Stress-free sex: Know your safe period!

By Dr. T Deepa Porkodi

Having sex is a pleasurable thing; and the nicest way to enjoy it, is to give in without being bogged down by the fears of getting pregnant.
Not every act of sexual intercourse will result in pregnancy. There are days when your chances of conception are very high, just like there are days when the chances of getting pregnant are almost nil. Identifying these days will help you enjoy a better and a more stressfree sex life!

A woman’s menstrual cycle starts from the first day of bleeding and ends about 28 days after that, on an average. Ovulation occurs on the 14 day of the menstrual cycle.
The 14th day is the ideal day, theoretically. Since every woman’s menstrual cycle differs, the day of the ovulation also differs. Hence doctors calculate the fertile period from the 12th to the 18th day of the menstrual cycle. This is the period when the chances of ovulating and hence getting pregnant, are optimal.

The 1st to the 7th day and the 19th day to the start of the next cycle, are the days when the ovulation chances are very low. This means if you make love during these days, there are very little chances of you getting pregnant.

This is the case with women who have regular period cycles. In case your cycles are not regular, then you would need to do a bit of math to calculate your safe period.

For example, if your shortest cycle is of 26 days and the longest cycle has been of 31 days, then:
26-18= 8 and 31-10=21, which means the 8th to the 21st day of your cycle, are the most fertile days. The 1st to the 7th day and then the 21st day to the start of your next cycle, are the days that are safe for you to enjoy sex, without fear of getting pregnant.

Opting to have sex during the ‘safe period’, isn’t always fool-proof though. A lot of women have irregular cycles and the cycle length can vary from woman to woman; which is why the so-called ‘safe period’, is in truth, not 100% safe. It is always better to use condoms or other contraceptive methods like the oral pill to prevent unwanted pregnancies.