Menstruation | Ovulation

Menstruation

The menstrual period that occurs during the menstrual cycle is not a reliable sign that ovulation has occurred. With the first day of bleeding, the counting of cycle days begins. Bleeding can occur even if ovulation has not occurred at all. Even in this case, the lining of the uterus can be broken down and rejected, leading to bleeding. On the contrary, there is no ovulation without bleeding, except when the egg has been fertilized and a pregnancy exists.

Can ovulation occur despite the absence of periods?

The natural female cycle leads to menstrual bleeding in the first half of the cycle, also called period. Due to various circumstances, menstrual bleeding can be very weak or even non-existent:

• In rare cases, menstrual bleeding does not occur due to a disease. Ovulation can also fail to occur.

  This is the case if hormonal control circuits are disturbed and the egg cell does not mature.

• Furthermore, this can also be the case if the ovaries are damaged or missing due to a malformation.
• However, ovulation can also occur despite the absence of a period. This is the case, for example, with hymenal atresia. This congenital malformation leads to the vagina being closed by a kind of membrane.

  Menstrual blood cannot flow off in this way and accumulates in the uterus. A hymenal atresia becomes conspicuous around the age of 16, because despite puberty, menstrual bleeding fails to occur and abdominal pain develops due to the backlog.

• Even after pregnancy and while breastfeeding, periods often stop. However, ovulation still occurs, so that pregnancy is possible even if periods are not produced.

When does ovulation occur after stopping the pill?

The desire for a family is very often a reason to stop taking the pill at some point in life. However, the question of how quickly ovulation occurs after stopping the pill cannot be answered so easily.

• For most women, normal ovulation occurs in the first cycle after stopping the pill, so pregnancy is possible.
• In some cases, however, it can take several months before ovulation occurs again regularly. Contrary to widespread rumors, however, the length of time the pill is taken does not affect the quality of ovulation.