It's time to stop believing the myth that women have synchronized periods.

Is there a connection between menstruation and infertility?

Among all the factors of infertility, endocrine disorders occupy a leading place in the absence of conception. These changes usually leave their mark on menstrual function, which is directly affected by hormonal influence. When disorganization appears at any level of regulation, a distortion of the cycle is noted, fraught with infertility.

The ideal female cycle is two-phase, the middle of which is ovulation. Normal periods provide:

regular supply of eggs for potential conception,
functioning of the corpus luteum with sufficient production of the pregnancy hormone progesterone,
growth of the endometrium, ready to implant an embryo,
reduction of local immunity to minimize embryo rejection.

Hormonal changes leading to lack of conception are present in varying degrees of severity and determine the patient’s treatment tactics. Signs of infertility in women are:

late onset of menarche,
problems with being underweight or overweight,
irregular, scanty discharge,
abnormal duration or shortening of the cycle duration, bleeding period,
disorders of the structure of the reproductive organs,
distortion of the formation of sexual characteristics.

The influence of menstruation on conception

Menstrual function reflects the state of the female body. And if the cycle is irregular, and menstruation is a “test” for a woman, the likelihood of problems with conception also increases. But this doesn't always happen. Sometimes even a cycle “clockwise” does not guarantee the absence of any pathologies in the gynecological field.

In order to understand how menstruation affects conception, it is necessary to understand what it is and why a woman regularly secretes blood from the genital tract.

Menstruation is the process of shedding the inner layer of the uterus, as a result of which blood vessels are exposed, and all together this leads to spotting. Menstruation is an indicator that conception did not occur in this cycle. After which the body begins to prepare for the next month.

So, from the beginning of the cycle, the endometrium grows under the influence of estrogens. At the same time, the egg in the follicle must mature in the ovaries. Ovulation occurs in the middle of the cycle. At the same time, the woman’s hormonal background changes to the predominant content of progesterone in the blood. At this time, the endometrium begins to “loose” and prepare to receive an already fertilized egg. The next hormonal surge indicates that conception did not occur in this cycle, and the inner layer of the uterus begins to gradually be rejected. And after a few days everything repeats itself again.

Read more Menstruation immediately after lochia

What conditions can lead to infertility? The main ones include the following:

Physiologically, a woman may not ovulate every month, and this is considered normal. But the absence of an egg within three cycles is a pathology.
With visually unchanged genitals, a woman may not experience full growth and maturation of the follicle. As a result, there is a trigger for the onset of menstruation, but fertilization cannot occur, since the egg does not develop until the moment of ovulation.
A long cycle may indicate problems with the ovaries, excess estrogen or lack of progesterone. Any of these conditions can lead to serious problems with conception. Often this results in heavy periods and infertility.
Irregular menstruation is a sign of disordered connections between the pituitary gland, hypothalamus and ovaries. This may also be one of the symptoms of polycystic ovaries and the absence of full ovulation.
A short menstrual cycle may indicate a lack of estrogen. As a result, the endometrium cannot fully “prepare” to receive a fertilized egg. In such situations, scanty periods and infertility can often be observed.

Features of discharge during infertility

Discharge during menstruation lasts 3-7 days. Blood loss is 80-150 ml. If there are changes, the indicated parameters may fluctuate more or less.

Abundant shedding of the inner lining of the uterus during the cycle indicates endometriosis, fibroids, hyperplasia, and polyps. This change is possible due to a violation of blood clotting processes, pathology of the ovaries, and the thyroid gland. Excessive menstruation during infertility can be of the following types:

Menorrhagia increased volume of blood loss. Cycle duration remains within acceptable limits.
Polymenorrhea of discharge is observed for more than 8-10 days. With such symptoms, disorders usually affect the higher brain centers.
Metrorrhagia is irregular bleeding from the uterus.

A decrease in blood loss leads to the appearance of dark brown, black single drops. At the same time, PMS symptoms are also reduced. When there are scanty periods, the cause of infertility is as follows:

metabolic disorders,
abnormalities in the structure of the genital organs,
incorrect hormonal contraception with excessive suppression of ovarian activity,
injuries, condition after operations of the genitourinary apparatus,
occupational hazards,
tuberculosis, inflammation of the reproductive system.

Results

The absence of regular periods or the alarming characteristics of an irregular cycle should concern a girl or young woman in the first year of menstruation. It is necessary to exclude the problem of infertility as early as possible, without waiting for alarming numbers of ages when reproductive functions have faded. Contact specialists for help, they will monitor the situation and help you achieve the desired result. As we see, regularly occurring menstrual periods are also not a salvation from infertility. Only a qualified doctor can help you understand this issue.

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Painful periods

Discomfort during menstruation is quite common. The first 24-48 hours from the onset of bleeding can be characterized by severe pain associated with increased uterine tone. Typically, taking antispasmodics relieves such conditions.

