Can a woman get pregnant if she isn’t menstruating? Or another way of putting it is: Can a woman assume she doesn’t need to use birth control because she isn’t having periods? Actually, the answer is not as intuitive as you’d think. On the surface, any self-respecting educated person might think “Of course she can’t get pregnant if she’s not having periods! What a ridiculous question.”

Actually, the answer is that yes, she could theoretically, but certainly not as likely as the average woman. Since a woman releases an egg 12 to 16 days before menstruation, it’s possible to get pregnant without actually having periods! Thus, women who are not menstruating for whatever reason, (excessively low body fat, breastfeeding, being premenopausal, etc.), are always at risk of impending ovulation. This is because the underlying condition causing the lack of menstruation could change at any time, thus unexpectedly triggering the release of an egg.

The bottom line is that women who don’t menstruate cannot count on their condition as reliable contraception. In fact, the only practical way to know if ovulation is approaching is through charting your cycles, and more specifically, observing your cervical fluid evolve into a wet slippery secretion.

Of course for those couples desiring to get pregnant, the reality is that you will definitely want to resolve the underlying problem preventing menstruation. Until you do so, your chances of conception will be extremely low.