Chances of getting pregnant: on which days are they greatest, how to increase the likelihood of conception? Is it possible to get pregnant before menstruation? Probability of conception on different days

We'll tell you about a few mistakes you may not have known about when trying to get pregnant.

Mistake #1: You can only get pregnant during ovulation

The mistake of many couples is the strange belief that you can only get pregnant during ovulation. For that matter, you can get pregnant both during your period and immediately after your period. The more often you have sex, the more your chances of getting pregnant increase. Sex during ovulation can, of course, speed up the process of conception. But even if you are sure that you can calculate ovulation and will not miss that very day, it is better to play it safe and have sex not only when you are ovulating, but also a few days before that.

Mistake #2 You don’t trust methods for determining ovulation

A young couple should lead a healthy lifestyle, then your hormonal levels will always be ready for conception. You should not deny yourself intimacy at least 2-4 times a week outside of ovulation and every day, or every other day, during the period of ovulation. Many women believe that it is impossible to accurately determine ovulation using tests or basal temperature. But practice shows that although these are not 100% successful, they nevertheless have a high level of success. In addition, you may not immediately understand when hormonal changes will occur in your body that will affect your fertility. There are also irregular cycles. The ovulation calculator, as well as other methods, increase your chances of conceiving your future baby.

Mistake #3 You deny sex to your partner, waiting for ovulation.

Are you sure that you should definitely abstain from sex in the days before ovulation? Some couples, even waiting until the days of ovulation, limit their sexual relations to a few days of expected ovulation and that’s it. It is not right. Long-term abstinence helps increase sperm count. But this has a detrimental effect on sperm quality. sperm become inactive and sluggish. They have no chance of reaching the egg and fertilizing it. Therefore, to ensure sperm activity, at least once every 5 days. Of course, on the days of ovulation you should increase the number of attempts.

Mistake #4 You think that posture doesn’t matter

Many people think that sexual positions do not play any significant role and do not increase the chances of getting pregnant. Is it possible to get pregnant in any position? Of course you can. But if you want to increase your chances, then you should stick to those positions that will retain sperm in the vagina for as long as possible.

Issues of pregnancy and conception concern any couple who have sexual intercourse - of course, if this couple does not belong, as they say today, to sexual minorities. Some people try in every possible way to avoid unwanted pregnancy and the difficulties associated with it, while others carefully calculate the days of the cycle and plan intimacy on those days when the likelihood of getting pregnant is highest. On what days is the likelihood of conception the greatest, and on what days of the cycle is pregnancy unlikely?

The female menstrual cycle can be divided into three periods, the duration of each of which is calculated individually for each woman. On average, the first 14-16 days, counting from the first day of the last menstruation, are the maturation of the egg. On days 14-16, the mature egg is released into the fallopian tube, where it can meet the sperm. From approximately 15-17 until the end of the menstrual cycle, the so-called corpus luteum phase lasts, when a corpus luteum forms in place of the follicle from which the egg was released, and the uterine mucosa prepares for the possible reception of an embryo. If pregnancy does not occur, this mucous membrane is rejected - menstruation occurs.

The greatest chance of getting pregnant for most women occurs from the 14th to the 16th day of menstruation. It is greatest on the day of ovulation, when the egg is in the fallopian tube. The probability of conception is somewhat lower within 6 days before ovulation - it exists because sperm can remain viable in a woman’s body for 2-6 days, and fertilize the egg on the day of ovulation. The lowest probability of conception occurs during menstruation, as well as immediately after its end. In general, the first 14-16 days of the cycle can be considered safe, but the risk of conception increases as the day of ovulation approaches. The period after ovulation, that is, from the 16th-18th day of the cycle until its end, can also be considered safe.

The so-called scheduling method is based on the method of determining the time of ovulation, which is used both to calculate the most favorable days for conception and plan the onset of a desired pregnancy, and to avoid unwanted conception. However, this method is very conditional, since, firstly, the duration of the cycle for each woman can be different and differ from the standard 28 days. This means that the time of ovulation can occur earlier or later than the 14-16th day of the cycle. In addition, not all women have a regular cycle, which makes it impossible to calculate the time of ovulation with a sufficient degree of probability.

