Among the questions we ask ourselves about the "mysteries" of conception, there are some with surprising answers. One of the most common myths is that it is impossible to get pregnant during menstruation. Because, although difficult, it is possible. We explain why.
The ovulation process usually follows more or less similar schemes in each woman, as an important part of the menstrual cycle. But this varies from one woman to another, and even in the same woman it can change from one month to another.
Recall that the female sexual cycle comprises a series of more or less regular changes that naturally occur in the female reproductive system (especially in the uterus and ovaries). A regular menstrual cycle has an average duration of 28 days from the first day of your period, but it is considered normal to cover between 21 and 35 days.
In Babies and more Ovulation: how to know if I'm ovulatingMenstruation, period, period or menstrual bleeding, therefore, constitutes the beginning of the menstrual cycle. During this phase the endometrium is released along with blood if fertilization of the ovum has not occurred. The average menstruation usually lasts between three and five days, although those between two and seven days are considered normal.
After the period, in a regular cycle the phase of preoculation arrives, when the ovary produces estrogens, the ovum matures and the endometrium thickens. Estrogen stimulates the cervix and fertile cervical mucus is produced, which can be identified by women as proof of their most fertile days.
Between the fourteenth and the fifteenth day of the cycle the ovum ends its maturation and is conducted from the ovary to the uterus through the fallopian tube: is ovulation. But these estimates are the means of regular cycles: ovulation could occur on day 13, maybe on 16, 17 ...
Finally, in the luteal phase or secretory phase, which usually lasts from day 16 to 28 of the cycle, if no fertilization of the ovum has occurred, it disintegrates and is expelled by vaginal bleeding from the next menstruation, thus beginning a New cycle.
In Babies and more, don't you get pregnant? What steps to follow, how and whenGiven that the sperm can last functional within the woman's body between 48 and 72 hours, it is usual that if relations are maintained even two or three days before ovulation (and this can occur regularly or not), when the This ovum could be fertilized.
As seen, during menstruation there is no ovule prepared to be fertilized. You have to wait a few days for this possibility, but this is usual in regular cycles. What happens to cycles that do not follow a regularity? What if there is something that causes my cycle, usually regular, to vary a given month? We see it below.
Irregular menstrual cycles
Not all women have the "standard" period every 28 days. There are those who have longer cycles, in which ovulation occurs after day 14 and others with shorter cycles in which ovulation is advanced. If I know my cycle and the changes in my body (observe the signs of ovulation), I might be able to predict when ovulation will occur, although this, as we will see later, is not always reliable.
There is also women who experience different cycles every month: Not all your cycles are regular. This is common, for example, in those women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), a very common and generally mild hormonal imbalance that affects 8 out of 100 women.
In these cases, it is more complicated to know when ovulation occurs, but since there is usually no amenorrhea or total absence of a period, that is, that the woman with PCOS also ovulates and menstruates, the possibility of pregnancy is possible, and could be also during menstruation if, for some reason, there is a mature ovum at the same time.
In Babies and more, what are your fertile days?Getting pregnant during your period
We might think that if we do not have PCOS and our cycle is regular, there is no risk of pregnancy outside the key days of the cycle, after menstruation.
But it is possible that there are changes in the cycle and, although it is difficult, it is not impossible for ovulation to go ahead and there is a mature ovum ready to be fertilized while having menstruation. That is, while an unfertilized anterior egg is being removed from the body.
On the other hand, in the case of short cycles, about 20 days, the egg could be released during the last days of menstruation or just after and increase the chances of pregnancy if you have sex during your period. And let's not forget that sperm remain in the female reproductive system for three to four days, further increasing the chance of pregnancy.
In addition, a woman can ovulate more than once during the same cycle, thus increasing the chances of pregnancy. It is known as polymenorrhea the reduction of the duration of the menstrual cycle, when this is less than 21 days, so the period comes too soon. The cycle can be shortened regularly or irregularly.
In these cases, infrequent but not non-existent, if you have unprotected sex during your period, the sperm could reach the egg and conception occur.But, what could cause my menstrual cycle, a given month, to be shorter than usual and ovulation to be advanced?
What can cause the menstrual cycle to change
exist factors that can alter the duration of the cycle without the woman knowingsuch as stress, vital events, food or diseases:
In Babies and more What are the fertile days to get pregnantStress: moments of great tension and anxiety can affect menstruation and even reproduction. When the pituitary gland is activated by stress, it produces greater amounts of prolactin, which can cause irregular ovulation. There are studies that relate stress to infertility, but this could affect women differently.
Sudden alteration of weight in women (increase or decrease) can cause changes in the menstrual cycle and irregular periods.
When the girls start having the period, it is also irregular and it takes time for the cycles to stabilize.
With the nearness of menopause, as hormonal production (ie, estrogen) decreases, cycles change and generate more frequent or infrequent periods.
Intense exercise is considered among the factors that can alter the woman's period, although in this case it usually causes longer cycles and even, in extreme cases, amenorrhea or disappearance of the rule.
To suffer an illness, thyroid, kidney problems, diabetes ... Even a strong flu can cause a change in the female period if it is associated with other factors such as anxiety.
There are medications that affect hormonal levels (for example, antipsychotics or steroids) can cause imbalances that affect reproductive hormones and thus alter the regularity of the cycle.
In short, it is not usual but it could happen that if you have unprotected sex during menstruation, you get pregnant. The possibilities decrease the more regular you are in your menstrual cycle, but you have to take into account variables such as those mentioned above and that could cause the cycle to vary during a given month.
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In Babies and more | Don't you get pregnant? What steps to follow, how and when, what are your fertile days ?, I have polycystic ovaries: can I get pregnant?
