Can You Get Pregnant a Week Before Your Period?

While it is remotely possible to get pregnant a week before your period, the chances are all up to how your body works. The egg and the sperm have to be in the right place at the right time, which depends on when you ovulate and have sex. Can you get pregnant before your period? Yes, you can because your body undoubtedly ovulates before period. But can you get pregnant a week before your period? It's still possible because no one knows the exact day of ovulation.

While the textbook predicted the most fertile time is most likely between days 12 and 16 of your cycle, it really depends on how long your cycle is. If you have 35-day cycle, you could actually ovulate later in the cycle. The best way to know is to find your most fertile days and have sex more frequently during, before and after the few days. You may even ask, “can you get pregnant the day before your period or while you are on your period?” Read on to see and you might just be surprised by the answer!

Ovulation and Pregnancy

When you ovulate, your ovary releases an egg to be fertilized. This usually happens right around the middle of your cycle if your periods are regular. During your cycle, about 15 to 20 follicles mature into eggs. One is released into your fallopian tube between the ovary and uterus. The egg only lives for 24 hours but the sperm can live up to 6 days. So you have a fertile window of about 6 days.

Most Fertile Time

You can predict when you will be most fertile by first keeping track of when you start your period every month and how many days between each period. You can also take note of any changes in your body during that time.

The length of your cycle is most important and the first day your period starts is the first day of your cycle. If you have a 28-day cycle, watch for ovulation signs between day 12 and 17 and around 5 days prior you will notice some changes in your body. If you have a 35-day cycle, you may show signs of ovulation around day 20 or later. The best way to determine an approximate ovulation time is to watch for the following:

• Cervical Mucus/Discharge: Around the time of ovulation your cervical mucus will become very thin, clear and slippery like egg whites. You may notice this change when you wipe after using the restroom. If you take some between your fingers, it will stretch.

• Lower Abdominal Pain: Some women can feel a twinge very low in the abdomen and on one side when they ovulate. You may even have a backache to one side or feel achy. It can last a short time on the day of ovulation or a few days before.

Can You Get Pregnant On Your Period?

If you were asking, “can you get pregnant a week before your period,” you may also want to know if you can get pregnant while you are on your period. It is rare, but yes it is possible and usually occurs in women that have shorter cycles. If periods are very short and light, then ovulation may occur a little later in the cycle. While most women are fertile towards the middle of the cycle, some women ovulate later. The egg may hang around inside the tube and not yet expelled with the start of the period.

Another thing that may have occurred is that the egg was fertilized long before period started and the bleeding is actually from the egg burrowing into the uterus and not an actual period. Also, if you are on contraceptives and not using them correctly, you may have “breakthrough bleeding” from the lowering of hormones in your system and during this time you could be very fertile.

Can You Get Pregnant After Your Period?

It depends again on your cycles, but you can possibly get pregnant after your period. You may ovulate earlier in your cycle than expected or if you have a longer period that lasts up to 8 days and ovulate within just a few days after. Know that if you have sex within the week your period ends, that sperm can live up to 7 days and this definitely puts that first week after your period in the fertile window.