Those women who want to calculate the probability of becoming pregnant in order to conceive a child can be advised, firstly, to quit smoking, since the intake of nicotine in the body prevents the normal maturation of the follicle, and also to stop taking alcohol, which prevents sufficient release of progesterone.

Not every woman has access to the joys of motherhood. Therefore, every adult representative of the fair sex at least once asked herself the question: “What are the chances of getting pregnant?” This is primarily due to a change in priorities - ironically, the ideal period for pregnancy falls during study, career, so planning a child for many couples is delayed by 10 years. But even if everything is in order with health and age, it is possible to conceive a child far from everyone. What are your chances of getting pregnant and how can you increase them?

Age and chances of getting pregnant

Age is one of the main reproductive factors in both sexes. Time is always relentless. If a woman wants to give birth to a child, then the greatest chance of getting pregnant is given at the age of 20-24, after which the probability gradually decreases, and the risk of infertility increases. And although men have a much longer reproductive period, the likelihood of having healthy children at 45 is much lower than at 20.

Is there a chance of getting pregnant if you are already older? According to family planners, they are four times lower for a woman at 40 than at 25. This means that the more years pass, the more time you need to conceive, and, in addition, various diseases, which usually become apparent over the years, can interfere with bearing a baby. What are the chances of older couples getting pregnant? According to medical statistics, 6% of women aged 35 and 23% of 38-year-olds cannot conceive a child for more than three years in a row with regular sexual activity. This is mainly due to health problems. The following factors reduce the likelihood of conception:

depletion of egg reserve;
reduction of the menstrual cycle;
thinning of the endometrial layer in the uterus;
increased viscosity of vaginal secretions;
diseases affecting the organs of reproduction (endometriosis, polycystic ovaries, chlamydia);
exacerbation of chronic diseases.

Chance of getting pregnant after menstruation

The very possibility of conception in women is associated with the cycle of ovulation - the maturation of the egg. And this, in turn, occurs only on certain days of the menstrual cycle. How to determine the chances of getting pregnant after menstruation, based on your ovulation calendar? Very simple. The ovulation cycle is divided into three periods:

the period of perfect sterility, when the probability of fertilization of the egg is zero;
a period of partial sterility, when there is still a chance of getting pregnant after menstruation;
the period most favorable for conception.

According to the ovulation calendar, the period of partial sterility begins on the last day of menstruation and continues until ovulation. It, in turn, occurs 14 days after the first day of menstruation, but can also fall on days 11-13 of the cycle. According to recent studies, the greatest chance of getting pregnant occurs at the time of ovulation. The probability is 33%. The day before ovulation, the chances of getting pregnant reach 31%, two days later they drop to 27%, and three days they are only 16%. These numbers are related to sperm viability, which decreases every day. The longer the gap between intimate contact and ovulation, the less chance of getting pregnant. The probability of conception remains 5 days before ovulation, although it is too low. And for six or more days, as well as after the release of the egg, it is minimal. It should be remembered that these data are only relevant for women with regular cycles.

What are the chances of getting pregnant if menstruation occurs after trying to conceive? This does not always mean that you have failed. In rare cases, after fertilization of the egg, menstruation still continues, but the discharge is scanty and spotting. If this is your case, then you have every chance of getting pregnant after your period.

couple lifestyle

Absolutely healthy spouses who do not have problems with bad habits have much more opportunities for conception than smokers and sick people. Sometimes you need to change your lifestyle in many ways so that difficulties recede.

What factors affect the chances of getting pregnant? These, first of all, include a woman’s weight - its lack (less than 50 kg) and excessive excess lead to disruption of the ovulation cycle.

The ability to conceive decreases with psycho-emotional overload. Research has shown that men who experience regular stress have less sperm production in their testicles.

How do coffee and cigarettes affect the chances of getting pregnant? Fundamental research on this issue has not yet been carried out. However, according to some data, caffeine and nicotine slow down the production of sperm and make them less mobile, and therefore capable of fertilization.

Temperature also affects the ability to conceive - both men and women should avoid hypothermia and overheating in the genital area, as well as poor circulation due to tight or uncomfortable clothing, since all these factors reduce reproductive function.

How to increase your chances of getting pregnant

To successfully conceive, you need to prepare in advance. If a woman is taking oral contraceptives, they should be discontinued several months before planning. Some birth control pills continue to work for some time after discontinuation - these include oral contraceptives, hormonal injections, rings, etc.

