You Can Minimize The Mess
Wearing a menstrual cup or a female condom can help reduce the amount of blood that might come out during intercourse, Ford says. If youre not comfortable using one of them, even a regular condom can make cleanup easierfor your partner, at least. Having sex in the missionary position, with the woman on her back, can also limit blood flow , as can having sex toward the end of your period, when your flow is lighter.
Remove Your Feminine Product Before Period Sex
Whether you’re wearing a menstrual cup or a tampon, make sure to remove it. It’s best to remove your feminine product before starting anything so you don’t risk forgetting.
If you’re wearing a menstrual disc, you can wear it while having sex during your period. But make sure to empty it immediately before intercourse. If you don’t, you risk creating an even bigger mess than if you weren’t wearing anything at all. Not great.
Is It Safe To Have Sex During Your Period
Here’s everything you need to know about sexual intimacy during that time of the month, from infection risk to birth control.
Just because youre having your period doesn’t mean you have to forego sexual activity. For some women, sex during menstruation can be even more pleasurable than at other times of the month.
The need for lubrication lessens during your period, and having an orgasm can soothe period-related symptoms, such as cramps. Plus, a study published in Cephalalgia concluded that sexual activity may reduce migraine and cluster headache pain for some.
Sex is a normal part of life and should be enjoyed by all women, says Carrie Coleman, MD, an ob/gyn at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Basically, ensuring you have good contraception and sexually transmitted infection prevention throughout the menstrual cycle should make it even more safe and enjoyable.
But before having sex, make sure you understand the risks of STIs, other infections, and pregnancy even during your period.
Heres what you need to know about having safe sex during your period.
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Do You Need To Use Condoms While Having Sex On Your Period
There are two significant reasons to avoid having unprotected sex during your period:
What Can I Do To Get Pregnant
If you want to get pregnant, its a good idea to talk to your doctor. Many doctors will advise a few lifestyle changes if youre trying for a baby, such as taking a or prenatal vitamin supplements, avoiding alcohol, quitting smoking, and trying to maintain a healthy weight. You may also want to use an ovulation test to help you identify when your most fertile days are. You can see our range of ovulation tests and here to help you maximize your chances of conceiving.
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Can You Get Pregnant On Your Period If You Have An Irregular Cycle
Yes. If you have an irregular period, it can be harder to predict when youll be ovulating and that could cause you to get pregnant accidentally, since it can be harder to avoid having sex close to that time.
Here are a few types of irregular menstrual cycles, and how it’s still possible to get pregnant:
- You have a short cycle. Some women have cycles as short as 21 days and still ovulate, which means they dont have as much time between when they finish menstruating and when they next ovulate. And since sperm can live in your reproductive tract for a few days, if you happened to have sex during your period and then ovulated the following cycles egg two to three days later, that egg could encounter viable sperm. And you know what that means.
- Your periods last a long time. While your body is slowly shedding that uterine lining, the clock is ticking on ovulation and your next egg shows up while youre still bleeding from the previous months egg. So youre already fertile again which means you can get pregnant on your period.
- You have breakthrough bleeding, or spotting, when you ovulate. Especially if you have light or irregular periods, it would be easy to mistake this bleeding for a true period even though its happening when youre actually most fertile, since youve just ovulated.
Sometimes, however, an irregular period can be a sign that you’re not ovulating at all, which is one cause of infertility.
Tears Can Result From Dryness Or Birth Control Pills
Tears can happen around the opening of the vagina or deeper inside, Millheiser told INSIDER. Most occur as the result of dryness and vigorous sex. That said, women on the pill may be more prone to tears because birth control can cause the tissue of the vagina to be thinner, according to Millheiser.
Small tears that bleed for a few minutes after sex are common, but Millheiser said more serious tears could require an emergency room visit and stitches.
Millheiser also told INSIDER that the rate of blood flow and the amount of blood can help you distinguish between your period and a tear. “If you’re bleeding bright red blood profusely after sex, there’s likely something else going on,” she said.
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Follow My Babys Growth
If you are wearing a tampon, take it out beforehand. To avoid staining your sheets, have a towel ready to lie on. You can even get creative and enjoy some time in the shower together.
Keep in mind that you still need to use protection when you have sex during your period. Youre more vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections , and pregnancy is still possible, so make sure you use birth control and are protected against STIs.
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.
Another consideration is that a mans sperm can live inside a woman for up to 72 hours after ejaculation. Toward the end of your period, your chances of becoming pregnant will increase.
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.
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The Truth About Period Sex
The idea that period sex is dirty or unclean when compared to other sex is simply not true. All sex can involve different types of fluids and excretionsâarousal fluid , ejaculate , sweat, sometimes urine, and even fecal matter âso menstrual blood is not a reason to avoid intercourse unless itâs your personal preference.
