Is it possible to get pregnant on the last day of your period? Is it possible to get pregnant in the last days of your period? What is the probability of getting pregnant? Possibility of conceiving a child on the last day of menstruation

“Can you get pregnant during your period?” - this question probably worried every representative of the fair sex. It’s no secret that during “these days” many girls experience strong sexual attraction.

Pregnancy occurs the moment a sperm meets an egg. However, fertilization can only occur during ovulation (the phase of the cycle when the egg is released from the ovary).

Gynecologists say that the period of ovulation occurs in the middle of the cycle. For example, with a female cycle of 28 days, the ovulation period will occur on the 14th day.

Doctors also say that you can still get pregnant during your period. Why is this happening?

It all depends on the menstrual cycle. So, for girls with a very short cycle of 24 days, it is very easy to get pregnant during menstruation. However, girls with a long menstrual cycle should not rush to breathe a sigh of relief! It must be remembered that sperm remain active in a woman’s genital tract for about a week. Therefore, you should take care of contraception.

Last day of your period - can you get pregnant?

Due to heavy bleeding, the first days of menstruation are quite unfavorable for male sperm. And few couples, for the same reason, have sexual intercourse in the first days of menstruation. Therefore, the probability of getting pregnant in the early days is practically zero.

However, if we talk about the last days of menstruation, then you need to be extremely careful. The fact is that menstruation in recent days is no longer so abundant. The chance of getting pregnant after menstruation in the last days increases significantly. And especially with an irregular menstrual cycle, as well as prolonged periods.

Gynecologists urge the use of contraception during menstruation. For example, condoms or birth control pills. It is also worth remembering that with such sexual intercourse, the chance of getting some kind of infection is quite high, since menstruation provides a favorable environment for bacteria.

Let's draw conclusions. In what cases can you get pregnant during menstruation?

  1. With a short menstrual cycle. If there is less than a week left before ovulation, the sperm may “wait” for it.
  2. If an error was made in calculating the period of safe sex.
  3. For menstrual irregularities.

For some, pregnancy is very long-awaited and happy news, but for others, on the contrary, it is fear and worries about how to live further. But regardless of the situation, every woman who is sexually active wants to know how and when it can occur. Indeed, for the first category, this information will make it possible to conceive a baby as quickly as possible, and for the second, to protect themselves more carefully.

Ovulation and its effect on conception

If everything is in order with a woman’s health, then she can get pregnant only once a month – on the day of ovulation. This is the time when a mature egg leaves the ovary and moves along the fallopian tube towards the uterus in order to attach to its walls (namely to the endometrium, which grows in the first phase of the cycle) if it is fertilized.

This process usually occurs in the middle of the menstrual cycle. The egg lives from 24 to 48 hours, and then, if fertilization does not occur, it dies. After this, the level of hormones in the body begins to drop sharply. As a result, menstruation occurs. The blood vessels that supplied the endometrium with the necessary substances begin to narrow, and it gradually splits off from the lining of the uterus and comes out along with the blood.

Why is it possible to get pregnant on the last day of your period?

It is important to remember that sperm can live in a woman’s body for up to four days, so you can get pregnant if unprotected intercourse occurs four days or less before ovulation, on that day or the day after it. But if everything is so simple, then why do women manage to get pregnant even during menstruation.

There are several reasons for this:

  1. If there is a hormonal imbalance in a woman’s body, then menstruation does not always come 14 days after ovulation. For example, due to stress or illness, they can begin earlier or later than expected, and coincide with ovulation.
  2. Sometimes, due to certain physiological characteristics, a woman experiences early ovulation (days 6-10 of the cycle). This is considered the norm for this person and has nothing to do with health problems, but it can cause sudden pregnancy, even if sexual intercourse took place on the last day of menstruation. This is especially true for those women whose periods last 6 or more days. Moreover, as already mentioned, the probability of pregnancy from sex not on the day of ovulation itself, but even before it, is quite high. And if in the first days of menstruation, sperm, as a rule, quickly die due to the unfavorable environment in the vagina, then in the last days of menstruation they can retain their viability for quite a long time. Moreover, the blood discharge is not at all abundant, so the sperm, as in the first days, does not come out completely with it. Sometimes, due to ignorance that ovulation occurs so early, some girls cannot get pregnant.
  3. Basically, the egg matures in only one ovary: the right or left. But sometimes it happens that an egg has matured in each of them. Then one can be released exactly in the middle of the cycle, and the other earlier or later. This can also cause pregnancy if you have unprotected intimate relationships during your period. The likelihood of such a pregnancy is especially high in women after forty years of age, because they are much more likely to produce two eggs per month. Accordingly, they have a greater chance of having multiple children.
  4. It happens that a girl’s cycle is irregular. This is especially true for teenagers who have just recently started their periods. After all, regularity can be established from one to five years. Then the probability of pregnancy during menstruation is very high. In such a situation, neither the girl herself nor anyone else can say exactly when she will ovulate. Therefore, if pregnancy is unwanted, it is better to use contraceptives; the calendar method of birth control will not work here.

