Conception: Is It Possible during My Period?
Q.
I was with a man on the fourth and fifth day of my period without protection. The following weekend we used a condom. I now have a five-week-old baby. The guy says that it is not possible that he is the father of my baby due to timing, but I was only with him. Can you explain the possibilities of conceiving while on your period?
A.
It is very possible that this man is the father of your child -- depending on when you ovulated that cycle. First of all, sperm can live for several days in a woman's body. The "fertile window" encompasses the five days before ovulation and the day of ovulation. If you had sex on day 5 of your cycle and ovulated early -- say, on day 9 or 10 -- then sperm from the episode of unprotected sex could have found that egg, and now you have a baby. You might also have conceived the following weekend, when you used a condom. Condoms are not foolproof. Used properly, they prevent pregnancy only 97 percent of the time. The way they are used in the real world, that rate drops to 88 percent!
There are relatively easy (though not inexpensive) ways to determine whether this man is the father of your child. This involves drawing blood from all three of you and running DNA tests.
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