Can You Get Pregnant On Your Period? The Facts

Whether or not you’re trying to get pregnant, it’s good to know whether you’re fertile or not.

We often hear old wives’ tales about fertility, especially when we’re growing up. Some things we hear about the menstrual cycle are myths and not true at all.

It can be difficult to know what actually is true.

One of the biggest questions is: ‘Can you get pregnant while on your period?’

Some women stick with birth control and never get medical advice until they’re trying to conceive.

At this point, it can be difficult to search for the right answers.

So let’s look into it.

Can you get pregnant on your period?

I’m afraid this question doesn’t have a simple answer. To be able to answer it, you need to have some understanding of what goes on in your body at each of the stages of your cycle.

What is your menstrual cycle?

First, it’s important to understand how the menstrual cycle works. The length of the average menstrual cycle is 28 days – the same time it takes for the moon to circle the Earth.

There are several different stages in the cycle and the stage you’re in determines whether or not you’re likely to get pregnant at the time of intercourse.

Let’s look at some of these stages.

Menstrual stage

Day 1: the first day of your cycle is the first day of your period.

Menstruation: In a typical menstrual cycle most women are likely to bleed for about five days.

The follicular phase

When your menstruation has finished, the follicular phase starts. Several follicles start to develop in your ovaries and prepare to release an egg.

Ovulation

It’s the moment when an egg is released from the ovary and starts its journey through the fallopian tube to your uterus.

Fertility window: taking into account the life span of the sperm and of the egg, your fertile window includes ovulation and the days around it when fertilization can occur.

Ovulation: the egg is released. Ovulation is most likely to happen around day 14, in a 28-day cycle.

The luteal phase

After your fertile window, the body prepares itself either to support a baby or for your next period.

If a fertilized egg is present, it will travel to the womb to implant. The level of the hormone progesterone rises from this moment, to facilitate the pregnancy.

If you don’t get pregnant, the final day of your luteal phase is day 28; this is followed immediately by day 1, the first day of your period and the beginning of a new cycle.

Just remember, though, everyone’s cycle is unique. Some women will have a longer time between menstruation periods and others will have a shorter cycle. The luteal phase tends to be the most regular phase and usually lasts 14 days – from ovulation until your next period. Figuring out when ovulation takes place depends on your own individual cycle.

Female hormones and menstrual cycles

The hormones estrogen, progesterone, FSH, and LH play an important role in your menstrual cycles. They make your basal body temperature change; this is one of the most commonly used, natural fertility awareness-based methods.

They also help the fertilized egg get all its nutrients, and help the sperm cells travel to meet the egg. Hormone levels help you know you’re pregnant, when you get a positive pregnancy test. Hormones are also checked for in ovulation tests.

Read more about female hormones in Menstrual Cycle – Stages, Phases And What To Expect.

Can you get pregnant right after your period?

Your follicular phase starts right after your period finishes. During this time, between your period ending and when you ovulate, the egg needs to form and mature.

However, sperm can live for several days in ideal conditions. You might have a short cycle and ovulate earlier than usual. If you’ve had unprotected sex after your period, it’s possible to conceive.

Can you get pregnant on the last day of your period?

As we’ve seen, your fertile days are usually toward the middle of your cycle. Ovulation, which is when your ovary releases an egg, typically happens around day 14 if you have a regular period (a 28-day cycle).

But every woman’s cycle is unique to her. Some women have longer periods than others and might ovulate only a few days after the last day of bleeding.

Knowing how their cycles work can give women the power to know when it’s safest to have intercourse and prevent pregnancy.

The key to this is knowing when you ovulate. Although your chances are extremely low, on a very short cycle you could get pregnant on the last day of your period.

Can you get pregnant before your period?

If you have sex right before your period is due there’s a chance you get pregnant. Each woman’s fertile window is different and it can vary greatly between women, or in the same woman at different stages of her life. Regardless of the time, you just need a mature egg to be fertilized by a sperm cell for pregnancy to take place.

How do you track ovulation?

If your cycles are regular, it’s likely you will ovulate at about the same time every month.

Women can track ovulation using various methods, such as:

• Ovulation sticks
• Natural family planning
• Tracking their body temperature (the calendar method)
• Feeling ovulation occur.

