Safe days of pregnancy before menstruation. Safe days for unprotected intercourse after menstruation: how to calculate the period of the cycle so as not to get pregnant? Phases of the monthly cycles
The natural method of contraception (rhythmic method) is associated with determining the most favorable days for conception - on these days, couples avoid sexual relations or use other means of contraception. Accordingly, during safe days, those who have chosen a natural method of contraception do not resort to any contraceptives.
The failure rate of natural contraception is 20% .
How to calculate safe days
You are most likely to get pregnant in the middle of your menstrual cycle, when ovulation occurs. . Since ovulation can occur with a shift of several days, the range of the most “dangerous days” is defined as 8-10 days in the middle of the menstrual cycle.
The usual length of the menstrual cycle is 28 days, so “safe” in this case will be days from 1 to 9 and from 19 to 28.
(The first day of the menstrual cycle is the first day of menstruation).
It is worth noting that the lifespan of sperm in a woman’s genital tract can in some cases reach two days. Thus, unprotected intercourse on day 8 in our example of the length of a regular menstrual cycle is riskier for those who are not planning a pregnancy than on any day at the end of the cycle.
There are special safe days calendars. It is very important to understand that they are not used as a kind of contraception to determine safe days, but as the opposite - to determine the days with the greatest likelihood of successful conception and to try to plan the gender of the child.
Are safe days safe?
As mentioned above, the failure rate when using a natural method of contraception is very high. Safe days are not safe days if the monthly cycle is not always regular. And no woman can be 100% sure of this. Ovulation can occur either later or earlier than usual due to a variety of factors: severe prolonged illness, illness, stress, disrupted daily routine, unbalanced diet, physical activity, and even changeable weather conditions and sudden seasonal climate changes (the latter can affect you during trips). Even the most “disciplined” female body is capable of behaving quite unexpectedly, completely differently than you would like.
Another important point is that the natural method of contraception is a favorable opportunity to catch any of the sexually transmitted diseases. With a permanent partner who, like you, takes care of his health, immunity and personal hygiene, the risk is, of course, lower, but even then unpleasant surprises are possible. So if you prefer unprotected intercourse, then
It leaves the ovary and enters the uterus. Life expectancy is approximately a day. If at this time she meets a sperm, it will take place. In order to identify the moment of ovulation, you should pay attention to the basal temperature (measured in the rectum), vaginal temperature and the position of the cervix.
Measure your basal temperature every morning without getting out of bed. Insert the thermometer 5 cm into the rectum. Take readings after about 10 minutes. On normal days it does not exceed 37 degrees. The day before its increase is the date of ovulation.
Pay attention to vaginal discharge. After menstruation, dryness is observed, after a few days white or yellowish mucus appears. But closer to ovulation, it liquefies and turns into a watery transparent mass. After ovulation passes, the discharge becomes thicker and less abundant.
After your period, feel your cervix daily to determine its position. In its normal state it is hard, flat and closed. But during the period of ovulation, the cervix undergoes significant changes - it becomes soft, loose, and also rises.
Take the number that is the total duration of the menstrual cycle and subtract 11, then subtract another 8. The resulting number will be the date of the first dangerous day. After this, add 8 to the resulting number and get the date of the last dangerous day. The central number of this interval is the date of ovulation. For example: cycle length is 28 days. Calculate: 28-11-8 = 9 (it turns out that the ninth day of the cycle is the first of the dangerous days). Next add: 9+8=17 (the seventeenth day of the cycle is the last of the dangerous ones). Now find the date of ovulation: 17-4=9+4=13 (the thirteenth day of the cycle is the most favorable for conception). The duration of the cycle should be counted from the first day of menstruation.
Monitor the length of at least six menstrual cycles (as most people have irregular cycles). Subtract 11 from the number of days in your longest cycle (you can subtract 8 to 11 days to be on the safe side). In this way you will determine the last of the dangerous days in your menstrual period. Subtract 18 from the number of days in the shortest of your menstrual cycles (you can play it safe and subtract 19-21 days). This action will help you determine the first of the dangerous days of the cycle.
Helpful advice
In fairness, it should be noted that all these calculations are rather arbitrary, since the menstrual cycle is unstable for most women. Therefore, you should not rely entirely on this method of protection against unwanted pregnancy.
Sources:
- All about contraception
- Journal → Menstrual cycle - dangerous days
- How to calculate dangerous days
- dangerous days for conception
The opportunity to prepare for unpleasant events in life, to learn in advance about the dangers that lie in wait has always been valued by people, because it gives a chance not only to mentally prepare for encountering troubles, but also to avoid them. No wonder they say: “Forewarned is forearmed.” Since ancient times, people have resorted to astrology to determine dangerous days. How can you determine an unfavorable day using the stars?
