Wednesday, December 16, 2015

How to Determine Your Safe and Unsafe Period Within a 28 Days Menstrual Cycle

Menstrual cycle is the process of ovulation and menstruation in women. It Starts from the first day you see your menses and ends the day before you see the next one. it is usually 28days, though it varies in some individuals.

Knowledge of safe and unsafe period helps;


  1) to avoid sex when you don't want pregnancy 

  2) and more importantly, when to have sex to achieve pregnancy


For better understand of this discussion, let familiarise our self with some specific terms.

For this to work you must know the number of days in your cycle.

In achieving pregnancy, fertilisation has to take place which is a formation of zygote from an interaction between spermatozoa and egg/ovum after sex.

Unsafe period; this is define as days in your cycle that you can achieve pregnancy with unprotected sexual intercourse. 

Safe period; this is define as days in your cycle that you can not achieve pregnancy with unprotected sexual intercourse. 

Life span of a viable spermatozoa is 48 hours.

Life span of a viable ovum/egg is 24 hours.

What this means is that egg must be released within 48 hours of ejaculation and a couple must have sex within 24 hours of ovulation for pregnancy to occur.


Ovulation (release of egg/ovum) occurs on day 14 ( starting from the first day of your cycle). However, because ovary responses to certain hormones from the brain for ovulation to occur, time of egg release is variable. it can be released 2 days plus or minus day 14. In other words; ovulation can occur in any of days 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 in a 28 days menstrual cycle.

I mentioned ealier that spermatozoa can be viable for 48 hours, therefore, sex on day 10 will result in possible pregnancy if egg is released on day 12.

Equally sex on day 17, will lead to possible pregnancy if egg is released on day16 because the egg will be viable till day 17.

Therefore the true unsafe period is from day 10 to 17 in a 28 days menstrual cycle.

For the couples praying to God for pregnancy, you must have unprotected sexual intercourse at lease 3 times in alternate days within this period.

However, for those who want to avoid pregnancy, please abstain from sex during this period.

Warning; this is for women with 28 days menstrual cycle. 

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