Consider the ovulation cycle when planning a pregnancy. For women whose cycle is irregular or too long, the best way to determine the release of an egg is to measure your basal body temperature every morning. During ovulation, it rises. Within 2-3 days before the basal temperature rises, the chances of getting pregnant are as high as possible.

How to know you need professional help

In a healthy couple who have regular sex (about twice a week), conception can occur within a year, provided that the expectant mother is under 35 years old. If this does not happen, it is worth contacting family planning specialists. If the lady took contraceptives, then three months can be added to the period allotted for independent attempts at conception. If a woman is 35 years old, then a visit to the doctor should be scheduled after six months of unsuccessful attempts.

A specialist is worth a visit if you have endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, a history of miscarriage, or are 40 years of age or older. Is there a chance of getting pregnant in this case? In most situations the answer is yes. The only question is how much time and resources it will take.

The possibility of conception in a woman is completely absent in postmenopause (when menstruation stops completely), as well as after surgery to remove the ovaries or to affect the fallopian tubes.

In practice, the question: when a girl can get pregnant is asked very often. In order for you to figure out on your own whether you could get pregnant, you first need to understand how the reproductive system works.

When can a girl get pregnant?

A girl can become pregnant if her reproductive system is ripe for conception and childbearing. In this case, pregnancy occurs only when a follicle comes out of her egg. This moment is called ovulation.

Normal, provided regular 28 day menstrual cycle, in which there are no deviations, Ovulation usually occurs two weeks after the start of menstrual bleeding, i.e. somewhere on the fourteenth day of the cycle.

According to scientists, the ovum released from the follicle lives on average no more than 48 hours. But this is extremely rare. More often than not, she lives 24 hours.

Caught in the genital tract of a woman a sperm cell can live an average of about 72 hours. In rare cases, this period is extended to 11 days. Conventionally, we take 72 hours.

High chance of getting pregnant between the 8th and 20th day of the cycle

Overlapping the lifetime of the egg and sperm, it can be argued that favorable days for conceiving a child, i.e. the days when a girl could become pregnant - provided she has a regular menstrual cycle (clear 26-day or clear 28-day) is the midpoint of the cycle, plus or minus five to six days from this midpoint.

Based on this, we can say with confidence: if unprotected sexual intercourse occurs these days or a condom breaks while protected, then the probability of pregnancy in this situation is quite high. During this period, the girl could become pregnant and the question becomes relevant: Everyone must answer it for themselves.

When is the chance of getting pregnant through unprotected intercourse low?

On all other days. If sexual intercourse occurred closer to the beginning of menstruation, for example, two to three days before menstruation or towards its end - on the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh day of the cycle, the lower the likelihood of pregnancy. But not 100%. Why is that? Because sometimes it happens that sperm lives longer or ovulation shifts to a later or earlier date. Therefore, all calculations are quite conditional.

But there is still a certain rule. It indicates the likelihood of pregnancy. Under the condition of a regular menstrual cycle, safe (closer to the end of menstruation) and dangerous days of the cycle (closer to the middle of the cycle) are distinguished.

Can a girl get pregnant during her period?

It is almost impossible to get pregnant during menstrual bleeding.

The exception is cases when ovulation for some reason occurred too early. But this happens extremely rarely. However, doctors are categorically against sex during menstruation.

This can be explained very simply - the likelihood of developing inflammatory processes in the uterus and endometriosis increases. To avoid harming yourself, you should abstain from sex during menstruation.

Sperm in the vagina - not 100% pregnancy

One more thing. If sperm gets into the vagina, this does not mean that pregnancy will occur one hundred percent. After all, a girl may not ovulate in every cycle.

In addition, the girl may have some additional factors that contribute to the failure of pregnancy. There may also be permanent causes of infertility or infertility in a certain cycle (for example, the corpus luteum is not fully formed or the follicle is not mature).

Infertility is a pressing problem

Not all men are able to fertilize if pregnancy does not occur.

It cannot be guaranteed that if on one of the dangerous days, for example the 14th, sperm gets into the vagina, the girl will definitely become pregnant. But the chance is high.

Here we need to remember that there are many infertile couples in the world who can have regular sex for many months, and pregnancy occurs only by the end of the year.

