Question: "Can you get pregnant on your period? I know some people rely on this for birth control, but it seems risky to me."
You’re absolutely right: Relying on your menstrual cycle as a means of birth control is definitely risky, because you can indeed get pregnant on your period. While it’s safe to say that this is a less fertile time of the month, under some conditions, conception could occur.
How could a pregnancy happen at the same time your body is deciding it’s not pregnant? Isn’t that what a period is? Let’s break it down: At ovulation, your ovary releases an egg into your fallopian tube, where it can live for 24 hours awaiting fertilization before it travels to the uterus. Meanwhile, the uterus is building up a lining just in case it needs to host a growing embryo. If egg meets sperm during ovulation and implants in that lining, bingo — baby on board. If not, your body sheds both lining and egg (and…you’re bleeding).
Most women’s menstrual cycles last 28 days — but some have cycles as short as 23 days. Given that the first day of a period counts as day one of a cycle plus the fact that ovulation occurs about midway through the cycle, that would mean that for some women there isn’t as much time between when they menstruate 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 cycle’s egg two to three days later, that egg could encounter viable sperm. And you know what that means.
To read more of this article please click on the following link: http://www.whattoexpect.com/preconception/can-you-get-pregnant-on-your-period#
You’re absolutely right: Relying on your menstrual cycle as a means of birth control is definitely risky, because you can indeed get pregnant on your period. While it’s safe to say that this is a less fertile time of the month, under some conditions, conception could occur.
How could a pregnancy happen at the same time your body is deciding it’s not pregnant? Isn’t that what a period is? Let’s break it down: At ovulation, your ovary releases an egg into your fallopian tube, where it can live for 24 hours awaiting fertilization before it travels to the uterus. Meanwhile, the uterus is building up a lining just in case it needs to host a growing embryo. If egg meets sperm during ovulation and implants in that lining, bingo — baby on board. If not, your body sheds both lining and egg (and…you’re bleeding).
Most women’s menstrual cycles last 28 days — but some have cycles as short as 23 days. Given that the first day of a period counts as day one of a cycle plus the fact that ovulation occurs about midway through the cycle, that would mean that for some women there isn’t as much time between when they menstruate 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 cycle’s egg two to three days later, that egg could encounter viable sperm. And you know what that means.
To read more of this article please click on the following link: http://www.whattoexpect.com/preconception/can-you-get-pregnant-on-your-period#
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