I’m on my period, I CAN’T get pregnant, right?!
According to the American Pregnancy Association, “That’s because your ovulation time is several days away, decreasing any chances of getting pregnant during this time.”
There are, however, some exceptions to this rule. As we’ve pointed out, in our blog about Menstruation, not all bodies are the same. All womb owners will experience the same stages of a menstrual cycle, but they won’t last the same amount of time in all.
Individuals who have a shorter cycle (like 21 or 24 days) ovulate earlier in their cycle. Since sperm cells can live inside the uterus for around 5-6 days, an early ovulation can make conception possible. In other words, in such cases, one might have sex towards the end of the menses phase (bleeding), ovulate shortly after, and conceive 5 days after a sexual encounter.
Reminder: fertilization does not mean pregnancy just yet. Your fertilized egg has to implant itself in the lining of the uterus, otherwise pregnancy won’t take place. To learn more about this process, visit our blog about how pregnancy happens.
According to Nemours Children’s Health, pregnancy during menstruation can happen if:
“A girl has bleeding that she thinks is a period, but it's bleeding from ovulation. Ovulation is the monthly release of an egg from a girl's ovaries. It is the time when she is most likely to get pregnant if she has sex.”
“Ovulation happens before the bleeding from a girl's period has stopped.”
“Ovulation happens within a few days after a girl's period is over. Sperm can fertilize an egg for 3 days. So if a girl has sex on the last day of her period and ovulates in the next few days, the sperm may still fertilize the egg.”
