In short – yes you can get pregnant during your period. I did! 

In general, the chances of getting pregnant on your period are low, however, it is possible.

What is the chance of becoming pregnant when you have sex during your period?

According to the logic of our menstrual cycle, the chances of getting pregnant during your period are very low. 
Having unprotected sex during your period is definitely not 100% completely safe and you could get pregnant. So don’t rule it out just because you are on your period. 

At the age of 19, I wasn’t yet very in tune with my cycle. I had stopped the pill as I did not get on with it. The contraceptive pill seemed to make me over-emotional so I had decided to take a break from it. At the time, I did not believe that it would be possible to get pregnant on your period. To me it did not make sense. Afterall, my ovulation cycle couldn’t possibly have started yet and what’s more, the bleeding would wash everything out again. Right? Wrong! 
20 days later, I realised I was feeling very different to normal and suspected these were pregnancy symptoms. After my period I had used protection so it was only from having unprotected sex during my period that I had beome pregnant. 

How is it possible to get pregnant during your period?

In general, it is not so common. It depends on many factors like:

1- the length of your cycle (if you have regular or irregular periods)

2- the length of time sperm stays alive inside of you – sperm can live up to five days. 

3- your time of ovulation and your fertility window

How can you be on your period and get pregnant?

If you have a 28 day cycle, your fertility window is around days 12 – 14, when you count the first day of your cycle as the day you started your period. Remember this is an average! The actual fertility window varies from woman to woman. Fertile days can start anywhere from day 9 to day 17 even if you have a 28 day cycle. If you have a 25 day cycle (like me), then generally, ovulation could start three days earlier, making the first fertile days start from day 9. However, ovulation could occur earlier.  Therefore, having unprotected sex on day 3 of your menstrual cycle, with ovulation happening day 8, leaves a 5 day gap. If sperm l´can survive for up to five days, then it is possible for the egg to be fertilised. 

Can you get pregnant on the last day of your period?

If you don’t want to get pregnant, the best thing to do is use contraception.  Get to know your cycles well by using a fertility tracker and monitor. I recommend using Mira as it tracks hormone levels accurately, taking precise measurements based on your urine samples. Sign up to my newsletter, by visiting my website, to receive a 20% discount code on your Mira starter kit: https://www.miracare.com/mira-shop/mira-fertility-starter-kit/