You would think that this would be a fairly straightforward question, right? In reality, it’s not that simple. And to add more intrigue, the answer depends on whether you are trying to get pregnant or avoid pregnancy. What? While it’s true that the basic answer is that most women are fertile for only a few days per cycle, there are several factors to consider: 1. The woman’s egg can only live up to 24 hours. And two or more eggs may be released within 24 hours. So, in a vacuum, a woman is fertile for only about a day or two. (Of course, if a woman is trying to get pregnant inside a Hoover, she’s probably got bigger issues to deal with than when she is fertile.) The [...]

Can a woman get pregnant if she isn’t menstruating? Or another way of putting it is: Can a woman assume she doesn’t need to use birth control because she isn’t having periods? Actually, the answer is not as intuitive as you’d think. On the surface, any self-respecting educated person might think “Of course she can’t get pregnant if she’s not having periods! What a ridiculous question.” Actually, the answer is that yes, she could theoretically, but certainly not as likely as the average woman. Since a woman releases an egg 12 to 16 days before menstruation, it’s possible to get pregnant without actually having periods! Thus, women who are not menstruating for whatever reason, (excessively low body fat, breastfeeding, being premenopausal, etc.), are always at risk of impending [...]