I will show you a top tips on how it’s possible to become pregnant when you have an irregular menstrual cycle, but you may find it difficult. If you’re unsure about the length of your cycle from month to month, it can be difficult to know when you’re ovulating. Timing intercourse around ovulation can increase your chances for pregnancy since you’ll need to have sex during your fertile window to conceive.
Your fertile window refers to a few days before ovulation and the day you ovulate. An irregular menstrual cycle may also be a sign of irregular ovulation. You may not ovulate every month or you may ovulate at different times from month to month.
It’s not uncommon for women to have menstrual cycles that vary in length. One month it might be 28 days — which is considered average — and the next month it could be 31 days, and the next 27. That’s normal.
How to track ovulation with irregular periods
Irregular ovulation is a condition that affects women in the pre-menopausal years. This condition can affect a woman’s fertility. During normal ovulation, the female body releases an egg from 1 of the 2 ovaries. The ovaries contain thousands of eggs that live for years inside the body until menopause.
Causes of irregular ovulation
PCOS is a condition that can be diagnosed through testing. However, irregular ovulation can be caused by a host of issues, not just PCOS. For instance, severe stress can disrupt the body’s normal function and lead to anovulation. Another chronic medical condition, hypothyroidism, also contributes to fertility issues. Hypothyroidism is a disease that interferes with the thyroid’s function and causes hormone imbalance. The body’s sex hormones estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone also can suffer due to the imbalances. The hormones regulate the menstrual cycle, and hormonal imbalances lead to anovulation.
How can an irregular cycle stop you from getting pregnant?
Irregular periods can make it harder to conceive in a couple ways. An irregular period, or the lack of a period altogether, is an indicator that no ovulation is happening. If ovulation doesn’t occur during a cycle, then no egg is released, effectively making conception an impossibility. Those with irregular periods who do ovulate during their cycle can also have challenges conceiving, as it is more difficult to pinpoint the fertile window as it changes from cycle to cycle.
How can I get pregnant with irregular ovulation and irregular periods?
One of the best ways to get pregnant despite having an irregular cycle is to track your ovulation metrics, including cervical fluid and basal body temperature, and by taking ovulation tests. When you track your cervical mucus and basal body temperature throughout your cycle, you can start to notice patterns and personalized indicators of ovulation to determine your unique fertile window, rather than adhering to one-size-fits-all fertility advice. This calculator for tracking signs of ovulation after miscarriage certainly helps.
Get pregnant with irregular periods and ovulation
The uterine lining can become thick without ovulation if the hormone estrogen, which is produced prior to ovulation, continues to be secreted unopposed by the other female hormone, progesterone, which is produced after ovulation.
There are many possible causes for irregular menstruation, and many of the causes can affect ovulation or make getting pregnant more difficult. In some cases, the cause of irregular menstruation is unknown.
Some causes that may affect ovulation and your ability to carry a pregnancy include:
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
PCOS is a condition in which the female body secretes too many androgens. Androgens are sometimes thought of as “male” sex hormones. Too many androgens can prevent mature eggs from developing and being released by the fallopian tubes.
PCOS, which affects up to 21 percent of women, is the most common cause of infertility from lack of ovulation. PCOS can be a genetic disorder, but it can also be influenced by lifestyle factors, such as being overweight and sedentary.
Perimenopause
Perimenopause is the time in a woman’s reproductive life when estrogen and progesterone naturally decline. This causes irregular ovulation and periods before they stop altogether, signaling menopause. Typically, perimenopause lasts about four years, but some women can go through it for much longer.
The average age Trusted Source of the onset of perimenopause is 47, with 51 being the average age of the final menstrual period. Perimenopause ends — and menopause begins — when you haven’t had a period for 12 months.
Symptoms of perimenopause may include:
- hot flashes
- night sweats
- moodiness
- irregular periods
While it’s still possible to become pregnant during perimenopause, it can be more difficult because the released eggs will be older and potentially less viable. You also may not release eggs with every cycle.
Thyroid disease
Your thyroid, which is a small butterfly-shaped organ at the base of your neck, helps regulate hormones that, among other things, impact ovulation and menstruation. In one study, nearly 14 percent of adolescent girls with thyroid disorders also had irregular periods.
Other symptoms of thyroid disease, which include hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism, can be:
- mental fuzziness
- weight changes
- altered heart and metabolic rates
Weight
Being severely over- or underweight can set off a chain reaction in your body that interrupts hormonal function. That can lead to absent or irregular ovulation, which can also lead to absent or irregular menstruation.
According to research published in BMC Women’s Health, women with a body mass index of less than 20 or greater than 25 were at least 1.1 times more likely to experience menstrual irregularities than women who had BMIs between 20 and 25.
Stress
Stress can impact a wide variety of bodily functions, including ovulation. In one study looking at medical students, those who reported higher levels of perceived stress were more likely to have menstrual irregularities compared with those who didn’t feel highly stressed.
Ovulation predictor kits and irregular periods
Ovulation generally occurs midway in your cycle. If you have a typical 28-day cycle, you’d ovulate about day 14. But when your periods are irregular, predicting ovulation and timing intercourse to up pregnancy chances can be difficult. If you have irregular periods, you may want to wait to use an ovulation predictor kit until you observe other signs of ovulation.
Some things to look for:
An increase in cervical mucus
Look for a stretchy, clear, egg white-like discharge on your underwear or when you wipe after using the bathroom. This is a sign that ovulation is near.
A spike in your basal body temperature
Take your basal body temperature with a basal body thermometer first thing in the morning, before you eat, talk, or even get out of bed. Chart your temperature all month long.
How to get pregnant with irregular periods
If you’re ovulating, you have the ability to get pregnant, but if you have irregular periods, your chances for pregnancy may be more limited than a woman with regular periods.
If you have an underlying medical condition that’s affecting fertility, treating that condition may increase your chances for pregnancy. Weight loss or weight gain may also help. According to the PCOS Awareness Association, losing just 5 to 10 percent of your body weight can help regulate ovulation in women who are overweight.
Do irregular periods affect the health of a pregnancy?
They might, depending on what’s causing your irregular menstruation. If the cause is unknown, you may have no increased risk for pregnancy complications, but you should discuss possible risks with your doctor.
Pregnant women with PCOS are at greater risk for:
- miscarriage
- gestational diabetes
- preeclampsia, a sudden rise in blood pressure after the 20th week of pregnancy
- preterm birth
Pregnant women with uncontrolled hyperthyroidism have higher rates of delivering a stillborn baby, a premature baby, or a baby with birth defects.
Outlook
Many women experience irregular periods, mostly due to irregular ovulation. While infrequent ovulation can make it harder to get pregnant, your doctor can help increase your fertility by treating the underlying cause of your irregular menstruation and monitoring your progress once you do conceive. This will help ensure that you have a healthy pregnancy and deliver a healthy baby.