This question often arises for women, even those who use contraception. This is largely due to the fact that a woman does not know how and when pregnancy occurs and what conditions are needed for this.

What we will look into:

On what days of the cycle is it possible to get pregnant?
Is interrupted coitus effective?
If a condom falls off or breaks - is there a possibility of pregnancy - what to do?
Is it possible to determine who caused the pregnancy if there were different partners?
Errors in taking contraceptive pills - is pregnancy possible?
emergency contraception
How and when to check for pregnancy

On what days of the cycle is it possible to get pregnant?

Not all women get pregnant well and easily; for some women this is a problem. In addition, even healthy women are normal may not get pregnant every menstrual cycle. Here are some important nuances about this:

One of the conditions for pregnancy is the presence of ovulation (the release of an egg from the follicle) - ovulation normally does not occur in every menstrual cycle of a healthy woman; several times a year ovulation may not occur or occur incorrectly.
If you have an irregular menstrual cycle, ovulation may occur rarely or not at all.
For pregnancy to occur, ovulation alone is not enough - many other factors play a role.

So, in order to for pregnancy to occur not only is it important for you to ovulate, but it also requires the presence of the following conditions:

The fallopian tubes must be patent
Your partner's sperm must be capable of fertilizing an egg
You or your partner must not have any other diseases or conditions that could prevent pregnancy.

As you can see, there are a lot of conditions, and a lot of couples go to clinics with the problem of infertility, although they previously did not suspect that this could happen to them and even took birth control.

Important thought! Unprotected sexual intercourse, even on dangerous days, does not mean that you will definitely become pregnant; there is a chance, but it is not one hundred percent.

It is known that there are so-called "dangerous days" that is, those days in a woman’s cycle when she can become pregnant. These days are counting regarding the following data:

Normally, ovulation most often occurs in the middle of the menstrual cycle (if you have it for 28 days, then on the 14th day, if 26, then on the 13th, if 21, then on the 11th), however, the time of ovulation may change, either towards an earlier onset , and later
An egg released from a follicle during ovulation lives on average 48 hours
Spermatozoa that enter the genital tract of a woman remain viable for 72 hours on average, but isolated cases have been described when their lifespan was more than 1 week

Considering these data, it was assumed that 5 days before the middle of the cycle and 5 days after are dangerous days for conception. This means that with a 28-day cycle, dangerous days are considered to be the period from days 9 to 19 of the cycle.

Important! The first day of the cycle is considered to be the first day of the onset of menstruation (when spotting, not “spotting”) has already appeared, and not the day the menstruation ends.

Conclusion: if unprotected sexual intercourse occurs during this period of the cycle, there is a possibility of pregnancy (the closer to the middle of the cycle, the higher the probability). If sexual intercourse was immediately after menstruation (before the 9th day) or later than the 19th day of the cycle, the probability of pregnancy is extremely low, but is not completely excluded, since the time of ovulation sometimes shifts or the sperm may be very tenacious. This happens rarely, but the facts are known.

Important! Definition "dangerous days" very conditional and only matters if your menstrual cycle is regular. If your cycle is not regular, it means that ovulation may not occur at all or may occur rarely and on very different days. Therefore, with an irregular cycle, pregnancy can occur even if sexual intercourse occurred during menstruation or a few days before its onset - that is, in fact, on the “safest” days.

Thus, to the question: Could I get pregnant if I had unprotected intercourse on such and such a day of the cycle?” It is impossible to answer with complete certainty - even if it was a safe day, there is a minimal chance of pregnancy. At the same time, sexual intercourse, even on dangerous days, may not lead to pregnancy, since the presence of ovulation alone is not enough for pregnancy to occur.

What to do then - read below in the paragraph emergency contraception.

Is interrupted coitus effective?

This method, oddly enough, is one of the most common methods of birth control, at the same time its reliability is extremely low.

This is due to the fact that sperm are released from the penis not only at the moment of ejaculation, but also during sexual intercourse itself. During repeated sexual intercourse, sperm may be released from the penis throughout the entire act, unless the partner did not go to the toilet during the break. Thus, no matter how excellent the reaction is, it will not play a big role in preventing pregnancy.

In cases where coitus interruptus turns out to be effective, additional factors most often occur (safe day, infertility of one or both partners), but the share of the method itself in preventing unwanted pregnancy is very low.