The feeling of ovulation is likely to be a pinching or cramping sensation. You might also experience light spotting. Many women notice increased vaginal discharge that looks like egg white. You might also be more likely to want to have sex at this time.

If you have a shorter cycle, you’re likely to ovulate earlier in your cycle.

That means your ovulation day will be closer to the end of your menstruation and will give you a higher chance of getting pregnant if you have sex during your period.

If your cycle is longer, your egg is likely to be released later, giving you a lower chance of getting pregnant if you have sex during your period.

Research shows that women with shorter cycles have more difficulty getting pregnant. This doesn’t mean you can’t get pregnant on your period, although your chances are extremely low. You might find this study helpful.

Some medical conditions can alter your cycles. Make sure you discuss this with your healthcare provider or other wellness professionals. They can assess you better if they have knowledge of your specific health conditions.

What are the chances of getting pregnant during your period?

When you know which day you usually ovulate, you know when your body is fertile, and becoming pregnant is more likely.

The chances of getting pregnant in the first days of your period are very low. But as each day passes, the chances increase, even though you’re still bleeding. This means you’re getting closer to ovulation. If you have sex and sperm survives long enough, you can conceive.

The closer to ovulation you have sex, the more likely you are to get pregnant.

Sperm can live in your reproductive system for up to five days.

That means if you have sex only one time in your cycle and you ovulate five days later, you can become pregnant if the egg and sperm meet during this time.

This is why it’s important to know how your cycles work.

How many days after your period are you fertile?

Dr. Andrew Orr says there’s a ‘1-6% chance’ of getting pregnant if you have sex during your period.

This is largely affected by your cycle.

The luteal phase (the time after you ovulate and before you start your period) is usually 14 days.

If you have a 28-day cycle, this means you probably ovulate on day 14.

As mentioned, sperm can live inside the woman’s body for up to five days.

This means, in a typical cycle, if sperm is inside the uterus five days before ovulation, she can get pregnant when she ovulates.

Many couples actually use this method to try to conceive a girl.

For a woman to get pregnant in this case, she would have to be menstruating on day 9.

It’s typical for menstruation to occur for five days each month. The average range is between 2-7 days.

However, a nine-day period is possible. In this case, it’s possible for a woman to have sex on her period and then get pregnant when she ovulates.

Can sperm survive in menstrual blood?

Sperm are able to survive in a woman’s reproductive system for around 5 days, whether she’s menstruating or not.

Period blood won’t do anything to stop sperm from moving up through the vagina and cervix toward the egg.

If you have sex during your period and don’t want to get pregnant, use a barrier method.

Can you get pregnant on the first day of your period?

It’s very important to be familiar with your cycle. Having sex right before your period is very unlikely to result in pregnancy.

Getting pregnant if you only have sex on the first day of your period is also almost impossible.

It becomes more likely the closer you get to your fertility window.

This is five days before ovulation and one day (about 24 hours) after.

This is because after the ovary releases an egg, the egg lives for about one day before dying.

Remember that some things can affect the time you ovulate, possibly causing you to ovulate early.

These things include:

• Stress
• A change in routine
• A change in diet
• Having irregular cycles
• Changing birth control

It’s important to remember that any unprotected sex carries a chance of pregnancy.

Can you have bleeding, like a period, in early pregnancy?

Some times you bleed for a few days at about the time your period is due. This bleeding usually happens about two weeks after pregnancy has taken place. It is most likely implantation bleeding and sometimes it can be confused with your period.

Your midwife or healthcare provider will be able to help you to be sure, as sometimes implantation bleeding is wrongly considered to be your first missed period and you might be a few weeks further along in your pregnancy without realizing it.

Early pregnancy symptoms

For some women, early pregnancy symptoms start before they get positive results from home pregnancy tests.

Some women just know. They actually feel when conception occurs. Of course, there are other early pregnancy symptoms than just feeling it.

These early signs include: fatigue; tender breasts; mood swings; bloating; food aversions or calling for certain foods they’re not usually fond of. Even morning sickness can happen before a missed period.

If you want to know more about pregnancy symptoms read Bellybelly’s article Pregnancy Symptoms Before Missed Period.