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.
How Many Days After My Period Can I Become Pregnant
For many women, monthly menstrual cycles are very predictable, allowing them to easily track and know when to expect their monthly period. When they decide they want to have a baby, a few simple calculations can help them figure out the most fertile times to try to conceive. The technique also works in reverse, and they can estimate the best times to avoid intercourse if birth control isnt an option.
While its not possible to guarantee you can pinpoint your most fertile days for conception every month, some real science is behind the method used to calculate a best guess. Whether you want to conceive or add an extra layer of protection to your birth control method start by using these tips to calculate when you could become pregnant.
Can You Get Pregnant On Your Period While Using Birth Control
Its possible to get pregnant when youre using birth control, whether youre on your period or not.
The likelihood that a contraceptive will fail varies depending on the method of birth control :
- Oral contraceptives : About 7 to 9 percent failure rate
- Progestin-only pill: About 7 percent failure rate
- Patch: About 7 to 9 percent failure rate
- Vaginal contraceptive ring: About 7 to 9 percent failure rate
- Male condoms: About 13 to 18 percent failure rate
- Diaphragms: About 12 to 17 percent failure rate
For what its worth, tracking your monthly cycle called fertility awareness in order to avoid pregnancy isnt the most reliable birth control method the typical failure rate may be as high as 23 percent.
The bottom line: Although the odds are slim, you can get pregnant on your period or any other time of the month. Its even possible to get pregnant on your period if youre using birth control.
So unless youre trying to conceive, its always smart to be vigilant about contraception unless you like big surprises.
From the What to Expect editorial team and Heidi Murkoff, author of What to Expect When Youre Expecting. What to Expect follows strict reporting guidelines and uses only credible sources, such as peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions and highly respected health organizations. Learn how we keep our content accurate and up-to-date by reading our medical review and editorial policy.
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If You Have The Iud Placed During Your Period It Should Be Immediately Effective
There are two different types of IUD: hormonal and non-hormonal. The non-hormonal IUD is immediately effective upon insertion, regardless of where you are in your cycle.
The hormonal IUD may not be immediately effective. Most doctors agree that if you get your hormonal IUD inserted within seven days of the start of your period, it will start preventing pregnancy right away.
We like to tell people to use backup protection for one to two weeks, especially if it was not inserted during your period, Millheiser told Insider. If you do not have it inserted during your period, you want to wait at least a week before you have unprotected sex.
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Of course, the IUD is an extremely effective form of contraception but does not protect against STIs so youll probably want to continue using a condom regardless.
Chances Of Getting Pregnant
The chances of becoming pregnant vary from person to person and from cycle to cycle.
On average, a 30-year-old persons odds of getting pregnant are about 20% per cycle, assuming they are having unprotected sex.
The odds of becoming pregnant also depend on when a person has sex relative to ovulation. An app-based study of people who were trying to get pregnant found the average chances of pregnancy were as follows:
| Timing of sex relative to ovulation | Average chance of pregnancy |
| the day after ovulation | 8% |
Therefore, people should not rely on when their period is due to decide whether to have sex.
The most crucial factor is ovulation. A period indicates the beginning of a new cycle, but it reveals little about when a person might ovulate.
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What About Just After Your Period Ends
Youre dealing with the same scenario here. Its super rare to get pregnant a day or two after your flow, but you cant discount lurking sperm.
If you have a naturally short cycle 21 days or fewer unprotected sex just after your flow is risky. If you have longer cycles, theres still a chance youll ovulate sooner than usual.
Your Menstrual Cycle And Conception
“There are two phases to the menstrual cycle: the follicular phase occurs before ovulation, and the luteal phase occurs after ovulation,” says Lauren Sundheimer, M.D., MS, FACOG, an OB-GYN practicing in Orange County, California. “Typically, in a 28-day cycle, a woman will ovulate approximately 14 days after the first day of her period.”
The egg that’s released during ovulation survives for only 24 hours. Sperm can survive three to five days in the uterus and fallopian tubes, says Barbara Stegmann, M.D., a triple board-certified OB-GYN and women’s health clinical lead at Organon. Having PIV sex during ovulation or the days beforehand can result in pregnancy, since the egg can meet with existing sperm in the reproductive tract.
But “if the egg is not fertilized by a sperm during this time, it does not survive,” says Michele Hakakha, M.D., a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist based in Los Angeles and co-author of Expecting 411: Clear Answers and Smart Advice for Your Pregnancy. About 12 to 16 days later, your uterine lining sheds, resulting in your period.
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Brown Discharge Light Bleeding Or Spotting: There Can Be Other Causes
As we said at the start of this article, implantation bleeding is just one explanation of spotting between periods. Spotting does not mean pregnancy, necessarily.