Therefore, if you use this method of contraception, then the question “could I get pregnant?” – will always remain open until the onset of menstruation or its delay.

If a condom falls off or breaks - is there a possibility of pregnancy - what to do?

Let me remind you that a condom is a method of contraception that allows you not only to avoid unwanted pregnancy, but also to protect yourself from sexually transmitted infections.

Condom is not one of the most reliable methods of contraception and for the most part this is due to errors in its use. The most common mistake is putting the condom on the penis incorrectly (tip: read the instructions carefully).

Although condoms are a fairly durable product, sometimes they are unable to resist violent passion, which leads to them breaking or slipping with the ensuing consequences. The quality of the condoms used is also of great importance (tip: buy condoms from well-known companies).

Another common situation– a condom is put on only at the end of sexual intercourse, before ejaculation – this is not correct, since the most active sperm are released some time before ejaculation. Therefore, with this approach, protection against pregnancy is reduced.

Thus, if the condom comes off, or breaks, or you put it on at the end of sexual intercourse, all this can lead to pregnancy, but remember that for pregnancy to occur, it is not enough just for sperm to enter the vagina, so even if this happens, pregnancy may not occur . The question “Could I get pregnant?” – remains open again.

Is it possible to determine who caused the pregnancy if there were different partners?

I am often asked the question: “ Who got me pregnant if I had sexual intercourse with different partners during one menstrual cycle??»

I will answer right away - this cannot be reliably determined before the birth of the child. Let's think logically - the greatest chance of getting pregnant is from the partner with whom you had sexual intercourse on the “dangerous days,” that is, from days 9 to 19 of the cycle in a 28-day cycle. However, you remember that there are situations when ovulation can shift in time or sperm can remain viable for a long time, but this does not happen so often. Therefore, when deciding the question “who could I get pregnant from?” one can only assume that the pregnancy occurred from the partner with whom sexual intercourse was closer to the middle of the cycle, that is, on the “dangerous days.”

You will definitely be able to answer this question only after the baby is born, by conducting a paternity test. An indirect sign (if you do not want to conduct a special test) by which paternity can be assumed may be the child’s blood type - only if your partners had different blood groups, then according to the laws of inheritance, you can clearly determine which of the partners cannot definitely be the father of a child.

Errors in taking contraceptive pills - is pregnancy possible?

Hormonal contraceptives are one of the most reliable methods of preventing pregnancy, however, if there are errors in taking these drugs, pregnancy is possible.

The instructions for each drug always contain rules about how to behave if a pill was missed or taken later. I will try to explain why these rules exist, and what happens when there are errors in the technique - then it will become more clear what to do.

While taking contraceptive pills, several processes occur in your body that prevent pregnancy: the maturation of follicles in the ovaries is blocked, the activity of the fallopian tubes changes, the active growth of the uterine mucosa (where the fertilized egg attaches) is blocked, and the viscosity of the mucus in the cervical canal changes. uterus (which makes it difficult for sperm to pass into the uterus).

Every day you take a pill, you maintain a certain concentration of the drug in your blood. One tablet only works for 24 hours; after this time, the concentration of the drug in the blood begins to fall and this gives a signal for all processes suppressed in the body to begin to resume. First of all, this concerns the growth of follicles (it is in them that the egg matures, which is released during ovulation).

When you take the pill on time, the concentration of the drug does not fall, but remains at the same level, effectively blocking all necessary processes.
There is a rule that if you forgot to take a pill on time, you need to take it as soon as you remember (there are 12 hours of acceptable delay), that is, during these 12 hours nothing is activated yet and if you manage to take the pill, the entire contraceptive effect will continue.

If you miss a pill for more than 12 hours, then in this case you need to take 2 tablets while taking the next pill, that is, the next one + the missed one. This is usually followed by an instruction that from this moment until the start of menstruation it is necessary to use an additional condom. For what? This is due to the fact that when a pill is missed, the concentration of the drug in the blood drops and there is a possibility that follicle growth may resume, and (albeit delayed) ovulation will occur.

The following questions arise:

If unprotected sexual intercourse occurred while missing a pill, is there a chance of pregnancy, provided that the missed pill was taken according to the rules described above? My answer is, most likely, there will be no pregnancy, since continuing to take the drug will prevent the development of pregnancy, but there are exceptions.
If you do not use an additional condom after missing a pill, is pregnancy possible? There is a possibility. This largely depends on which pill was missed. The safest skip is to skip the last pills in the pack, since there is virtually no time left for the fertilized egg to attach to the uterine cavity (it takes about 4-5 days for this).