When is it unlikely to get pregnant on the last day of your period?

On the other hand, the possibility of pregnancy after the end of menstruation may not occur, even if ovulation occurs at this time.

This also has its reasons:

  • When early ovulation occurs, the egg may leave the ovary not quite mature, and therefore not ready for fertilization. Even if this happens, she will not be able to divide and will die - a mini-miscarriage will occur, which the woman will not even suspect, since at this time she will not be able to feel any signs of pregnancy. And menstruation after such miscarriages occurs without any special features.
  • As is known, in order for a fertilized egg to join the uterine cavity, the latter is covered with endometrium in the first phase of the cycle under the influence of the growth of hormones, especially progesterone. Since during menstruation their level drops significantly, the endometrium may not have time to grow before the fertilized egg reaches the uterus through the fallopian tube. Because of this, again, she will die.

From all of the above, we can conclude that no one can guarantee anything 100%, including the inability to get pregnant during menstruation, especially in their last days. Each organism is individual, it is susceptible to the action of many factors, and accordingly, some processes in it may proceed differently from others. Therefore we can safely say that Is it possible to get pregnant on the last day of your period?, and with a fairly high level of probability.


It is quite widely believed that it is impossible to get pregnant during menstruation, as well as immediately before or after it. Therefore, some couples do not use any contraceptive methods these days. The final days, when there is practically no discharge, may seem especially attractive.

What is the actual probability of getting pregnant? What do doctors say about having sex during menstruation? Is it possible to get pregnant on the last day of your period? How safe is it for overall health?

Egg during menstruation

Typically, ovulation, or the release of a female reproductive cell ready for fertilization, occurs approximately in the middle of the cycle. Within the next 24 hours after this, she is alive and ready to meet the sperm. If unprotected sexual intercourse occurs on this day or has occurred within the last week, there is a high probability that pregnancy will begin. Then your period will come with a delay of about 2 weeks, and at the time of its onset the embryo will already be about a month old (if you count from fertilization) or 6-7 obstetric weeks.


If pregnancy has not begun, a day after ovulation the female reproductive cell dies. Then, during menstrual flow, its remains and the overgrown layer of the endometrium come out. When the egg is dead, fertilization is impossible.

It is on such data that the statement is based that sex during menstruation is safe and there is no need to use contraception. But you can also hear from some women that they became pregnant at this particular time, for example, on the last day of their period. How could this happen?

Probability of fertilization

As surprising as it may sound, there is a fairly high probability of egg fertilization as a result of sex during menstruation. And the last day of menstruation is especially dangerous.

This is due to the fact that each girl’s body is individual. Theoretical knowledge about how the reproductive system behaves does not always coincide 100% with what happens in the body. This is especially true for girls who have irregular cycles and hormonal imbalances.

Causes of pregnancy during menstruation

There are many cases when pregnancy occurred after sexual intercourse during menstruation. And there is a logical scientific explanation for this. You just need to take into account some unusual situations that sometimes arise in the body of even a healthy woman. And if she has some kind of hormonal imbalance, she just recently had childbirth or an abortion, this happens quite often. Women who have started menopause are also at risk.

