# can a girl get pregnant while she is already pregnant **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 20, 2005, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-girl-get-pregnant-while-she-is-already-pregnant/300189 "2005-04-20T04:48:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spatial_Rift_47)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2005, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-girl-get-pregnant-while-she-is-already-pregnant/300189/21 "2005-04-21T18:40:12Z")
> [@alaska56](#): > > The TV show House The funny thing is, this thread does share several important traits with your typical episode of House: 1) puzzling condition that defies simple diagnosis, 2) hypotheses of people lying and screwing up, and 3) hypotheses of exceedingly rare conditions. The only thing we need now is a cane and a bottle of Vicodin, and we’ll be all set to figure this one out. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2005, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-girl-get-pregnant-while-she-is-already-pregnant/300189/22 "2005-04-21T19:33:41Z")
> [@Jonathan Woodall](#): > > **hauss,** > SNIP > and either not realize it or not wanted to tell you about it? Rape victims will sometimes (understandaly) not want to talk about it. She might be unaware she’s > > SNIP. ^^^^understandably And please, for the love of God, either A) Abortion or B) Adoption since you guys don’t seem interested in parenting. Good luck, don’t do anything you will regret, and don’t do anything illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2005, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-girl-get-pregnant-while-she-is-already-pregnant/300189/23 "2005-04-21T20:52:31Z")
How about c) reliable birth control from now on? No offence, honey, but if you’re patently uninterested in parenting, reliable safe birth control methods are a lot easier than this childbirth thing. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-girl-get-pregnant-while-she-is-already-pregnant/300189/24 "2005-04-22T03:20:44Z")
> [@Aestivalis](#): > > Are you nursing? My son is 10 months old and my wife hasn’t had a period for 19 months… I’m pumping milk for a premie in the hospital. I didn’t expect it to have the same ovulation/menstruation suppression that breastfeeding does, but I wasn’t expecting a return to fertility quite so quickly! I’m sure you and your wife know this, but let’s remind our studio audience that breastfeeding, even exclusively, does NOT provide ovulation supression good enough to be considered birth control. Women today are far too well fed for this old wives’ tale to hold true - she can ovulate at any time and become pregnant without ever getting a period! > [@Mama Zappa](#): > > Actually, it’s not. It _is_ rare, but it can happen - called "superfetation. Rare, but it does occur - happened to a friend of mine, whose twins were evidently conceived 2 weeks apart. I don’t recall all the details of how they determined that, but they were better than 50% sure it had to have happened that way. DAYUM! I’ve been a laystudent of human fertility for years and I’ve never heard of this. Huh. How rare is it, do you know? I can only find a handful of human cases reported in papers on PubMed, and most of those seem to be fertility treatment related. Yay, I have something new to study! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-girl-get-pregnant-while-she-is-already-pregnant/300189/25 "2005-04-22T04:01:52Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > How about c) reliable birth control from now on? No offence, honey, but if you’re patently uninterested in parenting, reliable safe birth control methods are a lot easier than this childbirth thing. Well, if she is indeed pregnat, it is already too late for birth control (this time around). ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-girl-get-pregnant-while-she-is-already-pregnant/300189/26 "2005-04-22T19:50:44Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > Well, if she is indeed pregnat, it is already too late for birth control (this time around). Yeah, but evidently it’s an ongoing problem. One does hope for future improvement. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-girl-get-pregnant-while-she-is-already-pregnant/300189/27 "2005-04-22T21:19:21Z")
“menstrating during end of pregnancy” : OP Aside from the spelling, you seem to have a tenuous grasp of physiology. Maybe you are speculating that your girlfriend was ovulating during the end of pregnancy. Menstruation is something totally different. This is not the forum for us to be judgmental - although many of us are apparently trying very hard not to be - but in order to be a responsible sex partner, I’d recommend a crash course on the female reproductive cycle. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-girl-get-pregnant-while-she-is-already-pregnant/300189/28 "2005-04-23T01:52:05Z")
> [@nyctea scandiaca](#): > > I agree, I have a hard time believing that you could see a 17-day-old fertilized egg with a sonogram… > > I have a related story though. A guy I knew -his wife had twins (from one uterus) but they weren’t concieved at the same time; they were concieved several weeks apart. I had never heard of that, but he said that his doctor could tell the fetuses were of different ages. > > Now how would _that_ happen? If one embryo had already implanted, wouldn’t the resulting hormones prevent another egg from being released? So where did the second egg come from? > > Ideas, anyone? Gestational age doesn’t mean different dates of insemination, some embros mature more slowly due to a number of possible problems. Even idential twins can have different gestional ages. The parents misunderstood what the doctor explained poorly. The question of the 17 week embryo being seen on ultrasound, doesn’t ring true. [Here](http://www.med.unc.edu/embryo_images/unit-bdyfm/bdyfm_htms/bdyfm006.htm)is a photomicrograph of a 17 day embryo. Even it it were big enough to see, it wouldn’y be recognizable as anything but a blob of tissue. I’m afraid the you and/or your GF misunderstood the doctor. