How Soon After Your Period Can You Get Pregnant?

There are a lot of myths and misconceptions about pregnancy and menstruation, so it’s natural to wonder if it’s possible to get pregnant right after your period ends, or how many days after your period ends that you can get pregnant. In fact, while this isn’t always possible, it is quite possible to get pregnant right after your period.

Read on to find out what experts think about how many days after your period you can get pregnant and how your menstrual cycle affects your chances of getting pregnant.

Menstrual Cycle and Pregnancy

To know how many days after menstruation you can get pregnant, you first need to understand how the menstrual cycle affects fertility. There are four phases in the menstrual cycle:

• period
• Hair follicle
• ovulation
• Corpus luteum

Although each stage is important in the reproductive process, conception relies heavily on ovulation, the stage when a mature egg is released from the ovary and travels through the fallopian tubes.

The egg released during ovulation can only survive for 24 hours. In contrast, sperm can survive in the reproductive tract for up to 5 days. Therefore, if you have sex (or use fertility treatments) during or around ovulation, you may be able to become pregnant, as the egg may meet the sperm in your reproductive tract.

But if the egg isn’t fertilized by sperm during this time, it won’t survive, says Michelle  Hakaca, M.D., a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist in Los Angeles and co-author of Expecting 411: Clear Answers and Smart Advice for Your Pregnancy . The lining of the uterus is shed about 12 to 16 days later, and menstruation begins. 

So when exactly does ovulation occur? It tends to happen 14 days before your next period. For example, if you have a 28-day cycle, you’ll usually ovulate around day 14 of your cycle, explains Lauren Sandheimer, MD, MS, FACOG, an obstetrician-gynecologist in private practice in Santa Monica, California. If you have a 30-day cycle, you’ll ovulate around day 16. (Day 1 is considered the first day of your period.)

However, it’s important to remember that cycle lengths vary from person to person and from cycle to cycle. This variation can make predicting ovulation especially difficult if you have an irregular menstrual cycle, since you don’t know when your next period will come.

To calculate your ovulation date, consider using an ovulation calculator like this one.

Getting pregnant right after menstruation

For most women, it’s unlikely that you’ll get pregnant right after your period, but  it’s still possible . At the beginning of your menstrual cycle, your estrogen levels increase, which thickens the lining of your uterus in preparation for pregnancy. 

Then, when you ovulate, your progesterone levels spike and your estrogen levels drop, a process that helps mature the lining of your uterus and make it more suitable for implantation if you become pregnant.

In some situations, the levels of these reproductive hormones can change early, making it possible to get pregnant a few days after your period. Here are some possible scenarios:

Short menstrual cycle

Although ovulation doesn’t usually occur during the period immediately after menstruation (the preovulatory period), pregnancy is still possible. Sperm can live in fertile cervical mucus for up to five days, which means it can last for  several days beforeis releasedat ovulation . If you have a short menstrual cycle, you may be able to become pregnant immediately after your period ends. 

For example, if you ovulate on day 11, you could technically get pregnant by having sex on day 6 of that cycle, right after your period ends.

 A study published in Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2018 looked at PIV intercourse patterns among people hoping to conceive using ovulation testing. Researchers found that the chances of conception increased in the days before ovulation, reaching 18.5% on the first day and 23.6% on the second day. 

I counted the days in my cycle incorrectly.

You can also get pregnant if you miscalculate your cycle days and have unprotected sex close to the time of ovulation. To determine the first day of your period, start counting from the first day of bright red blood, not the end of your period, says Dr. Sandheimer.

“The length of your period bleeding will also vary, so when counting the time until ovulation, it’s best to count from the first day of your period, rather than from when the bleeding stops,” she adds. That way, you can plan sex to coincide with ovulation, which can help you get pregnant or avoid pregnancy, whatever your goal is.

Longer menstrual cycle

It’s not uncommon to have some bleeding a day or two before your period starts and for a few days after it starts. This bleeding can fool you into thinking you’re still on your period and not pregnant, but in reality, ovulation may be closer than you think.

Postmenopausal Fertility Management

You don’t want to worry about getting pregnant before you’re ready, so it’s important to know your cycle and use birth control whenever you could be pregnant, even if you’re not trying to get pregnant. Having a birth control plan (and sometimes a backup plan) is especially important if you’re trying to avoid pregnancy.

If you had unprotected sex during your period and think you might be pregnant, look out for these early pregnancy symptoms:

• Mild lower abdominal pain
• Chest pain
• Mood swings

Other common pregnancy symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and fatigue, begin to appear when the fetus is between 6 and 7 weeks old.