The truth is there are many possible explanations of light bleeding or spotting between periods. Some of these, youll be able to rule out on your own . But others will require a doctors visit to test for and rule out.
This list is not exhaustive, but these are the most common causes of light bleeding or spotting between periods.
What About Right Before Your Period
The likelihood of getting pregnant right before your period is extremely low. For women with a typical 28- to 30-day cycle or longer and their cycles are regular, it is fairly safe to say your ovulation occurred between Day 11 and Day 21. The egg is only available for 12 to 24 hours for conception.
This means the days right before your period are the safest to have sex without the expectation of getting pregnant. The number of safe days right before your period go up with longer cycles and lessen with shorter cycles.
If you wait 36 to 48 hours after ovulation, you should be beyond the possibilities of conception. The further you are from ovulation, the less likely your chance for conceiving. This is not the time to have sex if you are trying to conceive. Its still a good time to enjoy intimacy with your partner.
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Your Menstrual Cycle And Ovulation
Your menstrual cycle lasts from the first day of your period until the day before your next period starts. This is 28 days on average but longer or shorter cycles, from 21 to 40 days, are normal.
During your cycle, an egg is released from one of your ovaries and travels down the fallopian tube. It is usually released 10-16 days before your next period. Occasionally, a second egg is released, within 24 hours of the first egg.
The egg only lives for a maximum of 24 hours after ovulation, and a sperm must meet the egg within that period for pregnancy to happen.
You can get pregnant up to 2 days after you ovulate. But if you’ve had sex in the 7 days before ovulation, it’s possible to get pregnant because sperm can live inside a woman’s body for up to 7 days and fertilise the egg when it’s released.
The length of a menstrual cycle can vary over time, so to make sure your calculations are as precise as possible, measure your menstrual cycle over the course of 12 months.
Is It Safe To Have Sex After Periods
Whether you are trying to avoid getting pregnant or trying to conceive, you should be tracking your menstrual cycle. This means you should be monitoring the period between the first time you get your period to the next. The average woman begins to ovulate about 14 days after her menstrual cycle has ended. However, the most fertile period of the female is about 3-4 days before and after her ovulation period. Hence, it is not safe to have sex during these 3-4 days if you do not want to get pregnant and advisable to have sex during this period if you wish to do so.
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Can You Get Pregnant Just Before Your Period
The chances of getting pregnant just before the menstrual period are meager. In women with regular cycles, the ovulation period occurs sometime before the onset of bleeding. Eggs are only active for 12 to 24 hours. It can be said that sexual intercourse in the days before the menstrual period is safe. The further you get from the day of ovulation, the less likely you are to get pregnant.
Can I Get Pregnant At Any Time During My Cycle
Yes, but its unlikely youll get pregnant just before or just after your period. You are most fertile when you ovulate, so this is when youre most likely to get pregnant. Understanding your cycle and knowing more about what is happening month during the month, can help you learn the best days to get pregnant.
Find out more about ovulation and fertility, including top tips for finding your fertility window. You can also use our ovulation calculator to find out more.
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What Is The Period With The Highest Pregnancy Rate
The fertile window is the period when a woman is most likely to become pregnant. The fertility window, which can vary depending on the menstrual cycle, usually lasts six days. Ovulation and egg release are the days when you are most likely to get pregnant. In a woman with a regular 28-day menstrual cycle, the first day is considered when bleeding begins. Ovulation occurs on the 14th day. During the few days before and after day 14, the chances of getting pregnant are very high. However, this is not a rule. Every womans menstrual cycle is different, and it is possible to get pregnant outside of the fertility window.
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.
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Can You Get Pregnant 5 Days After Period
Because the sperm can live in a womans body for about 5 days, it is likely that you might conceive is if sex occurs before the 5 the day or on that particular day.
The safest days in a womans cycle are the days before her period. This is when you can have sex and get away with it. After a period, pregnancy is bound to occur any time.
The nearer you are to your ovulation date the higher chances of pregnancy.
How To Prevent Pregnancy
The most effective strategy for avoiding pregnancy is to refrain from sex. Sexually active people who do not wish to become pregnant should use contraceptives such as condoms or birth control.
Using two methods can offer additional protection, for example, when a person uses both hormonal birth control and condoms.
Several fertility monitoring techniques make it easier for a person to pinpoint their fertile window and avoid sex or use contraceptives during this time.
These methods are more effective if a person has regular periods. Some fertility monitoring strategies include:
- Charting basal body temperature: A persons morning body temperature usually rises shortly after ovulation.
- Using ovulation predictors: These tests typically give a positive result a day or two before ovulation, but it is possible to get a positive without ovulation.
- Looking for fertile cervical fluid:Thick cervical fluid with a texture similar to raw egg whites indicates ovulation is approaching.
- Checking cervical position and texture: Some females find that the position and texture of their cervix changes throughout their cycle.
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