Can a girl get pregnant on her period?
It never fails. I get a question like this at least once a year. It's not always exactly can a girl get pregnant on her period. Sometimes it's can a girl get pregnant if she's having sex standing up, or can a girl get pregnant if it's her first time having sex, or can a girl get pregnant if she has sex in a pool. I'm seriously waiting for the day that I get the question can a girl get pregnant if she has sex during the full moon.
My response to these types of questions usually starts with “yes a girl can get pregnant on her period.” From there, my response tends to get a little Dr. Seuss-ish. It usually sounds a little something like "she can get pregnant on a plane, she can get pregnant on a train."
A female's ability to get pregnant has nothing to do with where she might be when she’s having sex. It has to do with when she's ovulating, and women ovulate 14 days before the start of their next menstrual cycle. The problem is that a female may not always know when her next menstrual cycle is going to start. Even for a woman who may have had a regular cycle for years, there are a variety of things that can throw off her cycle, including a dramatic change in body fat or huge amounts of stress or something called menstrual synchrony. Menstrual synchrony is when women who are around each other have their period at the same time (anyone who lives with a group of women know what a joy that can be!).
For a young girl who has just started their cycle it may take several years before she's in a regular pattern. So with all that said let's say that a woman has an 18 day menstrual cycle. This means that she's ovulating around day four and she may very well be in the middle of her period at that time.
So bottom line, if you're trying not to get pregnant, my best suggestion is that you and your partner should be using a reliable method of contraception each and every time you have sex. But keep in mind that no form of contraception is hundred percent effective (including abstinence),
