# we can have a period without ovulating > Many of us have thought that getting regular periods means our reproductive system is working perfectly. In fact, most doctors think that too! In other words, if a period comes about once a month, and the time from one period to the next is not too variable, most women and many doctors assume that the cycle is normal. And by “normal”, they mean that ovulation has occurred and the ovary has secreted the right amounts of progesterone as well as estrogen. In fact, although some cycles with anovulation are irregular or too far apart, many cycles which occur perfectly regularly can also be anovulatory[[(Prior, 2014)#^de5ej]]