I like to call this 'fear tactic', because we have been told and brought up to believe that we can get pregnant at any moment in time. That our uteruses are little baby making machine, that we can't possibly understand how our bodies work, and that we can't control our urges to have a penis coming into contact with our vagina so that we can 'reproduce.' We're done with this and we're moving onto the modern day. No, uterus owners you can not get pregnant all the time.
Our periods are more than periods, in our reproductive years we actually live in the state of our menstrual cycle. Which actually is part of our every day life because we have 4 different phases. We have the menstruation, follicular phase, ovulation phase, and luteal phase. See how ovulation was only in there once, that is because we actually only have about a 6-7 day window per month/cycle that we can get pregnant. Additionally, that egg or ovulation that has the possibility to get pregnant can only live for 24 hours. You heard that right! 24 HOURS is how long can egg can live. But why is that we we have a window of 6-7 days per cycle that we can get pregnant? I'm going to break it down into a few simple steps so hopefully it makes more sense!
1How the Cycle Works
Every month from the day you start your period, you can technically create a child. But lets have a look at the phases real quick.
1. Menstruation:
This is your period, the blood that sheds the lining of your uterus and comes out through your cervix, vagina, and then onto your vulva. It only sheds because there was no fertilised egg from a sperm to create an embryo which later would turn into a small human.
2. Follicular Phase:
This phase actually starts with the first day of your period. It can be between 8-21 days long and you produce a hormones called follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) which causes the eggs in the ovaries to prepare potential eggs for ovulation later and oestrogen. Oestrogen, in regards to your uterus only because it's also very beneficial to other parts of our overall health, builds up the the uterine lining to prepare for ovulation. Remember, the key word is prepare for ovulation, this does not mean that you have yet ovulated.
During this time you also start producing normal egg white cervical fluid which tells you that you are at least within a week of ovulation. This specific type of cervical fluid is super essential to keeping sperm alive for that 6-7 range. If this fluid were to not be present at all or to have a thicker fluid such as if it were like lotion or crumbly, sperm are less likely to survive.
3. Ovulation:
At the end of your follicular phase, when an egg is finally mature enough the hormone LH will trigger the release of an egg. One of your ovaries will release the most matured and viable egg from it's follicle and into a fallopian tube where it will sit and wait for about 12-24 hours before it dissolves and goes away. If there is no sperm there, which means that you have not had unprotected sex within the last 7 days, then you cannot get pregnant. Your fertile cervical fluid is the home for sperm to survive so they can wait for the egg.
4. Luteal Phase
Next, your body goes into the progesterone dominating phase. Progesterone, again only in regards to how it impacts your uterus, helps to maintain that thick uterine wall for about 10-16 days. If you did have a fertilised egg, progesterone supports the egg by embedding it into the uterine wall and keeping it healthy to develop into a human. However, if there was no fertilised egg, your period comes on because your period is in charge of literally shedding that wall so that you can have a new start; a new menstrual cycle.
I hope this makes sense because I'm tired of teachers, parents, healthcare professionals, and uneducated individuals telling uterus owners that they are baby making machines. We are only fertile for 6-7 days if we are sexually active with a male and that egg you are waiting on will only last a maximum of 24 hours.
Now, your question may be how do we know when we are ovulating? I know when I am ovulating because I use the symptoms-thermal method to track my cycle so I can see where I am in my cycle and I know when I'm approaching ovulation because of my cervical fluid and temperature changes. If you don't track your cycle then I know a lot of uterus owners use a lot of period tracking apps that also tell you when you are going to ovulate. I used to use these until I learned from Jesse, that these actually aren't reliable. If you aren't up for tracking your cycle, that is totally fine and you prefer to use condoms or hormonal birth control that is totally fine! I just want uterus owners to know that we are not the ones that are fertile at every moment.
Xoxo,
Moonli
Fun Fact: It's actually males that are fertile every day.
Weschler, T. (2015) Taking Charge of Your Fertility. New York City, New York: HarperCollins Publishers.