Menopause and Pregnancy

There are a lot of myths out there involving menopause and pregnancy. Most people believe that it is impossible to get pregnant during menopause – and as a matter of fact, that is quite true. You see, menopause itself is actually not defined until you have gone an entire twelve months without having a period – not even a bit of spotting. Until that time you are actually going through pre menopause, which is also known as perimenopause. Unless, of course, you are experiencing premature or early menopause, but still, you get the picture.

Have you ever heard that women have a hard time getting pregnant as they get older? Certainly, everyone has heard such things. You may also note that complications can arise when women who are in their forties and fifties get pregnant – though it must be said that a lot can be done now to avoid or correct those complications. The point is, such factors are directly related to menopause – or pre menopause, more specifically.

Actually, to be extremely specific, those factors are directly related to the hormonal changes your body begins to experience in the years leading up to menopause. You see, this is simply a stage of your life when your body begins producing less estrogen. Estrogen itself is responsible for signaling the brain to release a number of other hormones. Several of those hormones are essential to your menstruation and ovulation cycles.

Your period first becomes erratic because of the hormonal upheavals occurring in your body. Because, as estrogen levels fluctuate, so does its signal to those other hormones, your ovulation cycle becomes irregular as well. The result is you are not necessarily fertile one each month any longer. For that matter, some months you may be more fertile than others. It is possible, as well, that if you have skipped a few periods and naturally assume that you are no longer able to conceive, you might do so "accidentally."

Clearly, then, because the older you become, the closer you get to actual menopause, it becomes more difficult to conceive a child. Actually, it may be more correct to say that you are simply less likely to get pregnant. It is not exactly difficult, you see. The problem is more so that you simply cannot pinpoint what part of the month you will be fertile.

When you become completely infertile, when you body stops producing eggs altogether, really depends on when you began going through the menopausal process in the first. Most women start going through pre menopause in their mid forties. However it is not really all that uncommon, especially these days, to women to start seeing signs and symptoms when they are still in their late thirties. Then again, some women are in their fifties before they really start going through menopause. Those women could be able to get pregnant well into their late fifties or sixties. If you begin menopause earlier, however, you might be unable to conceive by the time you reach your forties.