Instructions
In fact, there are quite a few ways to calculate dangerous days. Some of them are more popular and are considered more reliable, some less so. Let us dwell on generally accepted calculation options. It should be immediately noted that if you need to calculate personal dangerous days as accurately as possible - the solution will be to draw up a natal chart, taking into account all the details of your life stages. Only in this way will it be possible to identify with high accuracy for everyone. It is very problematic to make such a calculation on your own, so it is better to contact a professional astrologer.
However, there are techniques that allow you to identify unfavorable and dangerous days in general, which will certainly allow you, with the right approach, to avoid unnecessary troubles and stress.
A very important question for many women: How to calculate safe days so as not to get pregnant? The surest way is to calculate manually, not online.
Every woman always tries to know exactly those days that are considered safe for her personally in terms of conception. There are several ways to calculate this, but I want to warn you right away that this is practically not a guarantee.
Only four days a month are considered 100% safe - two days before your period and two days after it. Everything else is relativity! At its core, a woman can become pregnant on absolutely any day except these four, so why then carry out calendar calculations - you ask.
The answer is simple - the probability of getting pregnant on some days is incredibly low, so they can rightfully be considered, if not safe, then certainly the least dangerous.
I would like to immediately clarify one factor - the cycle of a woman who is going to use the calendar calculation of “safe days” must be absolutely stable. So, if you have not used hormonal contraceptives, you need to clearly analyze your cycle over the past year. In this case, it will be easier to calculate safe days so as not to get pregnant.
If during the year there were “failures” in the operation of the cycle, calendar calculations will not bring any benefit. If everything went well, deviations were acceptable (cold or high temperature, seasonal changes in the cycle), then these calculations can begin.
So, let's start calculating safe days to avoid getting pregnant:
We determine the duration of the maximum (longest) cycle, and the minimum (shortest) cycle.
From the number of days that you have in the minimum (shortest) cycle, you need to subtract the number 18 - this will be the very day from which you can “fly” even from a blow of wind.
We subtract the number 11 from the number of days of the maximum (longest) cycle - we get the last day of active protection.
Your interval of days of “active flight” should be 12 days - these are the most dangerous moments when you need to carefully protect yourself.
The question often arises - what is the likelihood of getting pregnant in those same four safe days, because this is often discussed at “women’s gatherings”. There is a high probability in two cases:
If a woman does not have a full sex life, everything happens from case to case - the probability of “catching” an unwanted pregnancy in these four days is very high. This is because with absolutely irregular sexual activity, the body reacts to each sexual act as a signal - “we act urgently and quickly catch what we have given.” Unscheduled ovulation occurs and here it is - something that was not expected happened!
If a couple practices interrupted coitus as a form of protection, this is also quite possible. The substances that make up the partner’s sperm give a signal to the female body and ovulation immediately occurs, and completely unplanned.
Only in the case when sex life is regular and measured, the partner is permanent - the calendar method and the cherished four days will not fail.
Is it possible to get pregnant during menstruation or immediately after it ends?
It is quite rare during menstruation, the reason is that heavy bleeding prevents sperm from rising quite actively into the cervical area and this sperm is “diluted” by bleeding products. This “cocktail” prevents conception in almost one hundred percent of cases.
But the option of getting pregnant immediately after the end of menstruation, in those very cherished two days after it, is quite possible. The sperm, like everything that represents the male principle, is very tenacious. It can continue to be “active” in the female genital tract for another three to five days, which makes it possible, with poor hygiene, to freely become pregnant even after intercourse in the cherished two days. The sperm will wait a little inside the female uterus and do its job!
But such a calendar method cannot be used by all women without restrictions. There are certain factors that throw all calculations down the drain, and you definitely need to know about them:
If you are under 25 years old or over 35, this method will not suit you. At a young age, the cycle is not yet fully formed; it will not be possible to calculate it correctly. But if the age is older, then ovulation can occur quite unplanned and suddenly, especially if the woman has not given birth. The body sounds the alarm about this and quickly “grabs everything on the fly.”
If your cycle is not very regular, there are no special deviations, but there is no stability either. This can happen when a woman has a very stressful job or lives constantly in a state of nervous stress. In this case, the body secretes ovulation as a kind of “sedative”, and can give this medicine when you don’t need it at all.
If a woman has any chronic diseases. In this case, ovulation is not planned at all, but “as God puts it on your soul.”
When a woman has frequent trips, business trips, expeditions in her life. The body does not have time to get used to changes in climate, time zones, biorhythms, even the composition of water. That is why ovulation always occurs spontaneously and unplanned, simply when the body seems that the woman has suddenly “slowed down” for a while.
So the calendar method of calculation doesn’t seem to be bad, but it doesn’t provide much of a guarantee – about 50%, no more. In all other cases, it is best to use contraceptives. In this case, you won’t have to think about how to calculate safe days and not be afraid of getting pregnant!
Conception may not occur at any time after unprotected intercourse. Dangerous days for pregnancy after menstruation occur during the period when an egg ready for fertilization emerges from a ruptured follicle. Then it becomes available for fusion with sperm. These few days are considered the most favorable in the menstrual cycle for pregnancy.
