Is Pregnancy During Menopause Possible?

A lot of women make the mistake of thinking that pregnancy during menopause is impossible. The problem with that line of thought is that they make the assumption without truly understanding the ins and outs of menopause itself. You see, many women believe that "menopause" is the entire process. They think it encompasses everything, from the time their periods start to become erratic until they stop altogether. This is a common view among men and women alike.

Generally, although it is incorrect, there is no harm in thinking that. However in matters of pregnancy it becomes very important. For instance, a woman who has started to menstruate irregularly may think to herself, "Oh, this is it. I'm menopausal, I cannot get pregnant anymore." Perhaps she and her spouse or partner have been using birth control up to this point because they do not want children. Thinking it safe to go off birth control, the woman then finds herself pregnant without really understanding why.

Does that sound extreme? It is actually a surprisingly common scenario. The fact is that you cannot get pregnant during menopause itself. But did you realize that there are many stages leading up to the point in your life when you completely stop having periods? Menopause is a process, with menopause itself only defined as the point when you have not menstruated for twelve solid months. Before that, although it may be difficult, you can indeed get pregnant. So let us discuss the stages of menopause, to understand exactly why and how that is so.

The process of menopause begins with pre menopause. Some people call this perimenopause. Some people use the two terms interchangeably while others maintain that they are two entirely separate stages. That really all depends on your own and your doctor's opinions. For the purposes of this article, however, they are indeed used interchangeably because they basically mean the same thing. Namely, this is the point when your hormones start fluctuating. To be specific, your body starts producing less estrogen. Because there is less estrogen, that hormone cannot trigger your brain to release other hormones which are essential to menstruation.

The ultimate result is that you may start to skip periods. Your period may just come late one month, then early the next, before skipping a month entirely. You will have periods full of heavy flows, and periods so light as to be practically non existent. You might find that your period lasts for nine days or it may last as few as three. During this time, your ovulation schedule is irregular as well. Simply put, you will not be fertile every single month. More accurately, especially during the beginning of pre menopause, you will not be as fertile each month.

At this point during the process, however, you are still quite able to become pregnant. This is what most women need to understand. Until you actually reach menopause, until you have gone an entire year without a period, without bleeding even one day, then you can still get pregnant. As the process goes on, it becomes less and less likely, but it can – and does – happen.