Can you conceive while on your period?

Answer 1

Yes. It isn't common, but it does occur. The reason some women conceive when they are on their periods is because they either have a short cycle or they just ovulate early and have a long luteal phase. You can have sex up to 7 days before ovulation and conceive becasue the sperm can live that long. Sperm life inside the woman's body is generally 3 to 4 days, but they CAN survive for up to 7 days. This means you have a fertile window of UP TO 7 days. So, lets say your period is 7 days long and your cycle is 26 days long. You have sex on day 6 of your cycle - you are still bleeding. Now lets say you ovulate on day 11. This will make your luteal phase 15 days, which is very average. You had sex 5 days before you ovulate so there COULD still be viable sperm waiting to fertilize the egg.
It would be very unusual.

Answer 2

Most women will not conceive while on their period, because the body is shedding the uterus lining, which is needed to support pregnancy. Additionally, the lining is shed to get ready for the next ovulation cycle, which normally occurs 10-14 days after the 1st day of your cycle (the 1st day of your cycle is the day your period begins).

However, if you ovulate early, and you have sex at the end of your period, there might be a small chance that the sperm lives long enough to be present during ovulation. For example, if you have a 5 day period, and you had sex on day 5, and if the sperm lived 5 days, then sperm might still be present on day 10. If you ovulated on day 10, then there is a chance of pregnancy.

In a normal cycle, women create a special slippery fluid which helps the sperm swim up the fallopian tubes to meet the egg. When on your period, this fluid is not present, and it would be harder for sperm to reach the fallopian tube (and any potential egg).