What Does This Mean Can You Get Pregnant On Your Period
To answer if you can get pregnant on your period, the short answer is YES, there is a possibility of becoming pregnant on your period. Becoming pregnant on your period depends on when you ovulate, and because some women don’t ovulate in the middle of their menstrual cycle, it’s possible to become pregnant on your period.
Can You Take Emergency Contraception
If you had unprotected sex and want to avoid pregnancy, take emergency contraception as soon as possible.
There are two main types the copper IUD and the hormonal EC pill and they can both work up to five days after unprotected sex.
The IUD prevents pregnancy by producing an inflammatory reaction thats toxic to sperm and eggs.
Its more effective than the morning-after pill, but its only available by prescription and has to be inserted by a doctor within five days of unprotected sex.
The pill delivers a high dose of hormones to delay ovulation or prevent a fertilized egg from implanting to the uterus.
Plan B One-Step, Next Choice, and MyWay are all available over the counter.
Which should you use?
The Shortened Follicular Phase
Sometimes, a womans follicular phase can be shorter. This also gives sperm cells a greater chance of surviving between having sex during your period and the day you ovulate.
Why would a follicular phase shorten? A few reasons:
- Age As you age, your bodys egg supply and quality begin to dwindle, a process that eventually triggers menopause. Transitioning into menopause can affect ovulation times, leading to irregular or shortened cycles. So while your overall fertility will decrease, the likelihood of conceiving during your period may actually increase.
- Weight Being under or overweight can also cause ovulation to occur too early. One study of over 60,000 menstrual cycles found women with a BMI exceeding 35 had a higher incidence of cycle irregularity. On the other hand, those who are underweight may also experience hormonal imbalances which can lead to cycle irregularity.
- Lifestyle Lifestyle factors like diet, substance overuse, and stress can all induce early or irregular ovulation. Research suggests that acute as well as chronic stress may trigger early ovulation.
- Irregularity Even if your period arrives every 28th day on the dot, that doesnt mean ovulation keeps such a strict schedule. One study found that only 30% of women had a high-fertility ovulation window on their expected days across their cycle. Sometimes, your ovulatory cycle is just unpredictable!
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Can You Have A Period And Still Be Pregnant
No once pregnancy begins, the uterine lining no longer sheds each month. Once the body starts releasing a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin, monthly periods will stop. However, some people experience light bleeding after conception, around the same time their period would have started. This is called implantation bleeding.
If youre pregnant and experience bleeding or spotting, contact your health care provider.
Pregnancy can occur even if youre on your period. To avoid pregnancy, it is important to use contraception.
Birth control methods that can prevent pregnancy on your period include:
How Not To Get Pregnant
If you want to get pregnant, plan to get frisky halfway between periods for the best chances. But if youre trying to avoid pregnancy, dont use your period as a guide. Instead, choose a reliable form of birth control.
Thats the best way to prevent pregnancy, Dr. Stephens says.
Yeah, you probably already knew that. But now you know the whole story.
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A Brief Overview Of Periods And Fertile Days
The menstrual cycle refers to the recurring changes that the female reproductive system goes through. Your menstrual cycle begins on the first day of one period and ends with the start of the following period. Typically, the period comes more or less every 28 days and ovulation occurs around day 14 . In theory, you can get pregnant at any time during your cycle, but you are most likely to get pregnant if you have sex on your ovulation day or roughly five days prior to it. These days are known as your fertile window .
However, humans are not textbooks bodies naturally differ and so does the length of the menstrual cycle. Ovulation and consequently the timing of the fertile days vary from woman to woman. According to a study that took a closer look at this periods come every 28 days on average, but for 95% of women, this happens as early as every 22 days or as late as every 36 days, or somewhere in between . Moreover, that same study found that only one in four women have their fertile window between days 10 and 17. In most women, the fertile window occurs anywhere between days 4 and 23. This all relates to normal albeit generous variability observed in women with regular cycles. Naturally, greater variability is observed in women who get their periods irregularly.
The Best Protection Against Pregnancy Is Birth Control
Tracking your cycle also known as the rhythm method isn’t a surefire way to avoid pregnancy. “The rhythm method is not terribly reliable for a number of reasons, including variability in timing of ovulation, in recording the first day of the last menstrual period, and in the longevity of both sperm and ova,” Copel says.
The best way to prevent becoming pregnant at any time during your cycle, short of abstinence, is to use birth control.
Hormonal birth control, like pills, patches, and contraceptive rings, work by changing hormone levels to stop ovulation and make it harder for sperm to reach the egg and fertilize it These birth control methods are very effective at preventing pregnancy, with success rates ranging from 93% for birth control pills to 99% for arm implants.
Moreover, “I recommend condom use for anybody in a non-monogamous relationship,” Childson says. Male and female condoms are less effective 87% and 79% respectively but they have the added benefit of preventing STIs like hepatitis, HIV, gonorrhea, and syphilis.
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How Can A Woman Get Pregnant On Her Period
Its easy to mistake vaginal bleeding for the beginning of a period. Its possible you could bleed during ovulation when youre most fertile. This could easily be mistaken for a period. Having unprotected sex at this time dramatically increases your chances of becoming pregnant.
For the average woman, the ovulation cycle is somewhere between 28 and 30 days. This means that if you have sex while on your period, you wont likely ovulate until several days later.
But women with a shorter cycle wouldnt have the same amount of time between having their periods and ovulating.
If youre curious about your ovulation patterns, you can track the number of days between your periods. This includes when you start your period, and then when you start your period again.
Over several months, you can identify a pattern to determine roughly when your ovulation cycle occurs.
