Can You Get Pregnant Right After Your Period?

When it comes to pregnancy and menstruation, there's a lot of myths and misconceptions out there. So it's natural to wonder if it's possible to get pregnant right after your cycle ends, or be curious about how many days after your period you can get pregnant. In truth, while it's not always likely, it is entirely possible to get pregnant right after your period.

Read on to learn what experts say about how many days after your period you can get pregnant and how your menstrual cycle plays a role in your chances of getting pregnant.

Your Menstrual Cycle and Conception

To understand how many days after your period you can get pregnant, you first need to understand how your menstrual cycle impacts conception. Your menstrual cycle has four phases, including:

• Menstruation
• Follicular
• Ovulation
• Luteal

While each phase is important for reproduction, pregnancy relies heavily on the ovulatory phase. That's when a mature egg is released from an ovary and travels down the fallopian tube.

The egg released during ovulation survives for only 24 hours. Sperm, on the other hand, can survive up to five days in the reproductive tract. So having sex (or undergoing a fertility procedure) during and around ovulation can result in pregnancy since the egg can meet with existing sperm in the reproductive tract.

But if the egg is not fertilized by a sperm during this time, it does not survive, says Michele Hakakha, MD, a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist based in Los Angeles and co-author of Expecting 411: Clear Answers and Smart Advice for Your Pregnancy. Your uterine lining sheds about 12 to 16 days later, resulting in your period.

So when exactly is ovulation? It tends to occur 14 days before your next period. For example, people with 28-day cycles typically ovulate on approximately day 14 of their cycle, explains Lauren Sundheimer, MD, MS, FACOG, an OB-GYN practicing in Santa Monica, California. Those with 30-day cycles ovulate around day 16. (Day one is considered the first day of your period).

It's important to note, though, that cycle length varies from person to person and even cycle to cycle. This variation can make predicting ovulation especially tricky if you have irregular cycles since you don't know when your next period will arrive.

For help calculating your fertile days, consider using an ovulation calculator, like the one below.

Getting Pregnant Right After Your Period

For most people, pregnancy isn't likely to happen in the days right after your period—but it is possible. Estrogen levels rise at the start of your menstrual cycle, causing the uterine lining to thicken in preparation for pregnancy.

Then, progesterone levels surge when you ovulate, causing estrogen levels to slow. This process allows the uterine lining to mature and become a good environment for implantation if a pregnancy occurs.

Depending on some scenarios, it is possible for these levels of reproductive hormones to shift earlier, resulting in the possibility of getting pregnant a few days after your period. Below are some of those possible circumstances:

You have a short menstrual cycle

Although an egg doesn't typically release during the immediate post-period phase, called pre-ovulation, your chances of conceiving aren't zero. Sperm can live up to five days in fertile cervical mucus. That means they can stick around for a few days until your body does release an egg during ovulation. If you have a short menstrual cycle, you may be fertile soon after your period ends.

For example, if you ovulate on day 11, it is technically possible to get pregnant from sex as early as day six of that cycle, which may be right after your period ends.

A 2018 study in Obstetrics and Gynecology examined PIV intercourse patterns in people trying to conceive with the help of ovulation tests. Researchers found an increased pregnancy likelihood in the days leading up to ovulation—18.5% for day one and 23.6% for day two.

You miscounted cycle days

You can also get pregnant if you miscounted cycle days and had unprotected sex near ovulation. To determine day one of your menstrual cycle, start counting on the first day of red blood rather than at the end of your menstrual period, says Dr. Sundheimer.

"The duration of bleeding for a period also varies, so when you're counting time to ovulation, it's better to count from the first day of a period rather than days since bleeding stops," she adds. Doing so can help you plan sex timed to ovulation, which can help you conceive or avoid pregnancy, whatever your goal.

Your period bleeding lasts a long time

It's not uncommon to have spotting in a day or so before your period starts and for a few days after that. Because of this bleeding, you might falsely believe you're still on your period and can't get pregnant. In reality, though, ovulation can be closer than you think.

Managing Fertility After Your Period

You don't want to worry about getting pregnant before you're ready. That's why it's essential to know your cycle and use protection whenever there's a chance you could get pregnant if you're not trying to conceive. Having a birth control plan (and possibly a backup plan) is especially important when you're actively trying to avoid pregnancy.

If you had unprotected sex around your period and think you may be pregnant, look out for early pregnancy symptoms, including:

• Mild lower abdominal cramping
• Breast tenderness
• Moodiness

Other common pregnancy symptoms, like nausea, vomiting, and fatigue, will manifest closer to six or seven weeks of gestation.