Missing the first tablets in the pack is more dangerous in terms of the development of pregnancy, since during this period the follicle just begins to grow and if at the initial stage it comes out of the suppressive effects of the drug, then in the future it can continue to grow and achieve ovulation, despite taking the drug.

Important! If pregnancy occurs while taking hormonal contraceptives, there are no medical indications for its termination. As has been shown in numerous studies, taking hormonal contraceptives does not have a negative effect on the fetus and does not affect the course of pregnancy.

The contraceptive effect of hormonal contraceptives may be reduced in other situations. For example, if you have diarrhea, vomiting, or if you start taking certain types of medications in parallel (which ones are listed in the instructions).

If vomit happens within 1 hour after taking the tablet - it is better to take another tablet, since during this time the drug may not have time to be completely absorbed.

Diarrhea It can also impair the absorption of the drug, which will be tantamount to missing a pill. Contraceptive drugs are very difficult to absorb in the gastrointestinal tract. They are first absorbed in the intestines, then enter the liver, where they undergo the first stage of transformation. Then they are excreted with bile again into the intestinal lumen and only this time they are absorbed into the blood in an active form. Thus, any digestive disorders can affect this complex process of the drug entering the blood, so if you have problems with digestion while taking contraceptives, you need to be on the safe side and take additional precautions (condom).

Conclusions:

Hormonal contraception is very reliable only if you use it correctly and do not create situations in which the concentration of the drug in the blood drops.
If you have even the slightest doubt, use a condom until your period begins.
It's safest to skip the last pills in the pack.
If you tend to forget to take your pills on time, you can change the pills to another form - a vaginal ring (Nova-Ring) or a patch (Evra)
Pregnancy that occurs while taking hormonal contraceptives does not need to be terminated for medical reasons, since hormonal contraception does not have a negative effect on the fetus and the course of pregnancy.

Emergency contraception

If unprotected sexual intercourse does occur, action must be taken. For these purposes, there is so-called “emergency contraception”

Emergency contraceptive medications include:

Postinor
Escapelle
Gynepristone

There is also a method based on a special regimen for taking regular hormonal contraceptives, but I will not describe it here as its effectiveness has been shown to be very low. Another option for emergency contraception is the insertion of an intrauterine device, but I do not really support this method, so I will omit the story about it.

How do these drugs work?

Postinor and Escapelle– contain the same substance, only in different dosages, and therefore, to achieve an effect, when using postinor you need to take 2 tablets, and when using the drug escapelle - only one.

Gynepristone– contains another substance – mifepristone – 10 mg. This drug has similar effects, but they are more pronounced. Mifepristone blocks receptors for progesterone, the main pregnancy hormone. This prevents implantation of a fertilized egg and disrupts the ovulation process. In higher dosages, this drug is used for medical termination of pregnancy, but at a dose of 10 mg it is effective for a pregnancy that has already begun.

Important! These drugs are not effective if implantation of a fertilized egg has already occurred, that is, if pregnancy has already occurred, there will be no effect.

The effectiveness of these drugs ranges from 70 to 90%. The sooner the drug is taken after unprotected sexual intercourse, the higher its effectiveness.

For each drug indicated period during which it will be effective take a pill:

Postinor - no later than 72 hours after sexual intercourse, the first tablet is taken, the second tablet is taken 12 hours after the first.
Escapelle - only one tablet is taken no later than 96 hours after sexual intercourse
Ginepristone - only one tablet is taken no later than 120 hours from the moment of unprotected sexual intercourse. For maximum effectiveness, 2 hours before taking the drug and 2 hours after, you must refrain from eating.

Of all the drugs presented, Ginepristone is the most effective.

Despite such long time intervals, practice shows that the pill should be taken as early as possible, especially if unprotected sexual intercourse occurred during the “dangerous days”. The later the drug is taken, the less effective it will be, because these drugs do not act on a pregnancy that has already occurred.

After taking the drug, there may be various side effects: nausea, pain in the lower abdomen, headache, increased fatigue, dizziness, engorgement of the mammary glands, vomiting, diarrhea, delay of menstruation by more than 7 days or, conversely, their onset earlier.