How Can I Know My Fertile Days
Ovulation happens about 14 days before your period starts.
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Can You Get Your Period And Still Be Pregnant
First you need to understand what a true period is. A true period or menses is bleeding that occurs following ovulation. It is the sloughing off of the uterine lining and contains blood, uterine tissue and the non-fertilized egg. If you dont ovulate in a cycle you can still bleed, but this is technically not a period. This is called anovulatory bleeding and is a result of a chance in hormones.
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.
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What About Right After Your Period
Its unlikely though slightly more likely than if you have sex during your period.
If you have sex right after your period and you ovulate early that month, its possible to get pregnant.
This is more likely with people who have a shorter-than-average cycle, because ovulation occurs more frequently.
Your period will only start if the egg isnt fertilized and the cells are reabsorbed.
This causes estrogen and progesterone levels to fall and menstruation to begin.
However, you may experience some spotting during early pregnancy.
One study found that 14 out of 151 participants experienced one day of vaginal bleeding in the first eight weeks of pregnancy.
Furthermore, 15 percent to 25 percent of people may experience spotting during the first three months of pregnancy.
Taking note of the timing and any other symptoms present can help you differentiate between typical menstruation and pregnancy-related spotting.
Implantation bleeding usually occurs 6 to 12 days after conception. Its caused by the fertilized egg attaching to your uterus lining.
This light spotting usually only lasts 24 to 48 hours and is generally much lighter than the average period.
You may also experience spotting as a result of increased blood flow in the cervix. This type of spotting is most common after sex, a Pap test, or a pelvic exam.
If youre experiencing unexpected bleeding, see a doctor or other healthcare provider.
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.
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Can You Get Pregnant During Your Period
Most people have menstrual cycles that last 26 to 34 days, and if someone with this cycle has an average two- to eight-day period, they will probably not get pregnant during their period. An egg that is released during ovulation but remains unfertilized “comes out with all of the menstrual blood,” Dr. Hakakha explains.
That said, the chance of pregnancy on your period increases if you have an irregular cycle. “A woman with a shorter menstrual cycle , could have seven days of bleeding, have intercourse on her final day of bleeding, and ovulate three days later,” Dr. Hakakha says. “Since sperm live for three to five days, she could definitely get pregnant” if it fertilizes a released egg, which has a lifespan of about 24 hours.
In addition, some women experience breakthrough spotting or bleeding between periods. This can occur during ovulation and be mistaken for a period, making it difficult to establish the exact place in the menstrual cycle. Having sex during ovulation increases your chances of getting pregnant.
Can You Get Pregnant On Your Period
People can get pregnant at any time during their menstrual cycle, though it is much less likely during their period.
A person is most likely to get pregnant in the middle of their menstrual cycle. This phase is the fertile window.
The chances of becoming pregnant are much lower before and after the fertile window, but it is still possible, and there are several factors to consider.
In this article, we look at the chances of becoming pregnant during the period and at other times of the menstrual cycle.
A person can become pregnant at any time. However, it is most likely around the time of ovulation.
The average menstrual cycle is 28 days . The menstrual cycle is the time between the first day of one period and the first day of the next period. Ovulation usually occurs 12-14 days after a persons period ends.
During ovulation, the egg leaves the ovary and travels down the fallopian tube, where sperm can fertilize it. The egg can only survive for 24 hours after ovulation. For this reason, it must meet a sperm cell during this time for pregnancy to occur. The egg then travels to the uterus.
, so cycle length varies significantly between people. People with shorter menstrual cycles may ovulate closer to their period than people with longer cycles.
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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.
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.
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Exceptions: When You Can Get Pregnant Right Before Your Period
1.If what you think is a period isnt actually a period. Its possible to mistake your period for ovulation bleeding, especially if it comes with period-like symptoms. Should you mistake an ovulation bleed for a period, right before your period overlaps with your fertile window, and the likelihood of getting pregnant is quite high.
2.If you have a long fertile window. Ovulation typically occurs around day 14 of a 28-day menstrual cycle, but everyones cycle is different. One study found that most women reach their fertile window earlier and others much later than day 14.
Its rare, but you may have a uniquely long, or uniquely late-arriving fertile window. This can occur naturally, or be a result of stress, medications, thyroid disorders, or other conditions. No matter when it occurs, ovulation always presents the possibility of getting pregnant, even if very late in your cycle.
Just note that after fertilization, the egg still needs to be implanted into the uterine wall. That can take a week or more. If you fertilize an egg during a fertile window that is very close to your period, the odds of a failed implantation increase because the uterine lining is shed during your period, potentially shedding the fertilized egg along with it.
Courtney Mayszak, RDN, LDN is the co-founder of De Lune, who offer an all-natural line of menstrual relief products.
Shop De Lune here!
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BabyCenter’s editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world. When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organizations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals. We believe you should always know the source of the information you’re seeing. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies.
ACOG. 2021. Bleeding during pregnancy. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/bleeding-during-pregnancy
Mayo Clinic. 2022. Bleeding during pregnancy. https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/bleeding-during-pregnancy/basics/definition/sym-20050636
MedlinePlus. 2020. Vaginal bleeding in early pregnancy. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000614.htm
Cleveland Clinic. 2021. Bleeding during pregnancy. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/22044-bleeding-during-pregnancy
MemorialCare. Undated. What color is implantation bleeding? Experts explain. https://www.memorialcare.org/blog/what-color-implantation-bleeding
Maggie Getz is a freelance writer and editor specializing in health, wellness, and motherhood. She lives in Colorado with her husband and young son and daughter. She enjoys hiking, yoga, baking , as well as connecting with other moms.
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