Can You Get Pregnant On Your Period If You Have An Irregular Cycle
Yes. If you have an irregular period, it can be harder to predict when youll be ovulating and that could cause you to get pregnant accidentally, since it can be harder to avoid having sex close to that time.
Here are a few types of irregular menstrual cycles, and how it’s still possible to get pregnant:
- You have a short cycle. Some women have cycles as short as 21 days and still ovulate, which means they dont have as much time between when they finish menstruating and when they next ovulate. And since sperm can live in your reproductive tract for a few days, if you happened to have sex during your period and then ovulated the following cycles egg two to three days later, that egg could encounter viable sperm. And you know what that means.
- Your periods last a long time. While your body is slowly shedding that uterine lining, the clock is ticking on ovulation and your next egg shows up while youre still bleeding from the previous months egg. So youre already fertile again which means you can get pregnant on your period.
- You have breakthrough bleeding, or spotting, when you ovulate. Especially if you have light or irregular periods, it would be easy to mistake this bleeding for a true period even though its happening when youre actually most fertile, since youve just ovulated.
Sometimes, however, an irregular period can be a sign that you’re not ovulating at all, which is one cause of infertility.
How Does Conception Occur
The ability to conceive is miraculous. It requires the meeting of a males sperm with a females egg. Once a womans ovary releases an egg, the egg lives for only between 12 and 24 hours. The male sperm can live for about three days.
The typical female cycle is 28 days. Day 1 is when she starts her period. A woman typically ovulates around day 14 .
Ovulation is when a womans ovary releases an egg for fertilization. If a sperm is available in the uterus, pregnancy can occur.
Ovulation can vary based on a womans cycle. Some women have a longer cycle of around 35 days between periods. Ovulation would then happen around day 21. Women with a shorter cycle of 21 days ovulate around day 7.
Can You Get Pregnant On Your Period With Birth Control
Unfortunately, no method of birth control method is 100% effective. So if you use a condom on your period, it breaks and you are fertile directly after your period, there is still a risk of pregnancy – although this is extremely unlikely. If you are using hormonal birth control, then the monthly bleeding you may experience is not in fact a period, its called a withdrawal bleed. Since hormonal birth control works by stopping ovulation, you will not have a fertile window in the same way as with non-hormonal birth control. If youre using Natural Cycles as a birth control method – then you will know your own fertile window.
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The Ins And Outs Of Period Sex
So now we know it is possible to get pregnant on your period, its important you take the right precautions. When used correctly, barrier methods such as the condom are very effective at preventing pregnancy and also offer protection against STIs.
While many may think its gross or messy, having sex on your period is perfectly healthy and lots of women swear by it for a number of reasons. Due to a dip in progesterone, you may find your sex drive increases around menstruation. On top of this, orgasms can alleviate period cramps and cause the uterus to contract more, which in the end can mean shorter periods too.
While you might be expecting a Stephen King-style horror scene, you may actually be surprised by how little menstrual blood there is. The heaviness of your period is a very personal thing that varies from cycle to cycle, however, the average woman will only produce 6-8 teaspoons worth of blood during her entire period. That being said, you might want to have an extra towel on hand, or suggest things get steamy in the shower.
No Rise In Basal Body Temperature
If youve been charting your cycles and you dont see a slight increase in BBT, its possible youre not ovulating. However, some people dont get the rise in BBT, even if they are ovulating. Why this happens is unknown. Also, irregular sleep patterns and not taking your temperature at the same time every morning before getting up for the day can throw off your charting results.
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How Does This Period Calculator Work
This great tool can determine the most important data of your cycle for you, from the fertile days to the period days in your menstrual activity.
The period calculator takes account of the first day of your last menstrual period, the menstrual cycle length and the length of the period.
As you provide this data, by simply pressing the calculate button the form will display you personalized information for the next 12 menstrual cycles on terms of the most fertile days, period start and period end and you can change the data input for as many times as you want with the reset button.
Examples Of Most Fertile Days
Here are some examples to help you calculate your most fertile days.
- You have a shorter cycle with 21 days between periods. You will most likely ovulate on day seven. Your most fertile days are day two, day three, day four, day five, day six, day seven, and day eight.
- You have a regular cycle with 27 days between periods. You will most likely ovulate on day 13. Your most fertile days are day eight, day nine, day 10, day 11, day 12, day 13, and day 14.