If vomiting occurs within the first three hours after taking the drug, the drug should be repeated.

Many people are concerned about the fact that after taking emergency contraception, the menstrual cycle is disrupted - this is true. This can happen. Menstruation may come earlier or later than expected (especially if the drug was taken at the beginning of the cycle) and may subsequently disrupt the arrival of the next menstruation. As a rule, such cycle disorders are temporary and quickly disappear either independently or with the help of hormonal contraceptives.

Important! Emergency contraception should not be used on a regular basis. There are many convenient and effective means of permanent contraception. Emergency contraception, even based on the name, should be used only in “emergency cases”, maybe 1 or 2 times in a lifetime. Frequent use of this type of contraception is extremely contraindicated and can lead to persistent menstrual dysfunction.

What else is important to note.

After taking emergency contraception, all subsequent sexual intercourse in this menstrual cycle must be protected, since the effect of the drug does not apply to subsequent sexual intercourse.
If your menstruation is delayed by more than 5 days, you need to be checked for pregnancy.
If you have an irregular menstrual cycle with a tendency to delays, a pregnancy test should be taken approximately 20 days after sexual intercourse (if menstruation has not yet begun at this time). If the test is negative and menstruation does not come, the test must be repeated in a few days.

How and when to check for pregnancy

Despite all the precautions and even taking emergency contraception, there is still a need to check whether pregnancy has occurred or not.

There are 2 ways to do this:

Pregnancy test
Blood test for hCG

Pregnancy tests sold almost everywhere (pharmacies, supermarkets, gas stations). It is important to purchase several tests from different brands or the same brand. Better Just do the test in the morning, I use the first portion of urine. This is important, since the first morning portion of urine is the most concentrated, therefore it contains the largest amount of hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin - a substance that begins to be produced from the very beginning of pregnancy and its concentration in the blood and urine increases rapidly every day).

The test uses a special chemical reaction to determine the presence of hCG in the urine - the first strip on the test shows that the test is working normally, and the presence of the second strip indicates that there is hCG in the urine, and in a concentration that does not exist in the absence of pregnancy . Even if the second line is barely visible, it still means that the test is positive.

If the pregnancy is very short (the first days of the delay), the test may not show anything during the day or evening (especially if you drank a lot of liquid that day). The test must be redone in the morning.

With each day of pregnancy, the concentration of hCG in the urine increases, so the test must be done several days in a row.

False negative result maybe (that is, there is a pregnancy, but the test does not show it - this happens in the case of a defective test or a very early stage of pregnancy). You need to redo the test (for example, using a test from another company) or repeat it the next day in the morning.

False positive test almost never happens (very rare cases in the presence of certain diseases and conditions). That is, if the test shows the presence of a second line, there is a pregnancy.

Important! If there is an ectopic pregnancy, the test will also show a positive result.

As soon as you have recorded a positive pregnancy test result, you need to contact a gynecologist immediately. You will definitely be scheduled for an ultrasound approximately on the 10th day of the delay. Whatever decision you make regarding your pregnancy (whether to keep it or not), the doctor must make sure that you have an intrauterine pregnancy, that is, see the fertilized egg in the uterus. Until this fact is established, no decisions are made.

This is due to the fact that it is always there is a risk of ectopic (tubal) pregnancy. Therefore, delaying a visit to the gynecologist in the presence of a positive pregnancy test is unacceptable, since in the case of an ectopic pregnancy, urgent hospitalization is required, since this condition represents great threat to life.

Blood test for hCG- This is a more accurate method of determining pregnancy, since its result is presented in the form of specific numbers. If, when using a conventional test, you have to visually determine the presence of a second strip, then in the blood test for hCG there will be a clearly indicated number reflecting the amount of this substance in the blood.

Therefore, if you have doubts about the results of a regular pregnancy test, just take a blood test at the nearest laboratory, or contact a gynecologist, he will give you a referral.

When to take a pregnancy test?

If you have regular menstrual cycle– the test should be done in the first days of missed menstruation. It is not advisable to do it early, as the test may give a false negative result.

If you have a cycle not regular, with a tendency to delays, the test can be started approximately 20 days after unprotected intercourse and then every other day or every day (in the morning).