When Can I Get Pregnant
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Knowing when you’re likely to release an egg can help you plan or avoid pregnancy. Find out when ovulation occurs in the menstrual cycle, and when you can get pregnant.
During the menstrual cycle, an egg is released from one of the womans ovaries and travels down the fallopian tube.
The egg only lives for 24 hours after ovulation, and a sperm must meet the egg within that period for pregnancy to happen. However, this doesn’t mean that a woman has to have sex on the day of ovulation, as sperm can survive in the fallopian tubes for several days after sex and still fertilise the egg when it’s released from the ovary.
Can You Get Pregnant Right Before Your Period
Its not impossible, but it is unlikely especially in women with regular, 28-day cycles. Ovulation is normally complete by day 19, a solid week-and-a-half before your next menstrual period begins.
That said, ovulation is harder to predict in women with irregular periods, which means it could happen later in the cycle. Plus, even in women with regular cycles, ovulation can vary from month to month, especially if you’re stressed, traveling or changing up your normal routine.
Can You Get Pregnant With An Irregular Period
Yes, women can get pregnant with an irregular period. However, the ability to get pregnant decreases significantly. The disadvantage is ovulation becomes difficult to determine. The pregnancy success rate of a healthy woman with a regular cycle is 30%. Studies show this decreases exponentially if periods are off by ten days or more.
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Use A Cycle Charting App
Phone apps can help you chart your cycle. You record details like the first day of your period, OPK results, and basal temperature. You’ll get alerts when you’re likely to be more fertile.
The drawback is most use a standard 28-day cycle, with ovulation on day 14, which isn’t accurate for many women.
The Possibility Of Getting Pregnant Soon After Giving Birth
Whether you had a vaginal birth or c-section, your body is capable of getting pregnant very shortly after giving birth. You can ovulate before having your first postpartum period, and as soon as you ovulate, you can conceive.
Despite the fact that it is not recommended that you have sex prior to your six-week checkup, it happens. If you don’t use a form of contraception, you can get pregnant. Consider alternatives to sexual intercourse for reasons of healing from giving birth but also to prevent pregnancy.
Breastfeeding, while it may delay ovulation in some women, is not an effective method of birth control unless you are following the lactational amenorrhea method . This is a very specific method of birth control. It means that you never use a breast pump, your baby never gets a pacifier, and your baby does not sleep through the night. This is a standard that is difficult for most women to achieve.
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Track Your Basal Body Temperature
This is your temperature when you first wake up in the morning. When you ovulate, it goes up slightly and stays up until your next period.
To track it, you’ll need a basal body thermometer, which measures small changes. You can get one at most drugstores and supermarkets.
Take your temperature before you get out of bed every morning. Note the first day it goes up.
“Once you identify the day you ovulated, you can predict that ovulation will happen on or close to that day in future cycles,” Manglani says.
Continued
Can You Get Pregnant On The First Day Of Your Period
Its possible though not very likely for you to get pregnant on the first day of your period, especially if you have a regular, 28-day cycle.
If you have an irregular or a shorter menstrual cycle, however, ovulation might occur much closer to day one of your period, which would cause you to get pregnant on the first day.
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How Long After Period Can You Get Pregnant
Whether you are a woman trying to get pregnant or you’re trying to avoid getting pregnant, it is entirely your choice.
In both cases, it can be helpful and extremely important to do your research on fertility and help you identify the best time to get pregnant or prevent possible pregnancy. This article should be able to help and will tell you all about fertility and your period.
To learn more about fertility and pregnancy, you can also read our guides to working while pregnant and whether you can run when pregnant.
Chances Of Getting Pregnant After Ovulation
Also known as the luteal phase, this final portion of your cycle lasts a minimum of 12 days and a maximum of 16 days. Progesterone starts to rise, signaling that the ovaries don’t need to release any more eggs this month. Your cervical mucus will dry up and create a plug to prevent any additional sperm from entering the uterus.
It takes about six days for any fertilized eggs to travel to your uterus. If one implants in your endometrium, you’ll start to see the rise in human chorionic gonadotropin , the hormone measured by home pregnancy tests, within a week.
Your chances of conceiving: Low. Once the egg has been released, there’s not much that can be done until next month. But there’s certainly no harm in having sex if you’re in the mood!
Don’t sweat it if it’s time for your cycle to start over again and you’re still not pregnant. You may not have tracked your most fertile days accurately, in which case your guy’s swimmers never had the chance to work their magic. The vast majority of couples who are trying to conceive do so within a year, with only about half achieving their goal by 6 months. Talk to your doctor or a fertility specialist about any concerns regarding your chances of getting pregnant.
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Days Before And After Ovulation
Ovulation usually occurs between days 11 and 21 of your cycle . The first day of your period signifies the beginning of your next cycle. When youre ovulating, an egg is released from your ovaries and moves down the uterine tube towards your uterus.
An egg lives 12-24 hours following ovulation, but sperm can live in the female reproductive system for up to five days after sex. Therefore, having sex from five days before or one day after ovulation can result in pregnancy.
A 2019 study found that women who have unprotected sex one day before ovulation had the highest probability of getting pregnant .
Can You Feel Pregnant After 2 Days
This varies from woman to woman. According to research, spotting is an early sign of pregnancy which indicates that an embryo is pushing itself into your uterus causing some light bleeding significantly different from your regular menstrual flow.
