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.
Lets Clear Up Any Misconceptions About Regular Vs Irregular Periods And How They Relate To Ovulation And Fertility
While ovulation and periods naturally go together, it is possible to ovulate without having a period. This often occurs for women with irregular periods. Conversely, it is possible to experience monthly bleeding with no ovulation. However, that bleeding is not a normal period and results from an anovulatory cycle. While this may seem confusing, it becomes clear when you understand how ovulation works.
While Youre On Your Period
As any woman with a calendar and a bunch of best friends will tell you, the amount of days each woman spends menstruating can vary a lot.
Your menstrual flow may start to diminish and lighten in color, or turn brown towards the end of your cycle. It feels and looks like youre still menstruating, but your body is already gearing up for your next fertile time.
If you have sex towards the end of your period, you may actually be getting close to your fertile window, especially if you have a short cycle. Lets take a look at the math.
Say you ovulate early, about six days after your period starts. You have sex on the third day of your period. The sperm have no egg to fertilize, but theyre also in no hurry to die so they hang out, doin what sperm do.
A few days later, while theyre still swimming around, you ovulate and theyre drawn to that egg like a fish to water. One gets through, and there you have it fertilization has occurred as a result of period sex.
You May Like: Missed My Period But Not Pregnant
Do You Ovulate Before Or After Your Period
Which came first, the bleeding or the egg? Unlike the old adage, we have a firm answer on this one: the bleeding. Medical professionals count the days of the menstrual cycle in a specific order: the first day of bleeding is day one of the cycle. So everything else happens after, including ovulation: the release of an egg from the ovary.
But your menstrual cycle involves a lot more than just the days youâre bleeding.
Dr. Jen Gunter says in her new book The Vagina Bible, âSometimes I visualize as three jugglers who occasionally have to throw one of their balls to another while they all continue to juggle. The three jugglers are the hypothalamus , the pituitary gland , and the ovaries.â
Itâs complex, and a little different for everyone, so menstruators should keep in mind that the dates below are estimates and their mileage may vary. But hereâs how it works, in general:â
When Does Ovulation Happen
For the majority of women, ovulation happens once every month, approximately mid-way through their cycle, around 14 days since their last period .
But in reality, ovulation can happen almost any time from day 11 to day 21. This is because the average length of your cycle might be anywhere between 21 and 35 days.
Lets not forget that your body isnt always predictable either. Sometimes you ovulate on a different day just because thats your bodys natural rhythm that particular month, or youre under stress or undergoing an emotional upheaval, travelling, or even changing your lifestyle habits.
Because of this natural variation, it becomes much harder to identify exactly which day will be the magic number for you.
Don’t Miss: How Do You Get Rid Of Period Cramps Fast
Welcome To The Contraception Guide
“Where can I get contraception?”
“Which method of contraception suits me?”
“I’m under 16 can I get contraception?”
Whatever questions you have about getting and using contraception, this guide can help.
It aims to give practical information to everyone who wants to know more about contraception, or who may have a question about the method they use or are thinking about using.
You can find out about the different methods available on the NHS, together with where to get them and how to decide which method might work best for you.
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:
Read Also: Is It Likely To Get Pregnant On Your Period
Menstrual Cycles Are Always 28 Days Long And Every Woman Ovulates On Day 14
The average menstrual cycle is 28 days long, but every woman is unique and nearly 50% of womens cycles vary in length by 7 days or more1. In a recent study of over 800 women, only 14% of women with a 28 day cycle actually ovulated on day 14. The day of ovulation ranged from day 11 to day 20.2 As menstrual cycles vary in length, so does the timing of ovulation, so it can be difficult to know when your fertile days are.
Week Two: The Follicular Phase
Your body actually starts getting geared up to ovulate on day one of your period, but letâs talk about it now. During week two of your cycle, your estrogen and testosterone are on the rise. The follicular phase goes from day one to day 13 of your cycle, because it takes that long to mature one of the thousands of young eggs hanging out in your ovaries waiting for their big day. The maturation process also triggers the re-growth of your endometrium, getting your body ready for either feeding an embryo, or your next period.
Sex Drive
As your body hurdles toward ovulation, your libido increases . You will probably feel more turned on in this week. Remember that much of your sexual desire is very dictated by testosterone levels, and during this week your body is testosterone-heavy. This is super fun but remember that as you get more down to party during this week, youâre also getting more fertile by the day! So use contraception unless youâre trying to conceive.
Body
Coming off the sluggish and perhaps painful first week, youâre likely more energized and less sensitive to pain at this time. Your cervical mucus is also changing during this week, getting clear, thinner, and more slippery, making it easier for sperm to find their way all up in there and survive for longer once they arrive.
Mood
Recommended Reading: How To Stop Your Period Right Away
How Long Does Ovulation Last
So youre probably wondering, for how many days do women ovulate? Once the mature egg is released from the surface of the ovary, it can potentially be fertilized for about 24 hours, explains Patricia Pollio, MD, director of OB-GYN at Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, New York.
That said, you dont have to have sex on the exact day of ovulation in order to get pregnant! In reality, theres a six-day fertile window in your cyclethe five days leading up to ovulation and the day you ovulate, Moore says. Of those six days, youre most fertile during the two to three days prior to ovulation and the day of ovulation itself.