Under what circumstances is there a high probability of a live egg meeting a sperm during menstruation:

  1. Spontaneous ovulation. This is the name given to the release of a mature germ cell during a period of the menstrual cycle when this should not happen. At the same time, there may also have been ovulation in the middle of the cycle. This may occasionally occur in healthy women. The risk of this phenomenon is especially high if the girl has recently taken hormonal oral contraceptives.
  2. Hormonal imbalances. If the length of the cycle fluctuates from month to month, discharge begins earlier or later, it is very difficult to calculate the time of ovulation. Often in such cases it is spontaneous, for example, before or during menstrual flow, at the end of the cycle, or is periodically absent altogether. Failures can occur even among those who have never had them, after an abortion, childbirth, or during menopause.
  3. Short duration of the menstrual cycle. If the cycle is short and the discharge lasts a long time, then even if a mature female reproductive cell is released in the middle of the cycle, there is a chance of becoming pregnant after sex during menstruation, especially on the last day of menstruation. This is due to the fact that sperm, after entering the internal female genital organs, are able to maintain vital activity for up to a week. That is, they can simply “wait” for the moment when pregnancy becomes possible. That is, this will happen not when there was sex, but after a few days or a week.

But the question remains: what time is the most dangerous? Is it possible to get pregnant on the last day of your period? Or is the probability higher at the moment when the discharge is just beginning?

Pregnancy in the last days of menstruation

So, is it possible to get pregnant in the last days of your period? To the question “What is the probability of fertilization at the end of menstruation?” Doctors answer that of the entire period of menstruation, it is easiest to get pregnant in the final days. Pregnancy often occurs on the third or fourth day. The longer the bleeding, the greater the risk.

This is due to the following factors:

  • The closer to the end of the discharge, the more likely it is that the sperm will retain its vital activity until ovulation occurs. If menstruation lasts up to a week, and the cycle is short, this will be a natural phenomenon.
  • Towards the end, the discharge becomes less. When they are intense, conditions in the vagina make it difficult for the sperm that are trapped there to survive and move. If there is no such interference, the likelihood that it will enter the uterus and fallopian tubes is much higher.

So, the answer to the question of whether it is possible to get pregnant on the last day of your period is obvious. The risk at this time is quite high. It is much higher than in the first days, when there is at least partial mechanical protection in the form of secreted endometrium, blood and mucus. Therefore, if you are not planning to have a child yet, it is imperative to use protection.

Sex during the last days of your period

Doctors answer this question differently. On the one hand, it has been noted that often on these days a woman has a particularly strong sex drive. On the other hand, at this time the genital mucosa is especially sensitive to the effects of various infections, so infection is possible.

  1. “Casual relationships” or sex with a regular partner is strictly prohibited if he has any of the sexually transmitted diseases.
  2. If pregnancy is undesirable, you need to protect yourself. It is advisable to use mechanical methods of protection, for example, condoms, as they also protect to some extent from infection.
  3. During this period, it is especially important to monitor hygiene and cleanliness. This should not be forgotten, even if the intimacy was unplanned.

Be attentive to your health, use knowledge and tools that will help protect it. Then you will not encounter problems or undesirable consequences of rash behavior. And if you decide to plan a pregnancy, it will be easier to do. After all, when the mother is healthy, the child will be strong and resilient, protected from developmental disorders.

The issue of contraception for women has always been an issue. But this problem was not always called with such a beautiful word. Currently, a fairly large number of contraceptive options are offered - oral, postcoital, mini-pills, depot preparations, etc. By choosing one of them and using it constantly, a woman protects herself from many troubles and worries. For example, there is no need to worry about whether you can get pregnant on the last day of your period or whether your cycle will go wrong. But they have their drawbacks and side effects, due to which some still decide to use the simple calendar method. It was invented a long time ago, and it is not difficult to find information about it.

The most basic method of such contraception is based on calculating the days of ovulation, dangerous and safe. Usually the basis is that the five days before and after menstruation are harmless. This method also suggests more accurate ways to determine individual ovulation dates. By basal temperature, ultrasound and special tests similar to pregnancy tests.

It is believed that it is impossible to get pregnant during menstruation. At this time, the unfertilized egg comes out, and a new one has not yet formed. But still, anxiety about or during them does not arise so rarely. You can often hear stories about what happened during menstruation. Such situations arise because at this time people stop using additional contraceptives, completely relying on female nature. And such carelessness can sometimes lead to undesirable consequences if the child was not planned.

