I sometimes hear from people who are trying to conceive but they are finding it to be a bit trying.
Some couples find themselves in a situation where they have a limited opportunity to have sex.
So, they have to take the opportunity when it presents itself and then hope for the best.
Sometimes, this situation can't be helped because the couple lives separately or one of them has to be out of town for long stretches at a time.
I heard from someone who said: "my husband and I have decided that we want to conceive this year.
However, right now, he lives a couple of hours away from me during the week.
His job site is in another city and it doesn't make sense for him to drive four hours every day.
He is looking for another job, but for now, we only see one another on weekends.
Well, last weekend, I was on my menstrual period.
But we did not want to waste the opportunity to become pregnant.
If we conceived when I was on my period, would I have a better chance of getting a boy or a girl? I'd like a boy but I'm not that picky.
I would be happy with either gender.
" I will try to address these concerns below.
Why Conception On Your Period Isn't Usually Very Likely: I didn't want to tell this woman that her weekend attempt at conception wasn't going to work.
It's not impossible to get pregnant when you are on your period, but it's very rare.
Most women ovulate anywhere from 10 - 20 days after the end of their period with the mid way point coming in at around day 14 - 15.
Although that midway point is the most common time for ovulation, different women ovulate at different times.
There are some women who ovulate very early in their cycle.
And since the sperm and the egg can live for a little while, it's not impossible to conceive while a woman is in the last days of her period (especially if she has a long menstrual cycle.
) But hopefully, you can see why it would be rare.
It doesn't happen very often, but it does happen.
I could not guess as to when this woman might ovulate, but she could easily find out on her own by using an ovulation predictor.
Since ovulation times vary by the woman, I often recommend starting to test for ovulation after your period ends and to continue on until you get a definite positive reading.
Slightly Higher Odds: For the sake of argument, let's say that this woman was one of those rare women who ovulated close to their menstrual cycle.
If this rare circumstance happened, the odds would be slightly higher for a girl baby, because the weaker boy sperm have a small disadvantage when the sperm is waiting for the egg.
However, this doesn't take into account the woman's vaginal PH or the sexual positions used, which can also have an effect on gender.
Only time would tell if this couple had been successful in becoming pregnant by conceiving during her menstrual cycle.
If they did not, I would recommend being more deliberate with their timing the next time.
I would use an ovulation predictor and I would have one of them travel to the other right after ovulation (because conception after ovulation favored the boy that they wanted.
) I know that this was probably inconvenient for both of them.
But timing is very important when you are trying to conceive.
If you conceive too early or too late in your cycle then the egg and sperm aren't viable at the right time.
And this is even more important if your baby's gender is important to you.