Can You Get Pregnant On Your Period?

How Long Can Sperm Survive in Period Blood?

A man’s sperm can live inside the reproductive tract for up to seven days. Therefore if you have unprotected sex right after your period and then ovulate early, you can fall pregnant.

Is It Easier to Get Pregnant While On Your Period?

It is most likely that you will get pregnant if you have sex when you are at your most fertile, which is usually in the middle of your natural cycle, during ovulation. If you have sex right after your period, the risk of getting pregnant is still lower than at other times of your menstrual cycle, but there is a chance that you conceive during the week after.

Chances of Getting Pregnant On Your Period

During the time of menstruation or bleeding, it is not possible for women to conceive. However, there is around a 5% chance of conception at the end of your period, which for most women is after the first five days of her cycle, or five days after her period started [2].

Your Average Menstrual Cycle Length

Women’s menstrual cycles vary. The average length is 28 days; however they can range from 24–38 days, depending on if you have a longer or shorter cycle. Because of this, the time of peak fertility and most likely time for conception varies quite a lot. Menstrual cycles are measured from the first day of your last period to the first day of the next one. 

You can learn to predict your ovulation cycle and periods to be aware of your most fertile days. If trying for a baby, most couples are advised to have more sex between days 11–14 for the best chances of conceiving. See our ovulation calculator for more on this. 

The basics of menstrual cycles:

• When periods finish, you are in the second phase of the cycle (days 6–14), when the uterus rebuilds its lining to prepare for a fertilized egg.
• At around day 14, the ovary releases an egg, and it starts to move down the fallopian tube. This is called ovulation and is the most fertile window because there is a newly released egg. The egg lives for around 24 hours if it is not fertilized during intercourse [3].
• The last part of the cycle, from day 25, is the luteal phase [4]. This is when the uterus prepares to shed its lining again for your next period. During the this phase, the chances of pregnancy are low; however, depending on the woman’s cycle, there is a small chance she can be fertile in the last five days before her period.

Some women track their cycles regularly, using the fertility awareness method to either avoid or increase their chances of pregnancy. If you do this, you will have a good idea of when your fertility window is.

Whether Or Not You Use Birth Control 

If you’re using birth control, your chances of conceiving on your period are extremely low, depending on the contraceptive methods you use.

Verdict: Always Use Birth Control to Be Safe

Now that we know that it’s possible to get pregnant during periods, it is time to look into how to be fully safe. Are natural or medical methods the best way? Healthline media tends to promote medical options without considering the adverse effects on women. 

There are side effects to birth control methods; however, to make natural fertility methods effective, you have to be fairly committed, with daily body temperature checks at consistent times, logging, observing cervical mucus, etc. There is always a small chance that you will ovulate earlier, particularly if you don’t have a very regular cycle. 

Birth control pills may be more convenient than this, but most women know too well the adverse effects of hormonal treatments.

If you are looking to avoid awful acne and wild mood swings, there are a few non-hormonal birth control methods available, the most common being the copper IUD.

Condoms are often left aside by couples for period sex; however, they are a good option for all times of the month. You can read specific information about the effectiveness of condoms during period here. Remember that condoms are also the only effective method for protecting against STIs.