With infertility, there are periods during which the pain is so severe that patients completely lose their ability to work and interest in everything that is happening. In this case we are talking about algo- or dysmenorrhea. Similar disorders occur in endometrial pathologies: adenomyosis, tumors, the presence of adhesions, when the neuromuscular regulation of the uterus is distorted. To eliminate diseases, surgical removal of the pathological focus is often performed.

Do you get your period, and what might your cycle be like?

In case of infertility, full periods may occur, and the woman may not be aware of the absence of ovulation in her cycles. If the cycle lasts from 28 to 32 days, then there may be no reason to worry. However, situations often occur when the cycle begins to shorten or lengthen. This is called a glitch. Any failure indicates hormonal problems.

If the described situation occurs, then the cycle can be either ovulatory or anovulatory, i.e. one in which there is no ovulation. In this case, you should consult a doctor to carry out the necessary tests, since the presence of ovulation is difficult to track simply based on the cycle.

Also, some diseases provoke a complete absence of menstruation (amenorrhea). In this case, the cycle is usually anovulatory and conception is impossible.

Causes of delayed menstruation due to infertility

The most obvious change in the reproductive function is amenorrhea - the absence of menstruation for six months. In this case, the patient does not release the egg from the ovaries, and pregnancy does not occur. Menstrual irregularities and inability to conceive may be symptoms of:

polycystic ovaries,
hypo-, hyperthyroidism,
inflammatory conditions,
metabolic abnormalities (excessive weight loss, obesity),
adrenogenital syndrome in diseases of the adrenal glands,
premature onset of menopause,
hyperprolactinemia,
tumors of the hypothalamic-pituitary region,
Sheehan syndrome,
debilitating physical or emotional stress,
ovarian hyperinhibition with long-term use of COCs.

Regardless of the desire to have children, if a long period delay occurs, you must consult a specialist and find out the reason.

Ovulation is an important factor

Ovulation is the release of a mature egg from the follicle. Ideally, this process occurs in the middle of the cycle. But in practice you have to deal with something else - ovulation on 3, 7, 18, 21 and other days. The only fact remains undeniable: if there is no release of the egg, then conception cannot occur. This is why anyone planning a pregnancy is advised to track their ovulation. There are several ways to do this. These include:

The most informative way is to determine ovulation using ultrasound. But this requires regular examinations by a specialist. It makes sense to do this if you suspect some pathology and to convince yourself of the absence/presence of ovulation.
A generally accessible and simple method is to plot basal temperature. In this case, you can not only calculate ovulation, but also evaluate the woman’s hormonal profile. The basal temperature chart has important diagnostic value when examining a couple with infertility.
Ovulation tests. The modern pharmaceutical industry has long produced entire systems, single- and reusable, for determining the expected time of release of the egg from the follicle. The technique for performing them is simple, similar to the principles of conventional pregnancy tests.
Ovulation can also be approximately determined by a woman’s general well-being, by changes in cervical mucus, etc. But these methods are very approximate and are of value only in combination with others.

We recommend reading the article about the onset of ovulation. From it you will learn about the maturation of the egg in a woman’s body, the beginning of ovulation and its duration, characteristic signs, as well as ways to determine days favorable for conception.

When to see a doctor

Physiological cycle disorders occur during pregnancy, lactation, climate change, stress, and at the beginning of taking hormonal contraceptives. Minor deviations in the duration of discharge can be observed in healthy women.

If the following abnormalities occur during menstruation, you should definitely contact a specialist:

irregular cycle,
soreness, with loss of ability to work on interesting days,
discharge continues for more than 7 days,
bleeding is profuse, with large clots,
a very short interval between menstruation of less than 21 days,
bleeding appears outside the cycle.

Myths about menstruation

There are a large number of misconceptions about problems with conception and menstruation in women. For example, many people believe that you cannot have regular periods if you are infertile; there are always some deviations. However, this statement and many more similar ones are false. The most popular “myths” include the following:

If a woman is bothered by pain during her menstrual period, she will have problems conceiving. In fact, pain is present in 60% of girls, the degree of which depends, among other things, on the individual threshold of sensitivity. Pain can also be a sign of endometriosis. In this situation, infertility may indeed be present.
A long cycle means obvious problems with conception. In this case, it all depends on the cause of such a violation and the duration. If the menstrual cycle is slightly lengthened, this often does not cause problems with conception. In these situations, it is recommended to monitor ovulation more closely.

In case of infertility, periods are always heavy and irregular. Of course, this indicates problems, including in the woman’s hormonal profile. But it is not directly related to infertility.
Ideal periods indicate a woman’s complete health. But in reality there are many reasons for infertility. And a regular menstrual cycle speaks only of an ideal hormonal background, without affecting, for example, the patency of the fallopian tubes, etc.
Many people do not know whether infertile women have periods and think that such women do not have periods. Definitely, in their absence there can be no talk of pregnancy. But with infertility, there is not always a pathology of menstruation.