Period Sex: Can You Get Pregnant on Your Period?
It is possible to get pregnant during your period. This can happen if ovulation occurs early — during your menstrual period.
Sperm usually has a lifespan of several days after entering the female body. Therefore, it could survive until ovulation occurs a few days after menstruation.
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What Happens During Menstruation?
When you start your period, the monthly buildup of your uterine lining is broken down and flushed out. During every monthly cycle, the uterine lining thickens to allow a fertilised egg to implant. If no implantation occurs, the menstrual bleeding discards the monthly buildup of the lining. Therefore, menstruation signalises that no pregnancy has yet occurred.
As menstruation begins, egg cells are simultaneously activated in both ovaries. Usually, only one of these continues to mature and is then released from the ovary into the fallopian tube, a process known as ovulation.
The fallopian tube is the location where fertilisation by the sperm cell takes place. Here, the foundation for a pregnancy is laid. For more information, go to How Does Pregnancy Happen?
Learn more about the possibility of a Period While Pregnant.
ℹ️ Keep in mind that you could be vaginal bleeding for reasons other than your period. Depending on the course of your cycle, it is possible to become pregnant during intermenstrual bleeding, known as breakthrough bleeding or spotting.
Can You Get Pregnant a Few Days Before Your Period?
You can only get pregnant during your fertile window. A woman’s greatest fertility occurs in the days before and after ovulation. In a regular cycle, menstruation starts about 12-16 days after ovulation. Therefore, the days preceding menstruation are usually not within the fertile window because ovulation has already passed.
Note: Dates of ovulation are not easily predictable, especially if your cycle is irregular. If your menstrual cycle is sometimes shorter and at other times longer, it would be easy to miscalculate when to expect the onset of your period, thereby misjudging when the fertile window has passed.
Early Ovulation
The point of ovulation can vary from cycle to cycle and is impacted by many factors, such as stress or physical strain.
- For example, if your period lasts six days and your ovulation occurs on the fifth day, you could become pregnant during your period. Admittedly, this would be an extremely early ovulation, but it is nevertheless possible in rare cases of short cycles.
Lifespan of Sperm
Another contributing factor to becoming pregnant while on your period or very soon after is the fact that sperm can survive in the female body for up to five days, 'waiting' in the fallopian tube for the egg (and ovulation).
It is impossible to produce specific reference dates to go by. People do not function like clockwork. You cannot make generalisations, such as, 'You can get pregnant one day after your period is over.'
- For example, if you have sex on the last day of your period, with ovulation taking place four days later, you could become pregnant because fertile sperm cells would still be present in your fallopian tube.
Fertilisation, which marks the beginning of a pregnancy, can, therefore, occur up to five days after sexual intercourse.
Your Period Does Not Necessarily Protect You Against Pregnancy
There is no point within the menstrual cycle when the chance of getting pregnant is entirely eliminated. This also applies to your period and other intermenstrual bleeding.
Many women have relatively regular cycles. Perhaps you do, too. This does not guarantee perfect predictability, as the menstrual cycle can be easily affected by many circumstances.
- 💡 Our tip: If you are wondering whether you could be pregnant despite having had sex while on your period, you may want to try our free Online Pregnancy Test. After describing your observations and symptoms, you will receive a detailed professional evaluation.
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