So, is it possible to get pregnant on the last day of your period?

Definitely yes. Even if the chances of this are small, they must be taken into account, especially if you do not yet expect an addition to the family. Whether you can get pregnant on the last day of your period mainly depends on the woman's menstrual cycle. What factors need to be considered before completely abandoning contraception and switching to the calendar method?

1. This method is suitable only for those women whose cycle is completely established and quite predictable. The body is not a very permanent thing; it is affected by various stresses and diseases. And it is the menstrual cycle that very easily goes wrong for these or other reasons. But it is impossible to accurately calculate the time of ovulation if it is not constant.

2. Basically, this method is more suitable for women who, in principle, are not against a child at the moment. If you are very concerned about the question of whether it is possible to get pregnant on the last day of your period or after it, this method is definitely not for you.

3. When using this method, you must keep an accurate diary of your menstrual cycle. This will require quite a bit of consistency and a serious approach.

Is it possible to get pregnant during menstruation? A dilemma that plagues many women of reproductive age. Men also ask this question because they are afraid of unplanned conception. At the same time, couples think that menstruation is the most reliable natural means of contraception. In fact, everything is not like that. It turns out that you can get pregnant during your period. But for every couple, unplanned conception occurs for different reasons.

Periods and ovulation: not as far away as it seems

To understand whether it is possible to get pregnant on the last day of your period or in the first hours of bleeding, you need to have an understanding of the menstrual cycle. It is divided into several phases, characterized by the production of certain hormones:

  • menstruation (the process of cleansing the uterus from the internal epithelium);
  • follicular phase, in medical parlance - follicular (the time when active growth of dominant follicles and an increase in the number of antral follicles occurs);
  • ovulatory (time of rupture of the largest follicle and release of the egg into the abdominal cavity);
  • luteal (active preparation of the mucous layer of the uterus for implantation).

If conception does not occur, then the release of some hormones is replaced by others, and another menstruation occurs. Gynecological theory suggests that conception occurs at the moment of ovulation or within 1-2 days after it. Logically speaking, we can come to the conclusion that it is impossible to get pregnant during menstruation. However, not every girl can reliably say when she will ovulate.

The maturation process is quite complex and variable. The average woman's standard cycle lasts an average of 28 days. The release of the egg occurs on days 13-15. The second phase lasts 12-14 days. In healthy women, this period remains unchanged even if the cycle lengthens or is shorter.

So, for a girl with a monthly period of 21 days (which is also the norm), ovulation will occur already on days 6-8. Most patients of reproductive age have a regular monthly cycle, but its duration may vary under the influence of internal and external factors.

Is it possible to have sex “these days”

Statistics show that sexual intercourse during menstrual bleeding excludes more than half of couples. Is it possible to get pregnant during menstruation in this case - a rhetorical question. Lack of intercourse is the most reliable means of contraception.

Gynecologists tell their patients that having sex during menstrual bleeding is not only unaesthetic, but also dangerous. Other partners prefer to change traditional sex to anal sex on their menstrual days, which also prevents them from getting pregnant.

Several days of menstruation from the entire cycle are necessary to cleanse the uterus. During this period, the reproductive organ, under the influence of hormones, rejects the endometrium, which is needed for the attachment of a fertilized cell. During menstruation, the mucous membrane is “exposed”, it becomes more susceptible to infections. If harmful microorganisms enter during sex, an inflammatory process will begin. In the future, the woman will encounter endometritis, adnexitis, metritis or other diseases.

You should not have sex even in the last days of your period, as additional stimulation and increased contractile function of the reproductive organ can cause bleeding. The suspected cause of endometriosis is regular sexual intercourse during menstruation. In this case, blood mucus is thrown through the fallopian tubes into the peritoneal cavity, where it subsequently begins to grow.

If you have your period, then when having sex you must follow the rules:

  • the woman has a permanent partner;
  • a condom is used during intercourse;
  • the couple does not have sexually transmitted infections;
  • the woman does not have reproductive diseases.

Is it possible to conceive a child while bleeding?

