What is my risk of pregnancy from unprotected intercourse?
The risk of pregnancy is virtually 0 during the first two days of the cycle (day 1 of the cycle is the first day of bleeding). The risk begins to rise steadily thereafter, reaching 9% on about day 13, begins to decline slowly thereafter to about 1% on day 25, and remains at about 1% as late as day 40 and beyond. (Average cycle length is 29 days, but it is normal to have cycles that last anywhere from 20 days or less to 40 days or more.) However, it is important to note that these figures are averages and that the risk for an individual woman may be higher or lower. The important point is that almost any act of unprotected intercourse entails some risk of pregnancy and that emergency contraception (a.k.a. “the morning after pill” or “the day after pill”) can reduce this risk substantially.
