Can You Get Pregnant on Your Period?

It really is a question we’ve all likely questioned ourselves, and one we believed there was a definite reply to: can you get pregnant on your period? Properly, the reply is sure — but it’s extremely not likely, so hear us out.

Initially, it is significant to fully grasp how the month to month cycle operates. Menstruation is in essence the shedding of the endometrium, which is the internal lining of the uterus. On the 1st working day of your time period, hormone levels fall and menstrual blood flows from the uterus via the compact opening in the cervix, shedding the tissue lining. About working day 14 of the regular monthly menstrual cycle, hormones bring about a mature follicle in the ovaries to burst, then launch an egg from the ovary (ovulation). The egg travels down the fallopian tube towards the uterus — a sperm can unite with an egg below, fertilizing it. Having said that, if the egg is not fertilized, the egg breaks apart and is get rid of all through the period of time, which takes place again about working day a person of the cycle.

So can you get pregnant through your interval?

The odds of having pregnant for the duration of your interval are very low, but it can (and has) occurred. As Anate Brauer, MD, FACOG, an NY-dependent double board-certified reproductive endocrinologist and ob-gyn at RMA of New York, clarifies, “When it’s not likely to conceive whilst your uterus is still shedding (what we refer to as menstrual blood), it is really not unattainable. It all has to do with when in your cycle you ovulate. Ovulation typically happens on the 14th day of an normal menstrual cycle and lasts for 12 to 24 hours even so, not just about every person ovulates at the very same time in their cycle. Even though a person human being may ovulate on working day 14, somebody else may perhaps ovulate as early as working day 6 or 7 or even as late as day 20.”

Dr. Brauer adds that sperm can are living inside of you for up to five days soon after it is released, so if you have intercourse toward the conclusion of your period of time, it would hypothetically be feasible to conceive four or five times later with your early ovulation. “This indicates that if you have intercourse toward the conclude of your time period, sperm can however hold all over prolonged plenty of to fertilize an egg that is produced times after your period ends,” she states.

In the end, Dr. Brauer says, “When it truly is not difficult to get expecting though on your period of time, your likelihood are really slim.”

What about right right before or right after your time period?

As mentioned above, the time following your interval is when preovulation and ovulation starts and hormones maximize. This indicates you are most fertile among working day 11 and day 21 (close to) of your menstrual cycle, in accordance to the American Pregnancy Affiliation. So owning unprotected sexual intercourse all through this time significantly boosts your opportunity of acquiring expecting. The time period of ovulation is the primary time for conception.

On the other hand, the probability for conceiving for the time correct in advance of your period is “very very low” for gals who have a 28- to 30-working day or for a longer time cycle. “If you know when ovulation transpired and you wait around for 36 to 48 hrs later on, then you ought to be past the possibilities of conception,” states the American Being pregnant Affiliation. The egg is only offered for about 12 to 24 hrs for conception after ovulation occurs. Once the egg has been launched, progesterone commences to rise, which is a signal to your ovaries they they never have to have to launch any much more eggs this month. “Your cervical mucus will dry up and create a plug to avert any extra sperm from getting into the uterus,” Dad and mom experiences.

So the quick remedy is of course, there is a risk of acquiring expecting in the course of your period of time, albeit a very small prospect of it. Simply because every woman’s body and as a result cycle is really distinct, the prospects of conceiving can vary far too.

— Supplemental reporting by Lena Felton

Hilary White is the former PS residing editor.

Lena Felton is the senior director of attributes and distinctive content material at POPSUGAR, where by she oversees attribute tales, particular assignments, and our identification information. Previously, she was an editor at The Washington Write-up, where she led a staff covering troubles of gender and id.