Period sex is pretty much NBD these days. Some people love the extra lubrication, while others figure it’s a good excuse to skip the condom for once. (You know, provided you’ve DTR’d and such.)
But is the latter really a thing? Or is the idea that you can’t get pregnant on your period total B.S.?
Short answer: It’s unlikely that you’d get knocked up from having sex on your period—but not impossible.
“Technically you can only get pregnant when you’re ovulating, which is a 48-hour window each month and should not be happening when you’re menstruating,” says Dr Taraneh Shirazian, an gynae with NYU Langone.
The Fine, Red Lining
But, of course, it’s not that simple: Sperm has the ability to stay alive in the body for up to three to five days before hooking up with an egg and implanting in the uterine wall. Plus, many women have wacky cycles, Shirazian says.
So, theoretically, if you have unprotected sex during your period and, within a few days, ovulate, it stands to reason that you could wind up with a plus sign on a pregnancy test.
What’s more, many women (maybe even you?) experience breakthrough bleeding, which tends to actually occur around ovulation, says Shirazian, noting that this breakthrough bleeding is often termed “ovulatory bleeding.” And if you mistake that for your period, you could be sh*t out of luck.
So, basically, unless you want to get pregnant, don’t have unprotected sex … ever.
This article was originally published on www.womenshealthmag.com
