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How many days can I get pregnant after my period? How many days does it take to get pregnant after a period? If you are trying to get pregnant, or avoid one, these questions might be racing through your mind.
And there are several myths surrounding conception, pregnancy and childbirth, and here are a few:
These are just a few of these myths. But concerning pregnancy, what is most important is the fertilization of an egg by sperm. And for fertilization to occur, you must be in your fertile window.
The Menstrual Period, also known as Menstruation, begins a menstrual cycle. It is the time of the month your uterus sheds its lining, together with blood and tissue.
The menstrual blood flows out from the uterus, through the cervix and out of the body through the vagina.
The menstrual cycle is part of the reproductive process which prepares you for pregnancy. There are several variations in the menstrual cycle from person to person. Some people experience more regular periods than others, and yours may be shorter than another person’s, but it is all the same process.
Sometimes, some people refer to menstruation as menses, menstrual period, cycle or period.
Alot occurs in the body asides from those uncomfortable and much-dreaded cramps, which happen because the uterus, a muscle, contracts and relaxes more often during your period than any other time in the month.
The ovary produces hormones that aid the development of an egg as well as the thickening of the uterine lining, also known as Endometrium.
When you get your period, your levels of estrogen and progesterone, the two key hormones responsible for the thickening and build-up of your uterine lining, are low. This is because, at this point, your body isn’t building up a uterine lining, rather it is expelling the previous lining, together with the egg released during ovulation, because fertilization didn’t take place.
So because there was no pregnancy, the cycle starts again.
The menstrual cycle is indeed a whole cycle and lineup of processes. It may begin with menstruation, but it sure doesn’t end with it. After menstruation, the body prepares the uterus for another possible pregnancy.
After your period, till the next ovulation, the uterine lining that was expelled during the menstrual phase of your menstrual cycle starts to build up again. This is known as the Proliferative Phase, because the endometrium, which is the lining of the uterus becomes thicker.
Your ovaries begin to work to develop egg-containing follicles. These follicles produce estrogen which helps in rebuilding the lining that was shed. This results in the rise of the estrogen level which was lowered during the menstrual phase. It rises as an egg prepares to be released.
The changes in your hormonal levels will affect your energy levels, strength, and mental focus.
The uterus builds up a thick inner lining to accommodate the increased blood supply and fluid-secreting glands. All these occur to prepare the uterus as a nice bed filled with nutrients for the embryo that might be implanted if fertilization takes place.
Therefore, it is recommended to take healthy meals and feed well during the follicular phase. (The Follicular Phase is the first phase in the menstrual cycle, starting from the first day of your period till ovulation. This is usually about 1-13 days, and the menstrual phase or period happens alongside for the first 5-7 days, varying from person to person).
After the follicular phase, the next thing that occurs after your period is Ovulation. Ovulation is the release of the egg from the ovary, which happens mainly around the middle of your Menstrual cycle.
Before ovulation, the estrogen level peaks and then drops. As the dominant egg-containing follicle in the ovary increases in size, more estrogen is produced.
When the level of estrogen is high enough, it alerts the brain. The brain in turn causes a swift increase in Luteinizing hormone (LH). It is this hormone that tells your body to start Ovulation.
The ovulation phase usually spans about 13-15 days before the next period or the menstruation starts. This ovulation span, however, is not always the same for everyone. Occasionally, ovulation may not happen at all.
Is there a time you feel very energetic during the month? You might be ovulating. When ovulating, you are at your strongest, with self-induced motivation to get things done. So it is also important to eat well during this period.
Furthermore, as you approach ovulation, your sex drive increases as a survival instinct. Because the body is preparing to send an egg, the only way to respond is the need for a sperm to fertilise that egg and continue life. This explains your libido boost after your period.
You are most fertile during ovulation and a few days preceding it.
After your period, which is about days 7 to 14 of your menstrual cycle (part of the follicular phase), the egg-containing follicle begins to form in the ovary. When the follicle matures, the egg breaks out around day 14 of an average menstrual cycle of 28 days. The egg then travels from the ovary to the uterus for a few days.
When the egg is first released and is traveling down your fallopian tube toward your uterus, you have the best chance of becoming pregnant.
The first day of your period is day 1 of your menstrual cycle. At this point, your hormones are at low levels, and no ovulation is occurring. So pregnancy is not feasible. However, you might engage in intercourse at this point, but you could wait till after.
However, using these calculations, you can estimate when your body is ready to nurture an embryo.
When calculating how long it takes to get pregnant after your period, the length of your period is important. The length of your period determines how soon you can become pregnant after your period. You can become pregnant five to seven days after your period stops if you have a typical 28-day cycle and seven-day periods. This is not the same situation if you have a shorter cycle or period.
For example, if your period lasts for 5 days in a 28-day cycle, 9 days go by between when menstruation ends and when you can conceive. If you have longer periods, you have a shorter time between the end of your period and ovulation.
If the length of your cycle is any number other than 28, maybe a 21 or 35-day cycle, it means ovulation doesn’t necessarily happen on the 14th day.
To calculate the best day to get pregnant, subtract 14 days from the number of days in your menstrual cycle.
If you have a 21-day cycle:
21-14=7; which means you would likely ovulate on day 7 of your cycle.
And if you have a 35-day cycle:
35-14=21; which means you would likely ovulate on day 21 of your cycle. You can use this method to calculate the day you ovulate.
To also help with the process, there are ovulation predictor kits you could use. They are similar to pregnancy detector kits and detect hormones in your urine. But the hormone it detects is different from the hormone a pregnancy kit detects.
Once an egg is released into the uterus, it doesn’t stay for long. It only takes 12-24 hours after ovulation for you to get pregnant, according to the American Pregnancy Association.
However, the egg is not the only factor you need to get pregnant. There’s also the sperm, without which nothing can happen.
So when the egg is released, your partner has to provide the sperm to fertilise the egg. Some only live for a short time, and others may live up to 7 days in the reproductive tract. But on average, a sperm is viable for 2-3 days inside you.
Aside from these days, there are other possible days you can conceive after your period due to the differences in length of cycles, periods and how long a sperm can live in the body.
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