How Does Fertility Differ On 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 pill is more than 99 percent effective with perfect use but only 91 percent effective with typical use. This means that, with typical use, around 9 out of 100 women would become pregnant in a year of taking the pill.
Read Also: Brown Stuff Instead Of Period
Other Possible Signs Of Ovulation
Some more potential signs of ovulation include:
- Tender breasts. Some people report breast tenderness or sore nipples around the time of ovulation.
- Bloating. Some people feel bloated before and during ovulation. Since bloating occurs at other moments during your cycle, particularly during menstruation, its not necessarily a reliable indicator of ovulation.
The ovulation phase of your menstrual cycle typically lasts between 16 and 32 hours, starting with the LH surge and ending when the egg is released.
Ovulation generally occurs 24 to 48 hours after the LH surge.
You can become pregnant both before and after ovulation. This is called the fertile window.
Your fertile window starts up to 4 days prior to ovulation and extends for 1 day after ovulation. You are most fertile on the day before ovulation and the day of ovulation.
Also Check: 90 Day Probationary Period Form
What If I Have Irregular Periods
If you have irregular periods, meaning that your periods are outside of the 2135-day window or if your cycle intervals vary by more than seven days each month , you should speak with your Gyn/OB or a fertility specialist. This irregularity may be due to a hormone imbalance and could make it more challenging to get pregnant using natural family planning methods.
Read Also: Period Started Then Stopped Am I Pregnant
What Are Some Early Signs Of Pregnancy
Even when you use highly effective forms of birth control, there is still a tiny chance that you may become pregnant when you have sex. Some of the earliest signs of pregnancy can be tricky to detect, especially because they often mirror the symptoms you get before your period. A few signs that indicate you might be pregnant can include:
- Feeling excessively tired
- Nausea and stomach pain
- Tender or swollen breasts
While you donât get your period if youâre pregnant, you may have light bleeding or spotting. Some people mistake this for their period and donât realize they are pregnant. If you think you might be pregnant, you should take a pregnancy test to confirm.
Your Cycle And Its Regularity Can Also Influence Fertility
Many people have an irregular cycle. Sometimes the length can vary from month to month. Other times, ovulation can occur on different days during the cycle. Several factors can change the regularity of your cycle, including:
- Diabetes and other medical conditions
- Thyroid problems
- Excessive exercise
- Not eating enough
While these specific factors may not directly affect your fertility, they can change your cycle and make it more difficult to know exactly when ovulation occurs and when youâre most likely to conceive.
You May Like: Skipping Period With Birth Control Pills
Fertility During Your Period
A menstrual cycle is a cycle that begins inside a womans reproductive system on the first day of her period. This is not to be mistaken for the actual period, which is simply the act of bleeding.
Cycles can be regular or irregular and can last anywhere between 21 and 35 days. They are not always consistent and even for the same woman, one cycle can be very different from the next. A regular menstrual cycle only fluctuates between 21 to 35 days while an irregular menstrual cycle can be inconsistent and unpredictable, this usually lasts less than 21 days or more than 35 days. Knowing your menstrual cycle, period, and when you ovulate can help you pick the right time to have unprotected sex to get pregnant.
If you are a woman who has been going through cycles for quite some time now, you will more or less have an idea of what you might find in this article. However, if you are new to all this, perhaps you are a person trying to conceive or are wanting to learn more about contraception, here are some explanations of terms that you need to know before moving forward.
Ovulation: This is when a mature egg cell is released from the ovary into the fallopian tube where it gets a chance to be fertilized by a sperm cell. The egg will stay in the tube for about 24 hours, which is the best time to have sexual intercourse and increase the chances of pregnancy. Whilst ovulation happens as part of a cycle, some women can ovulate early from time to time.
Getting To Know Your Cycle
Can You Get Pregnant Right After Your Period
For most people, pregnancy isn’t likely to happen right after your periodâbut it is possible. As early as the third day of your menstrual cycle, your levels of the reproductive hormones progesterone and estrogen, which taper off at the start of your period, begin to climb and help your uterine lining rebuild.
Here are a few scenarios that can lead to conception immediately after menstruation.
Don’t Miss: How To Reduce Bleeding During Periods
Curious When You Can Get Pregnant How To Support Fertility Get Pregnant Naturally And Ovulate Regularly After Birth Control
Grab yourself a copy of Beyond the Pill and the over $250 in bonus materials to help you optimize your hormones now!