- You have a longer cycle with 33 days between periods. You will most likely ovulate on day 19. Your most fertile days are day 14, day 15, day 16, day 17, day 18, day 19, and day 20.
Remember, these results will be most accurate if you can predict when you ovulate. Use your body signs to help confirm you got the day right.
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When Are You Most Fertile
“Theoretically, there’s only a short time when women can get pregnant, and that is the time around ovulation,” says Belfield.
It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when ovulation happens but in most women, it happens around 10 to 16 days before the next period.
“It’s not accurate to say that all women are fertile on day 14 of the menstrual cycle,” says Belfield. This might be true for women who have a regular, 28-day cycle, but it won’t apply to women whose cycles are shorter or longer.
Fertility Awareness And Family Planning
Some women use fertility awareness as a method of natural birth control. One of the tools used is something called the Standard Days method. This establishes that if you have a period that is between 26 to 32 days long, days eight through 19 will be your most fertile days. However, this method is most effective when you have regular menstrual cycles.
If a woman has a regular period and uses the method perfectly, less than one to five women out of 100 will become pregnant. However, the key words here are perfect use. The typical use rate is different. Typical use means that the methods may be done incorrectly or measured inconsistently. In the first year of this typical use, 12 to 24 women out of 100 will become pregnant.
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How Accurate Are Home Pregnancy Tests
Home pregnancy tests are quite accurate and reliable when you use them correctly. Most of the tests available at drugstores claim that they work 99 out of 100 times. Their accuracy is similar to that of a urine pregnancy test that you get in a doctors office or hospital.
- Because these tests work by detecting the presence of human chorionic gonadotropin hormone in your urine, their accuracy might be lower in early pregnancy or when you have just missed your period.
- If your pregnancy test comes out negative but you feel that you might be pregnant, repeat the test a week after the date you missed your period.
You may want to visit your healthcare provider if you are not confident about the result of your pregnancy test.
Most Fertile Days After Period
If you are trying to avoid getting pregnant or are trying to conceive, it is common to wonder what the fertile days after period are.This won’t be that hard if you know your menstruation cycle well and also get some basic knowledge about your body changes during this time. Just keep reading on to figure out your fertile days.
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Keep An Eye On Your Periods
A healthy menstrual cycle and healthy periods are the foundation of your fertility. So it makes sense to keep an eye on your periods when youre trying to conceive.
Being aware of signs and symptoms that can indicate a problem is incredibly valuable. If youre not getting pregnant, these symptoms can help you and your doctor figure out where the problem might lie.
In my Fast Track to Pregnancy Program I show you step by step, how to recognise if you have a problem with your periods or your menstrual cycles. I also discuss the possible causes and what you can DO about it.
Inconsistencies In Ovulation Test Results
Ovulation test kits detect the hormone LH, which surges just before ovulation occurs. If you never get a positive result, you may not be ovulating.
Oddly enough, getting multiple positive results can also indicate an ovulation problem. This implies your body is attempting to trigger ovulation but is not achieving success. Think of it as a misfire. This is common in people with polycystic ovarian syndrome .
Dont assume you cant get pregnant if you have symptoms of a possible ovulation problem. Even if youre not getting your periods, it may still be possible to get pregnant. Its unlikely. But its possible. If you dont want to get pregnant, use contraception or birth control. Talk to your healthcare probider about your particular situation.
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Your Body And The Menstrual Cycle
Did you know that most women are born with one to two million eggs in their ovaries? Its their entire lifetime supply. These eggs are immature, and most of them will never have the chance to become fertilized. The way we talk about this lifetime supply can make it sound like you have two million chances to conceive, but its actually way less. Only about 300 500 of these eggs will mature over a womans life span.
Puberty not only marks an era of awkwardness and flailings with training bras for many of us, but also the time when certain hormones are released to help the eggs embark on this maturation journey. Herein lies the start of menses , called menarche.
Four hormones play a part in the regular drama that is the menstrual cycle. Two of these hormones are produced in the brain: follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone and two of them are produced in the ovaries: progesterone and estrogen.
On day one of their period, women are in whats called the follicular phase of their cycle. This phase is named for the follicle, a fluid-filled sac in the ovary that holds an immature egg. This is a question youre almost always asked at the OBGYN office: when was your last menstrual period? What a provider really wants to know is what was the first day of your last period? This helps us to understand how regular your cycles are and when you might be ovulating.
