Yes, a girl can get pregnant during her period. This might happen when:

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 girls 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.

Having unprotected sex at any time is risky. Along with the risk of getting pregnant, you could also get an STD, such as chlamydia, genital warts, or HIV. The only way to completely prevent pregnancy and STDs is abstinence (not having sex).

If you do have sex, use a condom every time to protect against unplanned pregnancy and STDs. For added protection, many couples use condoms along with another method of birth control, like birth control pills or an IUD. Talk to your doctor about the best type of birth control for you.

Lets understand in detail.

Phases of menstrual cycle

The first step of knowing if you can get pregnant on your period is understanding your menstrual cycle, which is … complicated. Most women’s cycles last around 28 days — but that’s not always the case and things can change from month-to-month.

There are several phases that take place within those (on average) 28 days, starting with the menstrual phase (a.k.a. your period). The day you get your period is the first day of your cycle, and it lasts up to seven or so days. Then there’s the follicular phase, which is when your body prepares to fertilize an egg.

The ovulation phase occurs when your body releases a mature egg with the goal of it becoming fertilized. And, finally, there’s the luteal phase. If your egg is fertilized, you might have a baby on the way, and if it’s not, the lining of your uterus sheds per usual, which kicks off your period and repeats the cycle.

“The time from getting that egg out to having your period if you’re not pregnant is typically 14 days. What’s variable for people is the warm-up phase — the so-called follicular phase — when the egg is getting ready.

So, Can you get pregnant during your periods?

Anytime you have sex, there’s a chance that could result in a baby — whether you’re on your period or not. But having sex while you’re ovulating is when you’re most likely to get pregnant and having sex while you’re on your period is when you’re least likely — unless you have a super-short cycle.

That’s why it’s so important to figure out when you’re ovulating, because you’ll know if you’re at risk of getting pregnant on your period and when you’re most fertile.

In general, if you have a cycle that’s 23 days, you’re probably ovulating around day nine, and if your cycle is 33 days, you’re probably ovulating on day 19.

How can you prevent pregnancy?

If you’re trying to avoid becoming pregnant, we recommend always using protection, whether that’s birth control or condoms. And, don’t rely on any other rumored preventative methods, like douching or pulling out — because they don’t work.

The problem is the sperm that gets you pregnant gets up there really quickly after ejaculation — they can be in the cervix in as little as 20 minutes, so if you do a douche an hour or two later, it’s not going to keep you from getting pregnant.  As for withdrawing, even the first drop of sperm has a lot of stock in it: there are millions of those guys, and it’s really concentrated stuff. So even if he pulls out (as it’s commonly known) one or two drops of seminal fluid is all you need to become pregnant.

So if your goal is to not get pregnant, the only surefire way to protect yourself is not having sex at all. Other than that, there’s always a chance — so be safe and smart.

Some FAQs

[sc_fs_multi_faq headline-0=”h2″ question-0=”Can you get pregnant on the first day of your period?” answer-0=”Yes, especially if she has a menstrual cycle that is only about 20 days long. Sperm can live in a woman’s reproductive tract for about six days. A woman releases an egg from her ovaries about 14–16 days before the first day of her period.” image-0=”” headline-1=”h2″ question-1=”Can Precum cause pregnancy?” answer-1=”Precum can transport sperm into the vagina. Because any live sperm can fertilize an egg, it is possible to become pregnant from precum. Despite this risk, when a person does it correctly, the pull-out method works about as well as condoms in preventing pregnancy.” image-1=”” headline-2=”h2″ question-2=”How safe is pulling out?” answer-2=”How Effective Is Pulling Out? Pulling out isn’t a reliable way to prevent pregnancy. It works about 78% of the time, which means that over a year of using this method, 22 out of 100 women would get pregnant. By comparison, condoms are 98% effective when used correctly every time” image-2=”” headline-3=”h2″ question-3=”Can I get pregnant if sperm touches the outside?” answer-3=”You can get pregnant if you have intercourse and a male releases his sperm inside of your vagina. … You can even become pregnant if you don’t have vaginal intercourse! This can happen if a male releases his sperm outside of your body near your vagina because sperm can find their way to an egg.” image-3=”” headline-4=”h2″ question-4=”Does urine flush out sperm?” answer-4=”Fact: As the pre-ejaculate leaves the body, however, it may pick up sperm from a previous ejaculation that remains in the urethra. … Such small amounts of sperm can likely be flushed out with urination, although no research has verified this.” image-4=”” headline-5=”h2″ question-5=”Does water kill sperm?” answer-5=”It’s highly unlikely that pregnancy would occur if sperm had to travel through water into a woman’s body. In the hot tub scenario, the temperature of the water or chemicals would kill the sperm in seconds. In a bathtub filled with plain warm water, the sperm may live up to a few minutes.” image-5=”” headline-6=”h2″ question-6=”Can I still get pregnant if I pee right after?” answer-6=”It’s not true. Peeing after sex, though helpful for preventing urinary tract infections, won’t keep you from getting pregnant. The best way to prevent pregnancy after an act of unprotected sex is by taking emergency contraception — also known as the morning after pill. Learn more about emergency contraception.” image-6=”” headline-7=”h2″ question-7=”Can I get pregnant if it leaks out?” answer-7=”Sperm also sometimes can get into the vagina in pre-ejaculate (“pre-cum”). This is a little bit of fluid that leaks out during sex before a guy ejaculates. … That means you could get pregnant even if he pulls his penis out before he ejaculates. Sperm can get into your vagina even if you’re not having sexual intercourse.” image-7=”” headline-8=”h2″ question-8=”Can a woman get pregnant if she’s on top?” answer-8=”You can, of course, get pregnant having intercourse in almost any position, but there are certain gravity-defying positions such as sitting, standing, or woman on top that may discourage sperm from traveling upstream.” image-8=”” headline-9=”h2″ question-9=”How long should I leave sperm in to get pregnant?” answer-9=”And under ideal conditions, sperm actually live for several days once inside the reproductive tract. Any unprotected sex you have within about 5 days of ovulation may leave enough sperm waiting and ready to fertilize.” image-9=”” headline-10=”h2″ question-10=”How soon can you feel pregnancy symptoms after ovulation?” answer-10=”Some women may notice symptoms as early as 5 DPO, although they won’t know for certain that they are pregnant until much later. Early signs and symptoms include implantation bleeding or cramps, which can occur 5–6 days after the sperm fertilizes the egg. Other early symptoms include breast tenderness and mood changes.” image-10=”” count=”11″ html=”true” css_class=””]