You should talk to your gynecologist about whether a girl can get pregnant during her period. If a young man is interested in the question, then he should study in detail the theory of fertilization, and not rely on luck. To think that conception during menstruation is impossible is, to say the least, unreasonable. During the entire bleeding period, there are more and less dangerous days, but the possibility of pregnancy cannot definitely be excluded on any of them.

On day 1 of monthly bleeding, the likelihood that sperm will reach their goal is negligible. At this moment, the vaginal environment is most aggressive; it does not allow male gametes to survive and move in such conditions.

On day 2 the bleeding becomes intense. Even if unprotected sexual intercourse takes place, the chances of pregnancy will remain close to zero. The next portion of blood will simply wash the sperm out of the vagina, and they will not reach the uterus.

On day 3, the likelihood of unexpected conception during menstruation will begin to increase. It will increase every hour. We should not forget that an unexpected disruption to the regular cycle can occur right now.

Male reproductive cells are able to survive in the female body for quite a long time. The favorable microflora of the vagina and the consistency of the discharge allow sperm to “stay alive” and wait in the wings for up to a week. Consequently, sexual intercourse on the 5th day of menstruation and ovulation occurring on the 7th day give a huge chance of conception.

Risk of getting pregnant in the last days of menstruation

If you exclude cycle failure and early onset of ovulation, you can still get pregnant at the end of your period. At the same time, the probability will increase with each passing hour. There are several reasons why intrauterine life begins at the time of bleeding.

Two out of 10 patients who became pregnant during menstruation experienced repeated ovulation. This condition occurs due to hormonal surges and also occurs in women who are prone to having twins. You should remember if there were any cases in your family where two or three children appeared at once. It turns out that one egg is released on time, and the other ovulation is unplanned.

It is necessary to protect yourself even during menstruation, since pregnancy can occur due to hormonal imbalance. This happens under stress or, on the contrary, from strong positive emotions. Some medications can affect hormone production. If we take into account that sexual intercourse occurred on the 4th day, and sperm remain viable for a week, then conception can occur on the 11th day of the cycle.

Menstruation + COC – 100% guarantee?

Is it possible to get pregnant during menstruation if a woman is taking oral contraceptives? It would seem that the answer to this question is obvious. However, even in this situation, fertilization can occur.

Any hormonal contraceptives must be taken from the first day of bleeding. The manufacturer allows you to start taking the contraceptive from days 1 to 5 of the menstrual cycle. At the same time, it recommends using additional barrier methods of protection during the first month. Women often do not pay attention to this nuance. Relying on the effectiveness of the hormonal drug, they have sex during menstruation and become pregnant.

The illusion of menstruation

Another reason that explains the compatibility of periods and pregnancy is called the illusion of menstruation. A woman mistakes spotting for the start of a new cycle, has sex and finds herself pregnant. Bleeding can have different causes: infectious or inflammatory. Bloody discharge in some cases is explained by erosion and even ovulation.

Periods during pregnancy?

The girls are worried about whether it might happen. Indeed, in this case it is not clear whether conception has taken place. Doctors' answer to this question is ambiguous.

Bleeding that occurs during pregnancy cannot be called menstruation. Rather, such discharge indicates a threat of miscarriage, detachment of the fertilized egg, rupture of a hematoma, or other pathologies. Despite sound evidence and medical theory, some women report having periods throughout their gestational age. It is impossible to say how reliable these readings are.

It is possible to determine that conception occurred during menstrual bleeding using the usual methods for every woman:

  • conduct home testing from the first day of the next delay or 2-3 weeks after intercourse;
  • perform an ultrasound examination 30 days after contact;
  • measure basal temperature using an anal thermometer for 3 weeks;
  • donate blood to determine the amount of human chorionic gonadotropin;
  • visit a gynecologist and undergo the prescribed examination.

Summarizing all the information, we can formulate several statements:

  • You can get pregnant during menstruation;
  • the minimum probability of conception is in the first two days of intense bleeding;
  • with a decrease in discharge, the chance of fertilization increases;
  • immediately after your period you can become pregnant with a high probability;
  • Conception is impossible if sex was anal.

For women with irregular cycles, as well as for women who do not monitor the frequency and duration of their menstruation, the risk of unplanned pregnancy increases significantly.