How Many Days After Your Period Can You Get Pregnant?

Women who are asking themselves if they are risking pregnancy on any day during their cycle should realize one thing: they need to learn more about their cycle.

Learning more about how your menstrual cycle works will give you the confidence and ability to avoid pregnancy or achieve pregnancy without the aid of drugs that could be harmful to the body.

The menstrual cycle begins on the first day of your period. On average, a period will last from 5 to 7 days. As soon as your period is over, your uterus begins to build a lining that would support a fertilized egg. During this time you’ll notice a bit of a whitish discharge from the vagina.

At first it is a bit crumbly, like rubber cement. After a few days, it turns creamy, like a lotion, and then a few days later it should increase in amount and be thick, slippery, clear and stretchy, like the uncooked white of an egg. All this happens while that lining is building inside the uterus, preparing for pregnancy.

Any time during this phase you could, theoretically, get pregnant, although the odds are much greater while you have the egg white discharge.

When the discharge is crumbly, you may feel drier inside. The cervical mucous makes up patterns that impede the progress of sperm. If you looked at it under a microscope, you could see a crisscross pattern.

As the discharge becomes more fluid, it is changing to be more favorable to sperm, culminating in the egg white mucous that is all aligned, actually aiding the sperm on its journey into the uterus. While the mucous is favorable, sperm can live inside a woman’s body for up to five days.