Can You Get Pregnant 3 Days Before Your Period After Sex?

Last updated on May 31st, 2019 at 04:09 am

Can you get pregnant 3 days before your period is a common question after intercourse?

Understanding your fertile mucus, ovulation and safe period is important if you want to prevent pregnancy or get pregnant easily.

Basic terms to calculate your safe days before period

What’s fertile mucus — Fertile mucus is the vaginal discharge that indicates you are likely to conceive if you have intercourse.

What is fertile window — Your fertile window is 6 days within your menstrual cycle that you can get pregnant easily with unprotected sexual intercourse.

What’s your menstrual cycle — Menstrual cycle is the difference in days between 2 periods. Let’s say your last menstrual period was on the 4th of April and your period started on the 3rd of May, it means you have menstrual cycle is about 30 days.

What’s ovulation? — Ovulation is the release of an egg from the ovaries. If you can identify when ovulation will occur, you can easily prevent pregnancy or get pregnant.

What’s your safe period? — Safe time in your menstrual cycle is when you can have unprotected intercourse without getting pregnant.

How to identify you fertile mucus

There are different types of mucus during your menstrual cycle

After your period ends – You may have a dry vagina or a thick vaginal discharge

Before ovulation – Your discharge is slippery and watery

After ovulation – Your discharge is creamy white discharge and gets increasingly thick

Just before your next period – you will have a thick discharge or your vagina dries out

Your fertile mucus is your discharge before ovulation and on the day ovulation occurs. If you dip your finger into your vagina, fertile mucus is stretchy, watery and slippery. It hardly breaks between your finger when stretched. If you have intercourse without protection during your fertile mucus, you can get pregnant.

How to identify your menstrual cycle length?

To know your menstrual cycle length, you should chart the first day of your period over months

Let’s say your period in the last 4 months started on

8th of March

7th of April

6th of May

5th of June

To get your menstrual cycle length, count the number of days between 2 of your period. The number of days between 8th of March and 7th of April is 30. This means you have a 30 days menstrual cycle.

The normal menstrual cycle is between 21 and 35 days.

Next,

How to identify when ovulation will occur?

In most women, ovulation occurs on the 14th day before next period. This is fairly constant among women.

If you’ve regularly charted your period for months and have identified the length of your menstrual cycle, you can predict your next period and next ovulation.

If you have a regular 30 days menstrual cycle and your last period is on the 5th of June, you are likely to have period again on the 4th of July.

Next,

Count 14 days back from your next period date, you will get your expected day of next ovulation.

14 days counted back from expected next period (4th of July), is 20th of June.

The egg released from your ovaries has a lifespan of 1 to 3 days. This means 3 days after ovulation occurs is safe to have intercourse.

Read more:

Complete guide on how to identify ovulation signs and symptoms

How to easily calculate your fertile window

Can you get pregnant 3 days before your period ends?

The chance of getting pregnant 3 days before period is very slim. This is because ovulation occurs 14 days before your next period and the lifespan of egg released during ovulation is 24 hours

On the third days before period, you are safe to have intercourse.

How can I identify my safe days before period?

1. Basal body temperature

If you regularly chart your temperature in the morning, you will get a clue of when your period is near. However, you need a sensitive thermometer that can detect a slight change in body temperature.

After ovulation – Basal body temperature rises

Before your next period – Basal body temperature falls

2. Your vaginal discharge

Before period, vaginal discharge dries out. You may experience a thick white discharge before period that is unfavorable to sperm survival and motility. If you have this type of discharge before period, it’s safe to have intercourse.

3. You will notice Signs of period coming 

• Mood changes
• Breast pain and swelling
• Cramps before period
• Feeling bloated
• Headache before period
• Sleepless nights
• Poor concentration

Is it possible to get pregnant 3 days before your period?

Though the chances to get pregnant 3 days before your period is slim, it’s possible you may get pregnant if ovulation is delayed.

Reasons, why your ovulation may be delayed, are

• Stress
• Eating disorders
• Severe weight loss
• Acute illness while expecting ovulation
• Long term illness like diabetes and kidney problems
• Thyroid dysfunction
• You had an abortion
• Anxiety or emotional stress

Can I get pregnant 3 days before my period and still get period?

You cannot get pregnant and have period.

If you’ve had intercourse 3 days before your next period, it’s very unlikely you can get pregnant. However, some women can get pregnant if ovulation is delayed or wrongly calculated.

If you are spotting before your next period, these are some of the reasons

• Late ovulation
• Implantation bleeding
• Vaginal infection

Read More:

Causes of spotting before period

Period while pregnant, is it possible?

Now it’s your turn. Still not sure about your safe days before period? Let us know if we can help.