Can You Still Have a Period and Not be Ovulating? | Ask the Expert: Utica Park Clinic's Owasso OB/GYN

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Question:
If you are not ovulating, can you still have a period?

Answer:

Periods typically occur in a regular fashion every 21-35 days in normal, ovulating women. However, women who are not ovulating can have “vaginal bleeding” which is usually still referred to as a “period.” Women who do not ovulate, or have “anovulatory cycles,” usually have very irregular periods. They can skip weeks or even months between periods and their periods tend to be more irregular in length and flow as well. So in answer to your question, women who are not ovulating can still have vaginal bleeding, but are not likely to get pregnant and are not likely to see changes in basal body temperature or in results from over-the-counter (OTC) ovulation kits if they are trying to track ovulation.