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What If You Have A 28
The average menstrual cycle is 28 days, with the first day of menstruation as cycle day 1.
Most periods last two to seven days. Pregnancy is uncommon during this time, because your peak fertility window is still about a week or so away.
Around days 6 to 14 of your cycle, your body will start releasing follicle-stimulating hormone .
This helps develop an egg inside your ovary. Your body will also begin rebuilding the endometrial lining in your uterus.
Pregnancy is slightly more likely during this time. Sperm can live up to five days inside the body, so it could still be present when the egg matures.
Once the egg is mature, your body will release lutenizing hormone , triggering the eggs release from your ovary .
Ovulation usually occurs around cycle day 14. Pregnancy is likely on ovulation day.
That said, ovulation doesnt always happen like clockwork. It can occur anywhere from four days before to four days after the midpoint of your menstrual cycle.
The bottom Line
If you ovulate later in your cycle or start your period sooner than usual, you could become pregnant if you have sex in the days leading up to your period.
Lots of people dont have 28-day cycles. Some have cycles as short as 21 days and others as long as 35 days.
In fact, in one study , only about 30 percent of participants had their fertile window fall within days 10 to 17 of their cycle. Only 10 percent had ovulation fall exactly 14 days before their next period.
You can do this a number of ways, including:
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Sex During Your Period
The chances are pretty good that you will not get pregnant if you have sex during your period. Menstruation is the signal that the ovum was not fertilized or implanted, leading to a drop in hormone levels and the shedding of the uterine lining. Even if a sperm made it to an egg, which is very unlikely, the uterine lining would not be ready for implantation. So, during this stage in your cycle, your risk of pregnancy remains negligible.
However, the odds of conception during your period arent zero. If you have a very short cycle, ovulation may occur soon after your period. Given that sperm can live inside you for up to three days, having sex at the end of your period may lead to fertilization in the days following it. One study charting the most common conception days in the menstrual cycle shows that odds start to rise on day 7 LMPjust a week past your first day of bleeding.
It’s also important to note that what you may think is a period might not be. An estimated 2.8% of people with periods have spotting around ovulation, which is actually when you are most fertile. In other cases, spotting may be implantation bleeding, a very early sign of pregnancy. Unlike a regular period, spotting in these circumstances is typically lighter in color and flow.
Can I Get Pregnant A Couple Of Days After My Period Has Ended
Its possible, but also unlikely. Though there is always risk of pregnancy if you have sex without contraception. If you ovulate early when you have short menstrual cycles you may be able to get pregnant this time of the month. However, once youve finished your period youre moving into your fertility window, which means your chances of getting pregnant increase as you approach ovulation.
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How Does Fertility Differ With The Pill
Birth control pills aim to prevent unintended pregnancy. The pill prevents pregnancy by releasing synthetic hormones that stop ovulation from occurring and the uterus lining from thickening.
So, even if the ovaries do release an egg, a fertilized egg would be unable to implant in the wall of the uterus. The pill also thickens cervical mucus, making it harder for sperm to reach an egg.
According to the CDC , the birth control pill is more than 99% effective with perfect use but only 91% effective with typical use. This means that around 9 out of 100 women would become pregnant in a year of taking the pill with typical use.
How Can You Get Pregnant On Your Period
The chances of getting pregnant when you’re on your period are low, but they’re not zero. So how could a pregnancy happen at the same time your body is deciding its not pregnant?
Lets break it down: At ovulation, your ovary releases an egg into your fallopian tube, where it can live for 24 hours awaiting fertilization before it travels to the uterus. Meanwhile, the uterus is building up a lining just in case it needs to host a growing embryo.
If egg meets sperm during ovulation and implants in that lining, bingo baby on board. If not, your body sheds both lining and egg .
Most womens menstrual cycles last about 24 to 28 days, from the first day of their period to the first day of the next period. Because the egg can survive for 24 hours after ovulation and sperm can live inside a woman for up to five days, a woman can get pregnant starting five days before ovulation and ending a day after.
Ovulation usually occurs 14 days before the first day of your next cycle which, if you have a 28-day cycle and a week-long period, leaves you a week between the last day of your period and the first day you ovulate.
But what if you have sex on the last day of your period and you ovulate a few days early? There could still be viable sperm inside you, and you could get pregnant.
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