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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Can Pregnancy Happen Due To Unprotected Intercourse Followed By Bleeding?

Hi, I have been taking birth control for a couple months but have not been very good about taking them at the same time every day and have even missed three days this month (moved, my schedule changed and i just kept forgetting). A couple nights ago I had unprotected sex. I've been on my period, or at least bleeding, for a few days as well, but it's off schedule and I'm wondering if it was breakthrough bleeding. I ran out of oral contraceptives the morning after I had sex. What are the chances that I could have gotten pregnant?
Thu, 20 Oct 2016
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OBGYN,  's  Response

Hello, and I hope I can help you today.

Birth control pills definitely have decreased effectiveness when you do not take them properly. So, if you have been having unprotected sex and miss more than 2 pills in one month (without backing them up) you do have a chance of having conceived.

There is also no way to know if you ovulated during the time when you missed pills, and in addition, sperm can live for up to 5 days within the reproductive tract. Furthermore, some women have spotting when they ovulate.

So, even if you were bleeding, you could have conceived from this act of unprotected intercourse. Unfortunately there is no way to quesntify that risk.

Over-the-counter pregnancy tests are very accurate and will become positive within 10-14 days of conception. So, if you do not get a real period within 2 weeks of the date you had unprotected intercourse, I suggest you perform a urine pregnancy test.

I hope this information was helpful and answers your question.

Best wishes,

Dr. Brown

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Can Pregnancy Happen Due To Unprotected Intercourse Followed By Bleeding?

Hello, and I hope I can help you today. Birth control pills definitely have decreased effectiveness when you do not take them properly. So, if you have been having unprotected sex and miss more than 2 pills in one month (without backing them up) you do have a chance of having conceived. There is also no way to know if you ovulated during the time when you missed pills, and in addition, sperm can live for up to 5 days within the reproductive tract. Furthermore, some women have spotting when they ovulate. So, even if you were bleeding, you could have conceived from this act of unprotected intercourse. Unfortunately there is no way to quesntify that risk. Over-the-counter pregnancy tests are very accurate and will become positive within 10-14 days of conception. So, if you do not get a real period within 2 weeks of the date you had unprotected intercourse, I suggest you perform a urine pregnancy test. I hope this information was helpful and answers your question. Best wishes, Dr. Brown