Beyond 24 hours after ovulation, the egg is no longer viable and you typically cant get pregnant until your next menstrual cycle.
When Do You Ovulate After Your Period
Whether youre planning to become pregnant in the most natural way possible, or experimenting with natural family planning methods, its essential that you know exactly when you ovulate after your period.
Miss that tiny window of opportunity and you could face yet another disappointing month without being able to fall pregnant. Or you might misjudge your bodys signals and accidently conceive when you werent planning to.
So the big question is, when exactly do you ovulate after your period? And how on earth do you know when youve got the date right? Lets take a look.
Read Also: Best Way To Get Rid Of Period Headaches
Can You Get Pregnant During Period
Can you ovulate right after period? You already know the answer. Can you get pregnant on your period? Yes, you can get pregnant during your menstrual period. However, getting pregnant during a menstrual period is highly unlikely. If this occurs, the ovulation process occurs very early during a menstrual cycle and you need to have unprotected sexual intercourse which led to conceiving.
Usually, the egg is still developing while you are having your period. However, many factors can complicate the normal ovulation process and make you ovulate earlier than normal. A hormonal imbalance, a poor diet, thyroid gland disorders, use of certain medications and even stress can have a great impact on the ovulation process, making you ovulate and get pregnant during period.
Mistaking Spotting for a Regular Period
However, another chance to get pregnant during “period” is that you are not having your period.
Spotting between menstrual periods is common for women who have irregular menstrual periods. Spotting around the time of ovulation is often a sign of ovulation along with other ovulation signs such as abdominal pain located just on one side, etc. Spotting can also occur due to breakthrough bleeding, especially within the first few months after starting to use hormonal contraceptives.
If you are not planning a pregnancy, use a contraceptive birth control method. Also, dont forget to use protection against sexually transmitted diseases and practice safe sex.
So When Is Pregnancy Most Likely
The only time you can get pregnant is during your fertile window.
An egg only lives for about 24 hours after being released from your ovary, and sperm can only live for up to five days inside the body.
That means you can only get pregnant if you have sex:
- in the four to five days leading up to ovulation
- on the day of ovulation
- on the day after ovulation
If youre looking to conceive, the best time to have sex is right before ovulation. This will give sperm time to reach the fallopian tube and meet the egg there.
After that, if no sperm has fertilized the egg, it will dissolve. You wont be able to get pregnant until your cycle restarts.
You May Like: Likelihood Of Getting Pregnant On Period
How To Know When Youre Ovulating
Knowing when you ovulate can help you plan for sex at the right time and improve your chance of getting pregnant. You can keep track of your menstrual cycles on a chart, in a diary, or on a free period-tracker app on your smartphone.
To work out the length of your menstrual cycle, record the first day you start bleeding . This is day 1. The last day of your cycle is the day before your next period begins.
-
Some people think the menstrual cycle and a period are the same thing.
A period is when you bleed .
A menstrual cycle starts on the day when a period starts and ends the day before the next period. A cycles length is considered normal if its between 21 and 35 days. They can vary between women and from one cycle to the next.
- Working out your average menstrual cycle length
If your menstrual cycles are different lengths you can work out your average cycle length.
The number of days in a womans menstrual cycle can vary month to month. Periods are not always regular. It can be useful to work out an average cycle length, based on the length of three menstrual cycles, to estimate when youre most likely to be ovulating.
If you add the number of days in three cycles and divide the total number by three, it gives you your average cycle length.
Example
Sarah tracked her last three menstrual cycles by counting the time from the first day of one period, to the day before the next period.
Cycle 1 was 28 days Cycle 2 was 32 days Cycle 3 was 27 days
28 + 32 + 27 = 87
Images For Do You Ovulate The Week Before Or After Your Period
It is not possible to get pregnant in a cycle without ovulation. This is because in this type of cycle, no egg is available to be fertilized by sperm. There are treatments available that can trigger a woman’s body to release a mature egg that allows for conception.
Many women typically ovulate around 12 to 14 days after the first day of their last period, but some have a naturally short cycle. They may ovulate as soon as six days or so after the first day of their last period.
Don’t Miss: What To Eat For Period Cramps
Are There Different Phases Of The Menstrual Cycle
Women experience four different physical phases that can impact how you feel, think, and process information. It also may be helpful to understand that there is more going on every month than simply ovulating and menstruating. In fact, women experience four different physical phases that can impact how you feel, think, and process information.
The truth is, on a 28-day menstrual cycle, ovulation occurs on day 14 . There are other ways a woman can tell if she is ovulation One common way is the nature of your vaginal discharge.
If your shortened cycles still last 21 days or more, or are accompanied by additional symptoms, theyre likely the result of perimenopause. Other explanations for changes in your menstrual cycle after 40, such as frequent bleeding, include:
Reproduction And Your Period
It is easier to conceive if your periods are regular. If you have irregular periods, contact your OB-Gyn to have the cause discovered and begin appropriate treatments. Even if you dont have normal periods, you will need to use birth control if you dont want to conceive. Over-the-counter prediction kits for ovulation can help you chart your fertile days more readily.
We look forward to talking with you about periods, ovulation and all of your womens healthcare issues. Contact us today to make an appointment with one of our physicians.
Read Also: What Can Make You Miss Your Period
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 .