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-girl-get-pregnant-while-she-is-already-pregnant/300189/29 "2005-04-23T08:20:46Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > My mom represented one of the dads in a case once where a woman had twins with different fathers. Seriously. Ancient Greeks and their myths had the Gemini twins described as being from different fathers. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-girl-get-pregnant-while-she-is-already-pregnant/300189/30 "2005-04-23T08:24:51Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > Gestational age doesn’t mean different dates of insemination, some embros mature more slowly due to a number of possible problems. Even idential twins can have different gestional ages. > The parents misunderstood what the doctor explained poorly. > > The question of the 17 week embryo being seen on ultrasound, doesn’t ring true. [Here](http://www.med.unc.edu/embryo_images/unit-bdyfm/bdyfm_htms/bdyfm006.htm)is a photomicrograph of a 17 day embryo. Even it it were big enough to see, it wouldn’y be recognizable as anything but a blob of tissue. > I’m afraid the you and/or your GF misunderstood the doctor. I’d agree, but…how then how are those who generated this picture so sure they’re looking at an embryo themselves??? - Jinx 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-girl-get-pregnant-while-she-is-already-pregnant/300189/31 "2005-04-23T08:37:33Z")
**Jinx** , I’d say the answer to your question most likely is, that it was proven as the pregnancy progressed. ---
**Author:** ![biddee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@biddee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/biddee)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-girl-get-pregnant-while-she-is-already-pregnant/300189/32 "2005-04-23T10:43:12Z")
I don’t know about anyone else, but there was no way on earth that I would have had sex 2 weeks after giving birth vaginally. OUCH!!! Besides, as the other posters said, it would be virtually impossible to see anything on an ultrasound at 2 weeks gestation. What is possible is that there is a piece of retained placenta in her uterus and that is what the doctor saw on the ultrasound and your girlfriend misheard him. I think you need to go see this doctor for yourself and find out exactly what is going on. Please post back when you uncover this mystery! I’m intrigued. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-girl-get-pregnant-while-she-is-already-pregnant/300189/33 "2005-04-23T12:50:45Z")
> [@biddee](#): > > I don’t know about anyone else, but there was no way on earth that I would have had sex 2 weeks after giving birth vaginally. Eh, maybe. If she’s young (as sounds likely), not taking care of a newborn and had an uncomplicated birth with no episiotomy, she could heal that quickly. Never underestimate the power of teenage hormones. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-girl-get-pregnant-while-she-is-already-pregnant/300189/34 "2005-04-23T12:50:51Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > The question of the 17 week embryo being seen on ultrasound, doesn’t ring true. [Here](http://www.med.unc.edu/embryo_images/unit-bdyfm/bdyfm_htms/bdyfm006.htm)is a photomicrograph of a 17 day embryo. Even it it were big enough to see, it wouldn’y be recognizable as anything but a blob of tissue. > I’m afraid the you and/or your GF misunderstood the doctor. Not that I disagree, but that image says that it’s of a mouse embryo. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-girl-get-pregnant-while-she-is-already-pregnant/300189/35 "2005-04-23T12:55:45Z")
> [@TellMeI'mNotCrazy](#): > > Not that I disagree, but that image says that it’s of a mouse embryo. It’s a mouse embryo at 7 days, which is the same level of development as a human zygote at 17 days. The two are virtually indistinguishable - here’s an [18-day human](http://connection.lww.com/Products/sadler/images/figurelarge11-1.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-girl-get-pregnant-while-she-is-already-pregnant/300189/36 "2005-04-23T13:10:03Z")
Ahh, got it. I’ll just invoke the Caffeine Defense 😉 ---
**Author:** ![inkleberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f17d59/32.png) [@inkleberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inkleberry)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-girl-get-pregnant-while-she-is-already-pregnant/300189/37 "2005-06-04T06:15:58Z")
Can we get an update? Retained placenta? Some sort of communication problem between your gf and the doc? Double uterii? Alien involvement? Secretly trolling? By now you should know what’s up in there… ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-girl-get-pregnant-while-she-is-already-pregnant/300189/38 "2005-06-05T11:32:15Z")
> [@inkleberry](#): > > Can we get an update? Retained placenta? Some sort of communication problem between your gf and the doc? Double uterii? Alien involvement? Secretly trolling? By now you should know what’s up in there… The OP has been banned. I guess we’ll never know. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-girl-get-pregnant-while-she-is-already-pregnant/300189/39 "2005-06-05T13:35:04Z")
> [@AngelicGemma](#): > > The OP has been banned. I guess we’ll never know. Actually, he’s been suspended. **Orange Juice hauss** is claiming **Creepy Abortion hauss** is his brother posting under his username. [Posts 105-109 here.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=319311&page=3&pp=50) ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-girl-get-pregnant-while-she-is-already-pregnant/300189/40 "2005-06-05T15:18:27Z")
So which one was it who wanted to feign insanity to get out of child support? (Boy, this is better than soap operas any day…) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-girl-get-pregnant-while-she-is-already-pregnant/300189.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-girl-get-pregnant-while-she-is-already-pregnant/300189.md?page=3)