When it comes to getting pregnant, many people have a lot of questions. Can you get pregnant on your period? What are the odds? And is there anything you can do to increase your chances of becoming pregnant? In this blog post, we will answer all of your questions about if you can get pregnant during your period!
In short answer, if your cycle is irregular and you don't know when you're ovulating you could potentially get pregnant during your period, but the probability is low.
The menstrual cycle
The menstrual cycle plays the second most important role in whether or not you can become pregnant, the first of course being having sexual intercourse. The menstrual cycle is the time between the first day of your last period and the first day of your next period. This cycle can vary in length from woman to woman, but it is typically around 28 days long.
The first half of your menstrual cycle (from the first day of your period until ovulation) is called the follicular phase. During this time, your body is preparing for ovulation by growing and maturing eggs in your ovaries.
The second half of your cycle (from ovulation until the first day of your next period) is called the luteal phase. During this time, your body is getting ready for a possible pregnancy. If you do not become pregnant during the luteal phase, your body will shed the lining of the uterus (endometrium), and you will have your period.
Fertile window
There are two things to know about a woman's ovulation cycle:
- What's important to understand is that conception can ONLY take place when an egg is released, AKA your fertile window (ovulation).
- Though ovulation USUALLY takes place during the middle of your cycle, some women experience ovulation at various times throughout the month. This can happen if you have an irregular period or menstrual cycle.
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.
Odds of getting pregnant on your period
Though you can get pregnant on your period, the chances are very slim. A woman's ovulation cycle can vary, so it's statistically possible you could become pregnant while on your period. While pregnancy is less likely in the earlier days of your period, the chances increase in the later days. This means it may be possible to get pregnant soon after your period finishes if you ovulate early.
Once an egg is released from the ovary, the egg lives for only 12 to 24 hours. The egg must be alive to be fertilized, so if the sperm reaches the egg during that time, pregnancy is possible.
Period sex
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 have a small chance of becoming pregnant from unprotected sex during their period. It all depends on the length of your menstrual cycle and whether you have a regular cycle or not.
Ovulation timing
If you have unprotected sex during or right after your period, there is a lower chance of getting pregnant, but the chances are not zero. That's especially true for women with irregular periods, whose ovulation date is harder to predict.
Ovulation 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.
Tracking ovulation
If you want to get pregnant, it's important to know when you're ovulating. The best way to do this is by tracking your basal body temperature (BBT) or using an ovulation predictor kit (OPK). Learn more about these methods in our other blog post here.
Early ovulation
The length of your menstrual cycle can vary from month to month. For example, you may have a 24-day menstrual cycle one month and then a 32-day menstrual cycle the next. Ovulation is challenging to track unless you're taking proactive steps to measure it. If you find yourself ovulating early, be careful about having sex during your period because the sperm can live for 5 days, and if you ovulate shortly after you had sex on your period, the sperm can fertilize the egg, leading to conception.
To increase the chances of getting pregnant
To get pregnant, have sex as much as possible!!! Unprotected! Preferably before and during your fertile time!
Effectiveness of birth control
If you use a birth control method like condoms or the pill every time you have sex, your chances of getting pregnant are really, really low, whether you're on your period or not. There is less than a 1 percent chance of becoming pregnant while using protection.
We hope this blog post helped answer a few of your questions about becoming pregnant on your period. We at Garnuu care about women's health and want our Garnuu Girls to be as educated on it as possible.
Thanks for reading, we love you!
XO,
The Garnuu Team