Do you notice increased arousal during your period? Track your sex drive and bleeding in Clue.
How To Know For Sure Whether You Are Pregnant
There is only one way to conclusively tell if you are pregnant. That is to take a pregnancy test
Most pregnancy tests can be taken by two weeks after having sexual intercourse.
Pregnancy tests work by monitoring the HCG in your body. This is a pregnancy hormone that is only present when you are pregnant. For this reason, if you tested positive, it’s fairly certain you are pregnant. If you tested negative, you may still be pregnant if you tested too early or at the wrong time of day, because the concentration of HCG increases slowly as the pregnancy develops.
Most tests work in such a way that either one or two lines or dots should appear. The first line is a control to make sure the test is working and the second line or dot indicates pregnancy.
If you are testing early it’s advisable to take the test first thing in the morning when levels of HCG in the urine are more concentrated. You can take the test at any time of day but in early pregnancy, this may result in a false negative.
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And Your Partner Might Too
Women shouldnt assume their partner will be grossed out by their period. In fact, its often the person whos menstruating who puts a stop to sex, not her other half, Ford says. Every couple is different, and some people will be more open to it than others. If youre curious what your partner might think, however, dont spring it on him or her in the heat of the momentbring it up before things get hot and heavy. Good communication can lead to great sex at any time during the month, she says.
When Am I Most Fertile
- A woman is most fertile 7-14 days after her period ends. This is called ovulation.
- A woman is least fertile just before her period begins.
- Every woman ovulates at different times and has a different length cycle. This means that even if you have sex when you are least fertile, chances are you may still fall pregnant.
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Understanding Your Menstrual Cycle
Your menstrual cycle begins on the first day of your period and continues up to the first day of your next period.
You’re most fertile at the time of ovulation , which usually occurs 12 to 14 days before your next period starts. This is the time of the month when you’re most likely to get pregnant.
It’s unlikely that you’ll get pregnant just after your period, although it can happen. It’s important to remember that sperm can sometimes survive in the body for up to 7 days after you have sex.
This means it may be possible to get pregnant soon after your period finishes if you ovulate early, especially if you have a naturally short menstrual cycle.
You should always use contraception when you have sex if you don’t want to become pregnant.
Less Need For Vaginal Lubrication
Youre less likely to need lubricants if you engage in intercourse during menstruation, because menstrual discharge tends to provide enough lubrication. If you do need a lubricant, then water-based lubricants are widely available and safe both for sex and for condoms, says ob/gyn James Simon, MD, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. Silicone and hybrid lubricants that are water-based and silicone-based are likewise safe for both sex and condoms. Oil-based lubricants, especially mineral oil-based lubricants, can deteriorate condoms increasing the risk of breakage and are not recommended with latex condoms, he says.
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Unprotected Sex During Your Bleed On The Pill
Provided you take your contraceptive pill exactly as prescribed, you can safely have unprotected sex at any point, including your bleed.
Your bleed is not the same as a normal period, but is a simulation of it. Since the combined pill stops ovulation happening in the first place, there is no egg present to fertilise. However, you should start your next pack as soon as your bleed has ended, as otherwise breakthrough ovulation could occur.
Its also worth remembering that even though you can safely have sex without using condoms when on the combined contraceptive pill, you will not be protected against STIs.
If you missed pills or didnt take it as instructed there is a chance you could still get pregnant, so you should avoid unprotected sex. Find out more about what to do if youre worried about having missed a pill.
Can You Get Pregnant On The Last Day Of Your Period
If you stop bleeding on Day 6, have sex on Day 7 and ovulate on Day 11, its possible the sperm from Day 6 will be waiting in your fallopian tubes for conception. Your chances of conceiving right after your period increase each day after your bleeding has stopped. If you are trying to conceive this is a good time to have sex. Increase your chances of conception by having sex every other day for the next 14 days.
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First Thing’s First: Can You Have Sex On Your Period
Yes, you most certainly can. Thanks to a lot of hard work over the past few decades, fewer and fewer people think that an “ew periods” mentality is OK.
Many more people enjoy period sex than you realize. Though it’s 100% safe, it’s always a matter of what you are your partner are comfortable with. For some women, it’s even more fun thanks to the natural lubrication provided by menstrual fluid and a potential increase in sex drive.
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.
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Can You Get Pregnant On Your Period With Birth Control
Unfortunately, no method of birth control method is 100% effective. So if you use a condom on your period, it breaks and you are fertile directly after your period, there is still a risk of pregnancy – although this is extremely unlikely. If you are using hormonal birth control, then the monthly bleeding you may experience is not in fact a period, its called a withdrawal bleed. Since hormonal birth control works by stopping ovulation, you will not have a fertile window in the same way as with non-hormonal birth control. If youre using Natural Cycles as a birth control method – then you will know your own fertile window.