Many couples use the method of calculating the days possible for fertilization when planning a child or, conversely, as a method of contraception. But there are certain nuances here, and you need to be aware of them.
At the same time, dangerous days are calculated differently in women with a short and long monthly cycle.
Dangerous days for conception
To do this, you need to study the calendar of critical days for the last six months, or better yet, a year. The beginning of menstruation will be considered the first day of the cycle. Among the data obtained, it is necessary to find out the shortest and longest periods. Then subtract 18 from the first, and 11 from the second.
Let’s assume that the shortest cycle, according to calculations, is 24 days, and the longest is 30. We get: 24 – 18 = 6, 30 – 11 = 19. It turns out that the high probability of getting pregnant remains from the 6th to the 19th day after the start of menstruation.
It is believed that with a cyclicity of 28 days, ovulation occurs after 14 days from the start of menstruation. The error is 2 days before and after this date. The phase lasts only a couple of days, and then the unfertilized egg dies.
Using different methods for determining periods favorable for conception, you need to take into account that:
- Sperm remain viable inside the female body for about three to four days after ejaculation. Therefore, after unprotected sex in the last days before ovulation, a woman runs the risk of becoming pregnant.
- With this type of contraception, ectopic pregnancy cannot be ruled out.
- Due to stress, hormonal imbalance or due to irregular sex life, more than one egg may mature in the ovaries in one monthly cycle.
- Pregnancy depends not only on whether you had unprotected intercourse during ovulation. It is important that the endometrium reaches a certain thickness. If the layer of the uterine mucosa has grown by less than 7 mm, then the fertilized egg simply will not be able to attach to the walls of the organ and will leave the body with the release of blood.
- With a pathology such as a closed uterine canal, sperm will not be able to penetrate the mature female reproductive cell.
- With frequent menstruation failures, such calculations do not make sense.
All methods for determining dangerous or favorable times for conception will be effective provided that the woman is healthy and does not have pathologies of the reproductive system.
Methods for calculating safe days
In order to determine ovulation, women have been using various techniques for a long time. Some people use them to avoid sexual intercourse or take action after unprotected sex, while others use them to get pregnant faster.
Calendar method
This method is effective if the girl strictly monitors her periods and they come quite regularly.
Below is a table indicating the timing when pregnancy is most likely for a woman with a menstrual cycle of 28 days.
The table shows at what time of the month the egg is ready for fertilization, and when the sperm cannot reach the goal. This method has its pros and cons.
- easy to calculate;
- no side effects;
- no need to spend money on expensive contraception.
- suitable only for those who have a stable cycle;
- there is a risk of contracting an STD;
- It is necessary to carefully monitor and record the arrival of menstruation and the onset of ovulation.
Cervical mucus method
Over the course of a month, the mucous membrane of the uterus, or rather its cervical canal, produces cervical secretion of different consistency, which performs certain functions.
The method is based on the property of secretions to change consistency. After menstruation, they are thick and sticky, preventing sperm from moving through the woman’s genital tract. And by ovulation, the secretion becomes liquid and transparent, through which male reproductive cells easily reach their target, and fertilization occurs.
The day before the release of the egg, the amount of clear mucus increases. The secreted substance flows out all the time, favorable for pregnancy. 3 days after the discharge becomes viscous again, and before menstruation, unprotected sex begins.
The main disadvantage of this method is that it is difficult to visually assess the consistency of the discharge. Moreover, they can change as a result of any disease.
Basal temperature measurement
The measurement method can be used with a regular partner, subject to regular sexual activity. To chart your own ovulation, you need to measure the temperature in your rectum with a thermometer every morning for 3-4 months, before getting out of bed. However, using a mercury thermometer will give more accurate results.
After the favorable period for conception has arrived, the thermometer will show not 36.6 °C, but 37 °C and even a little higher. This change in the body occurs on the days of ovulation. After conception, the basal temperature remains at this level and returns to normal with the onset of menstruation.
Ovulation test
The easiest to use tool to determine the time for safe sex after menstruation is a pharmacy ovulation test. Such studies are recommended to be carried out daily before the expected release of the egg into the uterus. On the eve of this, the level of the hormone rises sharply, which is recorded by the test. As a rule, it is used by girls who want to get pregnant in order to be sure to find out the periods favorable for this event.
Calculation of the day of ovulation, menstrual cycle and days favorable for conception and pregnancy.
Using this calendar you can calculate the days ovulation, that is, when the probability of pregnancy is maximum and determine the most favorable days for conceiving a child (boy or girl) without pharmacy ovulation tests for determining days of ovulation. The conception calendar helps women planning pregnancy to calculate the days of ovulation and create a personal conception calendar. You can chart your female menstrual cycle months in advance! You will receive a menstrual calendar for 3 months, which will indicate: ovulation day, days favorable for conception, days to conceive a boy and a girl. Do not confuse the duration of menstruation (period) and the duration of the menstrual cycle! Interactive ovulation calendar: hover over a day on the calendar and read additional information.
