Whether you want to get pregnant or not, it is always advisable to track your fertility days when you can more easily conceive. Now that you are on your period, you must be wondering whether it is safe to have sex. Most people believe that you can’t get pregnant if you are on your period. Let’s burst the bubble. However, the chances are low, and it is not the most fertile time of the month, it is still possible to get pregnant. Relying solely on your menstrual cycle as a means of birth control is risky as it does not eliminate the chances for you to conceive. Under some conditions, conception could occur. Let us look at some factors that you need to know about fertility and period sex.

Woman who are sexually active and do not want to get pregnant, periods are a sign of relief for them as it confirms that they are not pregnant. But some people often wonder how can pregnancy occur at the same time when your body is deciding it’s not pregnant? First, let’s understand how conception really happens.

How Does Conception Occur?

When a male’s sperm and a female’s egg meet, a woman conceives. Once a woman’s ovary releases an egg, the egg lives for only 12 to 24 hours before it disintegrates. The male sperm can live for about three days. If during this time, a man and woman indulge in intercourse, there could be a baby on board. A woman typically ovulates around day 14 that is if the cycle is of 28 days (a normal period cycle). Ovulation is when a woman’s ovary releases an egg for fertilisation. If at that time a sperm is available in the uterus, pregnancy can occur. Ovulation totally depends on a woman’s cycle i.e. if it is a longer or a shorter cycle.

How Does a Woman Get Pregnant During Her Periods?  

It is possible you could bleed during ovulation when you’re most fertile. Women could mistake vaginal bleeding for the beginning of a period. Having unprotected sex during this time dramatically increases your chances of becoming pregnant. Like we mentioned above, for an average woman, the ovulation cycle is somewhere between 28 and 30 days. If you have unprotected sex during the end of your period, your chances of becoming pregnant will increase, as the man’s sperm can live up to 72 hours after ejaculation.

Some women have cycles as short as 21 days which means they don’t have as much time between when they finish menstruating and when they next ovulate. And since sperm can survive in your reproductive tract for up to three to five days, if you have sex during your period, it’s possible that the sperm will be there when you ovulate, ready to fertilise the egg. And if you have longer cycle, the clock is ticking on ovulation and your next egg shows up while you’re still bleeding from the previous month’s non-fertilised egg. So, you’re already fertile again, which means you can get pregnant on your period.

Are you wondering if you can get pregnant right before you period? Well, it is not impossible, but it is highly unlikely. Ovulation is normally complete by day 19 (if you have a regular cycle), so you have a window of a week and a half before your next menstrual cycle begins. Remember, there is always a ‘but’. Ovulation is harder to predict in women with irregular periods (shorter or longer cycle). And even in women with regular cycles, when ovulation occurs can vary from month to month.

If you are curious about your ovulation patterns, you can track the number of days between your periods. Over months, you will be roughly able to determine when your ovulation cycle occurs. The bottom line is you can get pregnant on your period or any other time of the month. So, if you want to conceive unprotected sex during your period won’t make much of a difference. But if you don’t want to take any chances, it is always smart to be vigilant about contraception, unless you are open to surprises.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 10, 2018 10:18 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).