Some other early signs are fatigue, food cravings, and urinating more often. Fatigue and food cravings happen because the woman is experiencing hormonal changes.
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If Youre Trying To Get Pregnant
If youre trying to get pregnant, pinpointing ovulation is a vital first step. If youve been dutifully baby dancing mid-cycle and havent yet gotten pregnant, you may even wonder if you have more irregular ovulation and would benefit from sex during or right after your period.
There are several ways you can try to figure out your ovulation patterns. They include:
At-home ovulation predictor kits. These tests work by detecting LH , which surges 12 days before ovulation takes place. So these kits can tell you when youre going to ovulate, but they cant tell you when ovulation has taken place.
Progesterone test kits. Some women who have irregular periods, such as those with PCOS, find that using a kit that detects progesterone the hormone released right after ovulation is helpful to use in addition to a standard ovulation kit. Determining whether or not your body produced progesterone will help you to know if you ovulated or not.
Fertility apps.Ovulation-tracking apps compile a monthly record of multiple factors, such as basal body temperature and cervical mucus. They can help women with regular periods determine when theyre ovulating. We wish we could put this in neon flashing lights, though: These apps can help you get pregnant, but theyre not birth control and shouldnt be used to prevent pregnancy.
Length Of Your Menstrual Cycle
Your menstrual cycle begins on the first day of your period and is a critical component in determining when you can get pregnant. Most women have a 28-day cycle from the first day of one period to the first day of the next, but it can vary. Some have cycles as short as 21 days, for example. Technically, your cycle is considered regular if you have your period at least every 24 to 38 days, but that degree of variation can make estimating your fertility period challenging.
If you skip periods entirely or have cycle lengths that fall outside the “regular” range or change significantly from month-to-month, then you have what is known as an irregular cycle. Unfortunately, that will make it harder to pinpoint when you are likely to ovulate. If you are having difficulty conceiving and want to calculate the best estimate for when you could become pregnant, you may have to track your periods for a few months to determine an average length or some sense of a pattern for your cycle.
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Increase Your Conception Chances
One study has shown that women who are trying to conceive will increase their likelihood of conception if they monitor and are aware of their potential fertile days. Being knowledgeable about their ovulation increased the accuracy of when their actual fertile period occurred rather than estimating when they perceived their ovulation would occur.
Got It So When Can You Have Unprotected Sex
Erm NEVER?!
Just kidding . In general, your period is the part of your cycle when youre least likely to make a baby. But regardless of timing, its impossible to be 100 percent sure that unprotected sex wont result in pregnancy.
If you have a 28-day cycle that runs like clockwork, your fertile window lasts for about 6 days mid-cycle . Your safest bet for unprotected sex is a week or so after ovulation just before, during, or just after your period.
But and were sounding like a broken record you could still get pregnant if you have an unpredictable cycle, if you have short cycles, or if you have sex within 5 days of your fertile window .
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Factors That Make It More Likely
Anyone can become pregnant right after their period.
A 2018 article found that a healthy persons cycle can vary by up to 9 days a year. Therefore, even someone who normally ovulates around day 17 or 18 might occasionally ovulate much earlier.
A person may be more likely to become pregnant during or right after their period if they:
- frequently have unprotected sex
- have a very short or irregular menstrual cycle
- are over the age of 40 years and approaching menopause. A 2002 study found that women aged 4045 ovulated slightly earlier in their cycles than younger women.
Counseling And Support Groups
If you’ve 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.
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Can I Get Pregnant Just After My Period Has Finished
Yes, although it’s not very likely. If you have sex without using contraception, you can conceive at any time during your menstrual cycle, even during or just after your period.
You can also get pregnant if you have never had a period before, during your first period, or after the first time you have sex.
There’s no “safe” time of the month when you can have sex without contraception and not risk becoming pregnant.
But there are times in your menstrual cycle when you’re at your most fertile, and this is when you’re most likely to conceive.
What Is The Menstrual Cycle
The menstrual cycle is what your body goes through to get ready for pregnancy. This cycle is the time from the first day of your period up to the day before the start of your next period.
Ovulation usually happens during the second half of the cycle. This is when an egg is released from one of your ovaries. To get pregnant, the egg needs to be fertilised by the sperm.
Ovulation doesnt happen every month for every woman. There are some conditions that may interfere with ovulation, such as endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome . If you are not getting a monthly period and are trying to get pregnant, speak to your doctor.
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What If You Want A Baby
If youre trying to get pregnant, its vital to schedule plenty of time between the sheets during your fertile window.
If youve been getting frisky mid-cycle for a while and still arent preggo, it might benefit you to have sex more regularly. Cycles vary, after all. It also helps pinpoint your ovulation knowledge is power!
Heres how to get a better handle on your bodys ovulation patterns:
Why Can A Woman Become Pregnant While On Her Period
Bleeding is typically associated with being on ones period. However, a woman may also bleed during ovulation the most fertile time in her cycle. Having intercourse without birth control is most likely to lead to conception during this stage.
Similarly, sperm can survive inside a womans body for up to 72 hours. Can you get pregnant on your period? Yes, because conception may occur days after intercourse.
Additionally, the chances of conception increase towards the conclusion of a womans period. Women with shorter cycles may have a higher chance of conception than those who menstruate for longer. Can you get pregnant on the last day of your period? It is much more likely.
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