Pregnancy myths abound about tips and tricks to avoid pregnancy. Douching after sex is a tale often circulated and is medically false, or that having intercourse in the water, or intercourse for the first time, are all ways to avoid pregnancy. They are all false. Another pregnancy myth that has long been around is that you can't get pregnant during menstruation. This is both false and true, and here's why:

While many women have normal and regular cycles, a lot of them do not. Teenagers, young adults, and women with reproductive abnormalities can all have irregular cycles. In a normal case, pregnancy during menstruation cannot occur; this is because ovulation has occurred ten to fourteen days before the period has started. While there are a lot of other factors involved, the short of it is that under normal circumstances, it just isn't likely.

One of the other factors to be considered in regards to conception is lifespan not only of the egg, but also of the sperm. A woman's egg lives only one day, which means the egg will only live for about 24 hours after ovulation. The complication comes, however, with the man's sperm; sperm can live anywhere from two to five days. This means that while a woman may not think she's fertile five or six days before ovulation, the sperm can live in her body and be ready and waiting when ovulation does occur.

As for the irregularities in a woman's reproductive system, she can not only have an abnormal cycle, making ovulation nearly impossible to determine, but she can also release two eggs at once, doubling the chances of conception. Some women can even ovulate during a period if their cycle is severely irregular.

The best bet for anyone having intercourse and not wanting a baby is to use protection. There are many options available now days, some over the counter such as condoms, or others available only from the doctor such as birth control pills and shots. Many of these contraceptives are up to 99.9% effective. With that kind of success rate, there is no excuse for not taking proper precaution.

As for couples who are desiring a bouncing baby in nine months, having intercourse near the period is one of the most ineffective times to attempt to conceive. With a normal cycle, there are really only a few days out of a month, no more than one week that a woman can conceive. Charting ovulation and cycle dates is the best way to determine when the right time to attempt conception is.