In Beyond the Pill I share my proven 30-day program designed to reverse the myriad of symptoms women experience every daywhether you choose to stay on the pill or not. The first book of its kind to target the birth control pill and the scientifically-proven symptoms associated with taking it, Beyond the Pill is an actionable plan for taking control, and will help readers:
- Locate the root cause of their hormonal issues, like estrogen dominance, low testosterone, and low progesterone
- Discover a pain-free, manageable period free of cramps, acne, stress, or PMS without the harmful side effects that come with the pill
- Detox the liver, support the adrenals and thyroid, heal the gut, reverse metabolic mayhem, boost fertility, and enhance mood
- Transition into a nutrition and supplement program, with more than 30 hormone-balancing recipes
Featuring simple diet and lifestyle interventions, Beyond the Pill is the first step to reversing the risky side effects of the pill, finally finding hormonal health, and getting your badass self back.
Get To Know Your Cervix
Ovulation isnât an entirely hidden process, and there are some definite physical signs of ovulation. As your body senses the hormone shifts that indicate an egg is about to be released from the ovary, it begins prepping for the incoming hordes of sperm to give the egg its best chance of being fertilized.
The other cervical ovulation symptom you can watch for is a change in mucus. Cervical mucus, which youâll notice as discharge, carries the sperm to the egg deep inside you. After your period ends, youâll have a dry spell, literally you shouldnât expect much, if any, cervical mucus. As the cycle proceeds, youâll notice an increase in the amount of mucus, with an often white or cloudy appearance and if you try to stretch it between your fingers, itâll break apart.
As you get closer to ovulation, this mucus becomes even more copious, but now itâs thinner, clearer and has a slippery consistency similar to that of an egg white. If you try to stretch it between your fingers, youâll be able to pull it into a string a few inches long before it breaks . This egg white cervical mucus is yet another sign of impending ovulation.
Recommended Reading: Why Is My Period Not Coming
Counseling And Support Groups
If youve been having problems getting pregnant, you know how frustrating it can feel. Not being able to get pregnant can be one of the most stressful experiences a couple has. Both counseling and support groups can help you and your partner talk about your feelings and help you meet other couples struggling with the same issues. You will learn that anger, grief, blame, guilt, and depression are all normal. Couples do survive infertility, and can become closer and stronger in the process. Ask your doctor for the names of counselors or therapists with an interest in fertility.
Recommended Reading: Feeling Sick Before Period Could I Be Pregnant
You Miscounted Cycle Days
You can also get pregnant if you miscounted cycle days and mistakenly had unprotected PIV sex near ovulation. To determine day one of your menstrual cycle, start counting on the first day of red blood rather than at the end of your menstrual period, says Dr. Sundheimer.
“The duration of bleeding for a period also varies, so when you’re counting time to ovulation, it’s better to count from the first day of a period rather than days since bleeding stops.” Doing so can prevent you from having sex too close to ovulation, which can lead to pregnancy.
Read Also: Online Pregnancy Test Before Missed Period
Your Period Lasts A Long Time
It’s not uncommon to have spotting in the day or so before your period starts and for a few days after that. Because of this bleeding, you might falsely believe you’re still on your period and can’t get pregnant. In reality, though, ovulation can be closer than you think.
Rhythm Method For Natural Family Planning
The rhythm method is also called the calendar rhythm method or just the calendar method. It is a natural family planning technique. You need to keep track of your menstrual history to help you predict when you will ovulate.
The rhythm method has been in use for many years to prevent pregnancy. It can also help you determine when you are likely to ovulate.
To use the rhythm method, you have to keep track of your menstrual cycle for 6-12 months/cycles. You have to note the day your period starts and when it ends. You will subtract 18 from the number of days in your shortest menstrual cycle. The result will represent the first fertile day of your menstrual cycle.
Similarly, subtract 11 from the number of days in the longest. The result will be the last fertile day of your menstrual cycle.
Chapel Hill Obstetrics & GynecologyFertility & Family Planning, Infertility Treatments, Pregnancy
Understanding your menstrual cycle is crucial to defining when you ovulate and calculating when you are most likely to get pregnant.
Women should be aware that if they have an irregular period, it can make the ovulation days difficult to determine. Said Dr. Martinelli. When examining fertility, its important to realize that an egg can survive for about 24 hours after ovulation, and sperm can live inside a womans body for three daysthough sometimes its possible for them to survive for five days.
