Can you get pregnant with your period? Find out if it is possible to get pregnant during menstruation
Can I get pregnant with my period? What might seem like a foregone question is not at all! Many are convinced that, during the menstrual cycle, there is not the slightest chance of becoming pregnant, but this is not the case: it may be difficult, but not impossible! Yes: intercourse during your period can be at risk of pregnancy.
Of course, the chance of getting pregnant if you have unprotected intercourse with your menstrual cycle is low, but not zero. It will therefore be good to be very careful if you do not want to have a baby and use the necessary contraceptive methods (fundamental, it is always good to remember this, also to protect yourself from sexually transmitted diseases) ...
To clarify the subject, just think that the spermatozoa are able to survive for a certain period in the female genital tract and - if they are still there at the moment of ovulation - they could fertilize the egg and cause a pregnancy.
Therefore, if it is, at least in theory, impossible for conception to occur in the days immediately before the period because there is no longer the gamete to fertilize, during menstruation there could be this possibility. To understand well how you can get pregnant with your period, let's analyze together what are the phases of the menstrual cycle, which are considered the fertile days and when - instead - the pregnancy has already started but false menstruation arrives ... Meanwhile, here is a very useful video on the false myths concerning conception :
The phases of the menstrual cycle: when does conception take place?
To understand if you can get pregnant with your period, it will be good to understand how the menstrual cycle works and in which of its phases conception could occur. The so-called "fertile period" consists of those days in which - if fertilization occurs following a full intercourse without protection - the woman starts a pregnancy.
The fertile period is that of ovulation, ie those days in which the gamete is released into the uterus, ready for fertilization. The day of ovulation, in a regular cycle, falls around the middle of the cycle itself. Those who have a regular cycle of 28 days will have ovulation on the 14th day of the cycle (14, therefore, before the arrival of menstruation) The ovulation phase lasts about 3-4 days.
But be careful: the cycle is never so perfect and regular ... who hasn't happened to see menstruation arrive a few days early or a few days late? This means that ovulation took place a few days before or after the canonical 14th day. Predicting ovulation with accuracy is not so easy: if you want a baby, it will be good to take into account the regularity of your cycle!
Conception during the cycle cannot be completely ruled out if the menstrual cycle is shorter than expected: in a short cycle ovulation will be closer to the last days of the menstrual flow and the spermatozoa could survive until the fertile period. getting pregnant, moreover, will exist even if a regular cycle will have a particularly abundant flow: also in this case the end of menstruation will approach ovulation and, therefore, the fertile days. Finally, in rare cases, which occur with an estimated probability of between 5-10%, a double ovulation occurs, so there are several days in which fertilization could take place.
Another important factor to consider in answering our question has to do with the spermatozoa of our sexual partner or partner and their ability to survive. The spermatozoa can survive up to a week in the female genital tract, and those days can coincide with those of the woman's fertile period, in which the egg is released into the tube in order to meet them and be fertilized. Hence the importance. to calculate our fertile days if we wish to become pregnant ... Here is a video that helps you understand how to do it:
Can I get pregnant with my period?
In summary, then, the answer to our question is: yes, even if it's not very likely, it can happen. Male spermatozoa can survive up to a week after intercourse, as we have seen, with the possibility of fertilizing the egg if ovulation were to occur a little before the canonical 14th day.
If you do not want to become pregnant, therefore, use the necessary precautions even during menstruation, especially in the final phase and if you do not have a regular menstrual cycle. This is truly the only way to prevent unwanted pregnancy!
And is having periods during pregnancy possible?
If, as we have seen, the possibility of getting pregnant while menstruating is not ruled out - neither will the possibility of menstruating if you are pregnant. How is this possible? In most cases it is the so-called "false menstruation": not a real menstruation, but blood loss that - if they do not occur together with other symptoms or disorders - should not alarm.
False menstruation is nothing more than implantation losses, ie blood residues from the inside of the uterus due to the implantation of the embryo. Often the pregnant woman mistakes these losses with a real period, but false menstruation tends to have a more tenuous color and last much shorter. If, on the other hand, you are pregnant and you have abundant and consistent losses, do not hesitate to contact your doctor immediately!
For further scientific information on the subject, you can consult the website of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità.
