Please de-freep this issue: Can a woman get pregnant while on her period?

[Used and Abused]

I've checked around and about 50% of the sites I've seen say yes; the other half say no.

[RoeBear]

1. I think we need more info

like a link.

But I'm willing to say that it's not impossible to get pregnant during a period, just very unlikely.

(how is this a freeper issue?)

[liberal N proud]

2. I always thought it was the safe time to have sex with out a rain coat

I am no doctor but I slept with a woman last night and I say that time of the month is safe.
I don't really know though!

[China_cat]

3. It would have to be a really rare

occurance. It would mean there would have to be another egg in the fallopian tube WHILE the lining of the uterus is being shed through menstruation. The chances of that happening and allowing implantation would be as close to zero as they could get. And if it did happen, it sounds like a perfect setup for an ectopic pregnancy which will never result in a viable fetus. (Regardless of what the 'right to life' people try to tell women, ectopic pregnancies end in the death of the fetus and of the mother if they aren't removed in all but a very few cases.)

[uppityperson]

6. Rare but not "really rare".

If you are on the pill, very rare. Otherwise, if you have totally regular periods and have another totally regular period this time, it's very rare. However, many things affect hormones and women are fertile much longer than they have "totally regular periods". It can and does happen. Visit Planned Parenthood or Family Planning website or clinic, or public health clinic some places, for more information. Fairly safe, but not totaly.

[AlienGirl]

4. Not ordinarily

By the time the period is happening, the egg released during ovulation has died...theoretically. However, some women sometimes ovulate a second time, late enough to allow a viable egg to be around during the period, so it's occasionally possible to get pregnant then, too.

Tucker

[Krupskaya]

5. Technically, yes.

A woman can ovulate at any time. It's unlikely, though.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

7. A better question would be can she find someone to have sex

with while on her period. To be sure, NO WOMAN will ever get pregnant while on her period in the ME. It just isn't going to happen.


http://nota-bene.dailykos.com/story/2005/1/26/152019/537
>>Prostitute used in Guantanamo torture on Habib
by SusanHu
Wed Jan 26th, 2005 at 12:20:19 PST

Updates at end of diary: On Habib's attorney and on his "catastrophic" condition
Image Hosted by ImageShack.us
His Australian attorney says that Mamdouh Habib "was tied to the ground while a prostitute menstruated on him after he failed to co-operate with interrogators."<<

>>Not To Be Too X-Files About It (3.66 / 3)

But the US military works with Hollywood special effects guys all the time.

I remember a seminar way back in the early 90s when I talked to an fx guy who blew things up for movies who regularly worked for the DoD to create realistic battle simulations. He even had a slide show of an "urban environment" he wired up and blew apart during training exercises.

Making fake blood flow realistically is something that is done in every Hollywood horror flick. So the woman was not necesarily either a prostitute or having her period. She might have been wired up by a FX technician.<<

[elfin]

8. Unusual, but yes

I had a friend who was having trouble concieving and they found out that she was ovulating on day 3 or 4 of her cycle. Her cycle was a little more than 2 weeks as I recall.

[supernova]

9. Yes, it's possible.

It's unusual, but it does happen. If you're going to have sex while menstruating, then you need a backup plan.

[NurseLefty]

10. Here is what I've learned:

After the egg is released from the ovary, it releases progesterone and some estrogen. If it is not fertilized (usually after a week), it begins to degenerate. The progesterone levels drop, which is primarily responsible for the beginning of menstruation. If the egg is degenerated, it can't be fertilized and thus pregnancy doesn't happen.
BUT, here are a couple of possibilities: if due to some fluke another egg is secreted near the end of a period, it could be fertilized. If progesterone increases, the uterus lining can be stabilized and implantation could occur.
Another possibility: because of some hormonal irregularity, a woman could be encountering mid-cycle spotting and interpret it as having a period. If an ovum is available, pregnancy could happen.
It is unlikely one could get pregnant while having a period, but it's not a 100% certainty. I know someone who was pregnant several years ago. She had what she thought were a couple of periods after getting pregnant.

[soleft]

11. You know what they call people who practice the rythmn method?

Parents

[ashmanonar]

12. how about birth control?

the pill, or condoms, or they're even coming out with a pill for men.

why worry about women getting pregnant unless it's planned? birth control makes it all but impossible (i say all but bc there's still a slight chance)

[thinkingwoman]

15. if only that were true

as the parent of two "birth control" babies I can assure you that it is NOT "all but impossible" to get pregnant unless it is planned.

And no, one of those birth control methods was NOT rhythm.

[ashmanonar]

20. well.

you know what i mean, i think. i just think that if you want to have sex for fun, you should both take precautions and be prepared for consequences. precautions don't always work, true. but i'd much rather see people being responsible with sex than worrying about things that seem pointless in respect. (including having sex during/right after the period)...

don't take my words as gospel, i'm totally inexperienced with it all...but that's just my personal philosophy.

[uncertainty1999]

13. Typically, no

I am sure there are exceptions to every rule, but the way it works (except in rare circumstances) is that a woman is most fertile in the middle of her cycle -- so, on a 28 day cycle, she would release an egg around day 14. Signs that ovulation is occurring include heavier than normal discharge and a change in body temperature, though I cannot remember whether the temp is higher or lower than normal - maybe WebMd knows!
(I know this is more than what you asked for, but I just want to put out the info for those who might need it.)

[no_hypocrisy]

14. My sex ed teacher told us there was NEVER any "safe" day.

And he emphasized how you never can tell how long a sperm can hang out and wait for that egg to show up. I think his admonition has proved true, even though I don't know anyone personally who conceived during their period. Possible, but not probable.

[Jack_DeLeon]

16. I've heard its possible but unlikely...

If the sperm manages to linger around until its over and another egg shows up.

[regnaD kciN]

17. A friend of mine...

...had a "surprise pregnancy" for her fourth child. Although she didn't give any details, she did say that it happened "at the one time when it was supposed to be impossible to get pregnant," so I assume that was what she was talking about.

[LizW]

19. Used to be thought that a woman couldn't get pregnant while lactating

Definitely not true. I have a friend with kids ten months apart.

[against all enemies]

18. Used and Confused; are you a woman? Won't he leave you alone?

There is something wrong with a name like "Used and Confused" posting this question.

[u4ic]

21. It's possible for some

I remember paying attention when this news item came out: http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/07/08/ovulate030708

Ultrasound images of their ovaries, taken every day for a month, show that all women potentially ovulate up to twice a month, and up to 30 per cent may ovulate up to three times a month.

Dr. Roger Pierson, the lead author of the study at the University of Saskatchewan, says this research confirms that menstruation is not necessarily tied to ovulation.

"What this is telling us is that the ovarian cycles are a bit like two different political parties. Sometimes they go along together, and other times they diverge quite markedly," he says

And here's the link to the press release: http://www.usask.ca/events/news/articles/20030708-1.html