Recommended Reading: How Do You Know If You Have Started Your Period
Learn More About Your Fertility Levels With Everlywell
Itâs a fairly common misconception that you cannot get pregnant if you have sex while you have your period or right after your period ends. However, this is not true. It is possible to become pregnant during or after your period. This is because there can be irregularities in your menstrual cycle and ovulation days. As you get older, it becomes more difficult to pinpoint precisely when you are at your most fertile.
One way you might be able to get a better handle on your fertility levels is to take a test that measures certain hormones that influence your fertility. The Everlywell Womenâs Fertility Test is a simple, at-home test that can do just that. The test requires a finger-prick blood sample. You send that sample to a secure lab and receive your results shortly after.
This allows you to better understand your fertility levels so that you can take action as needed, whether you want to either conceive or prevent pregnancy.
How To Track Your Fertile Window
The following method will help you find out your fertile window.
Also Check: How Can You Delay Your Period
Read Also: Best Foods To Eat On Period
What About Period Sex
Weve heard period sex hailed as the ultimate time for unprotected love making. Though baby making odds are slim, its not 100 percent risk-free.
During the 4 to 8 days of bleeding, youre shedding the unfertilized egg from your previous cycle. This means there isnt a new egg ready for baby making, but it doesnt mean your partners sperm wont hang out until the new egg makes its debut.
Recommended Reading: Period Blood Stains On Sheets
Can You Be Fertile On Your Period
While its extremely unlikely, the simple answer is yes. Women are not able to conceive whilst on their period, but sperm survives within the female reproductive system for up to five days. This means that a tiny fraction of women do have a small chance of becoming pregnant from unprotected sex during their period. It all depends on the length of your menstrual cycle simple, right?
Lets take an example, say you have a menstrual cycle shorter than 28 days. You have sex towards the end of your six-day-long period and ovulate shortly after, then there is a chance that some of the sperm survive and you could get pregnant. So while getting pregnant is unlikely, its technically possible if you dont know your fertile window.
Don’t Miss: How To Know If You Got Your Period
Period Tracking And Logging Sex
Women who use Natural Cycles take their temperature every morning and record it in the app. The method works by identifying a rise in body temperature just before ovulation. This means Natural Cycles can tell you when you can and cant get pregnant, so you will know your own fertility whilst on your period, or any day of your cycle, for that matter. On top of this, you will also know where you are in your cycle, meaning you can plan for your period, PMS or when to do a self breast exam.
If you are looking for a hormone-free birth control option that learns your unique cycle, then Natural Cycles could be the solution youve been searching for.
Can I Use My Menstrual Cycle To Predict My Due Date
Yes. You can work out how far along your pregnancy is by counting from the first day of your last period.
This can be confusing because you probably didnt get pregnant until around 2 weeks later, after you ovulated. Even if do you know the date you got pregnant, this is counted as day 14 of your pregnancy , not day 1.
Your pregnancy is calculated from your last menstrual period because every time you have a period this is the bodys way of getting ready for pregnancy. It also gives healthcare professionals a standard to follow because its very difficult to know exactly when the sperm fertilised the egg.
If your period is irregular or if youve recently been on the pill it will be harder to try and work out your due date.
The most accurate way to work out your due date is to have an ultrasound scan when youre around 11 to 14 weeks pregnant. This is used to see how for along you are and check your babys development.
Read Also: How To Stay Fresh On Your Period
When Are You Least Fertile
Sometimes in order to figure something out you may have to go about it from the opposite direction. If you do not want to have a baby but you are sexually active, you should first find out when your most fertile days are. The menstrual cycle usually determines when you are the most fertile so you can eliminate those days. The first day of the cycle is when the bleeding starts. After about a week, your hormone levels will begin to escalate which makes you ripe for ovulation. Once ovulation is over and conception was not achieved, your menstrual cycle will start up again in another 12 to 14 days.
When Is Your Fertile Window
what days can you get pregnant?
The truth is, your fertile window each month is actually pretty smallabout five to seven days total. To conceive, a mans sperm must fertilise a womans egg within 48 hours of ovulation .
The cycle can be broken into two primary phases: the follicular phase and the luteal phase.
Don’t Miss: Will Birth Control Stop Your Period