Is 5 days before your period and 5 days after a good rule of thumb?

Answer 1

The reality is that you can become pregnant when you ovulate and there is no sure way to determine ovulation. Everybody is different and the time during the month a girl ovulates is not very predictable. There is no "rule of thumb" for unsafe sexual activity. The withdrawal method ranges between 70% and 80% effective, but that is still AT LEAST a 1 in 5 chance of becoming pregnant. Women's cycles vary and unless you have an ovulation kit that tells you dependably, there is NO SAFE TIME to have unprotected intercourse. Please be sexually responsible.

Five days after is fairly conservative (that is what I practice) but five days before is disastrous unless you have been tracking your basal temperatures to insure that you have ovulated.

I hate to say, "Yes, its a good rule of thumb", and then be responsible for your pregnancy. The problem with using a "rule of thumb" is that it is only an approximation to the real answer. Even "5 days before" your period is risky, specially for a teen or young women. How many times has your period been later than you planned? If you use the "5 days before rule of thumb" you may being having intercourse during the fertile time of your late period! I wouldn't recommend "5 days before) without some other physical indicator. During your period is as close to perfectly safe as you can get. Next, is up to 5 days after...but even that I don't really feel comfortable with for teens. There are a lot of questions that start, "What are my chances of getting pregnant if..." and I find these oh-so humorous and oh-so sad at the same time. Call me a grossly insensitive male, but why would you take such chances with something so important that it affects your life and the life of the fetus? If one of those things did happen, don't fret about it - it already happed! And definately, don't wait for some FAQFARM answer - go get a pregnancy test and then make an informed decision. Every day that goes by is critical. If you abort (not my suggested option) the older the fetus, the more tramatic the event for both of you. If you decide to go full term - the early you get pre-natal care, the better it is for you and the baby. Sorry about the soap box, but worry is always the worst decision. It won't change anything. There are people on both sides of the abortion question who want to help you. (I know I've probaly made some of you angry. If you want to vent, but feel this isn't the forum, write me: gws5284-faqfarm@Yahoo.com )