Is it possible to get pregnant during menstruation

Why you can't get pregnant during your period

If the menstrual cycle is not disturbed, then conception during menstruation is impossible. The point is in the very mechanism of menstruation.

During menstruation, the uterus gets rid of the unusable mucous membrane - the endometrium. This process is accompanied by bleeding and is an important part of female reproductive function.

The command to the beginning of menstruation is given by hormones. First of all, progesterone. Its level rises sharply with the onset of ovulation, as soon as the egg leaves the ovary. Progesterone improves the nutrition of the endometrium and causes it to thicken so that it can receive the fertilized egg. And it also blocks the spasms of the uterus so that it does not push out the prepared mucous membrane, into which the ovum may have already penetrated.

But if during ovulation, conception did not occur and pregnancy did not occur, the amount of progesterone drops sharply. The endometrium loses its usual nutrition and begins to exfoliate from the uterus. And that, having received the opportunity to contract, in the end drives him out of himself.

The conclusion from all this is simple.

If there is menstruation, then there is no ovulation at that moment and you cannot get pregnant. If there is ovulation, then menstruation is impossible.

Ovulation, that is, that short period when conception is possible, and menstruation are two opposite phases of the reproductive cycle. They cannot happen at the same moment.

Why you can still get pregnant during your period

There are two reasons why it may seem (this is the key point!) That conception occurred during menstruation.

1. This is not a period, but something else

Menstruation can be confused with bleeding, which sometimes occurs during ovulation. It is associated with a sharp change in hormonal balance at the time of the release of the egg from the ovary.

This is a rare situation that only 8% of women face - mostly those with irregular cycles. Ovulation bleeding is much weaker than usual and lasts no more than a day. However, it coincides with ovulation.

That is, you can really get pregnant on the day when the short "menstruation" happened.

Menstruation can also be confused with implantation bleeding. For some, it occurs when the ovum plunges into the endometrium to attach to the uterus. This occurs approximately 10-14 days after conception - that is, approximately at the time when menstruation is expected.

And then it turns out that at the time of bleeding, the woman is already pregnant. Only she does not know about it yet and thinks that critical days have come. If at this moment she engages in unprotected sex, and after a while she discovers two strips on the test, then she may think that she became pregnant during menstruation.

Which, of course, is not the case.

2. The menstrual cycle is short and the periods are long

Ovulation occurs in the middle of the monthly cycle. If the cycle is 28 days, the egg will be released from the ovary at about the 14th day. If the cycle is shorter, for example 24 days, then by 12th.

Now for some simple math. If menstruation lasts, say, a week, then on the last day of menstruation there will be only 5 days before ovulation. Sperm cells can live in the fallopian tube for up to 7 days.

If you have unprotected sex on the last day of a long period, the most stubborn sperm will have a chance to wait for their egg. And the conception will take place.

What to do to avoid getting pregnant during your period

Exactly the same as for preventing pregnancy on any other day.

Yes, the risk of conception with bleeding is significantly lower than in the middle of the cycle. But if you are not ready to become a parent and do not want to take risks, use contraception.