve had period-like bleeding and still feel pregnant, then it may be due to a miscarriage.

When did you notice your period? Are you still spotting after your period? Can you tell the difference between implantation bleeding and period symptoms?

Miscarriage is a sudden loss of pregnancy and has different types. Threatened miscarriage presents with bleeding with or without abdominal cramps. Threatened miscarriage with mild cramps may easily be confused as period during pregnancy.

Other types of miscarriages are missed miscarriage and incomplete miscarriage. During a missed miscarriage, you will stop feeling pregnancy symptoms with no vaginal bleeding.

Signs of a miscarriage are:

• Pain in your lower back

• Mild to very severe abdominal cramps

• Feeling like vomiting

• Vomiting

• Vaginal bleeding or clots

What to do?

If you are spotting with pregnancy symptoms, you should seek your doctor’s attention immediately. Heavy bleeding, severe pain, dizziness or fainting are emergency signs (see ACOG: Bleeding during pregnancy).

Read More: Bleeding during pregnancy: Causes and Prevention

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3. You have an ectopic pregnancy

Do you have severe abdominal pain, light brown discharge and pregnancy symptoms? Then its possible you have an ectopic pregnancy.

What does ectopic pregnancy mean?

In normal pregnancies, fertilization occurs inside the Fallopian tube, which is a 10cm tube attached to the body of the uterus. After fertilization, the embryo or fertilized ovum is transported back to the uterus for implantation.

However, in ectopic pregnancies, this process fails to result in implantation outside the uterus, or in the fallopian tubes.

Implantation inside the Fallopian tube may cause bleeding into the abdomen with symptoms like

• Pain especially in the right or left side of the abdomen

• Vaginal bleeding or brown discharge (may be light or no bleeding at all)

• Dizziness or fainting attack

• Severe pain in the abdomen that gets worse with time

• Sometimes shoulder tip pain

Who are at risk of an ectopic pregnancy?

• Untreated chlamydia or gonorrhea infection

• Pelvic inflammation disease

• Previous ectopic pregnancy

• Previous Fallopian tube surgery

• Drugs like Clomiphene citrate used to stimulate ovulation

• Previous history of an abortion

What to do?

You should inform your doctor ASAP about your symptoms. Ectopic pregnancy is an emergency worldwide and may cause death in young women if not treated early (see NHS: Ectopic pregnancy).

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FAQs: I got my period but I’m having pregnancy symptoms

If you still feel pregnant after period, these are some questions that may concern you. Let us know if u have more questions below.

Pregnant symptoms but got my period and negative test

If you had an early period, pregnancy symptoms with a negative pregnancy test, then it may be because of implantation bleeding or hormone changes.

During implantation, your body’s human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) is still very low and increases twofold every 48 hours. A pregnancy test taken a few days after implantation may be negative.

If you got your period early with pregnancy symptoms and a negative pregnancy test, you should wait until about the time your next period is due or a week after and retake your test.

If you missed period with a negative pregnancy test, you should learn the other reasons why your period is late.

I am pregnant but got my period first month

If you are pregnant and had bleeding in the first month, then it is not a true menstrual period, but it may be spotting or early pregnancy bleeding, sometimes from implantation.

Are you worried it may affect your pregnancy? You shouldn’t always assume the worst, but you must tell your doctor or midwife. Many women have light spotting in early pregnancy and still have a healthy baby, but sometimes it can be a sign of miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy.

However, if you still have period-like bleeding weeks or months after implantation, you should inform your doctor ASAP.

Period symptoms but period like bleeding?

If you are already pregnant, period like bleeding may be due to a miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, rough vaginal intercourse or vaginal infections. You should inform your doctor.

Spotting before period with early pregnancy symptoms

Spotting before period with early pregnancy symptoms — nausea, fatigue and breast changes, is likely because of implantation, but PMS and other conditions can also cause this. A correctly timed pregnancy test and your doctor’s review will help you know the cause.

Now it’s your turn. Still worried you have pregnancy symptoms after period? Let us know if we could help.

You can also read general early pregnancy signs here: NHS – signs and symptoms of pregnancy.