Nishmat's Women’s Health and HalachaIn memory of Chaya Mirel bat R' Avraham

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Relations on onah

16 July, 2009
Question:

My onat haflagah usually falls out at around 29-31 days. This month i made a mistake and had intercourse on day 27, only to realize afterwards that that was an onah day (I had a shorter cycle two months earlier). I am absolutely terrified that I might have gotten pregnant. Can you give me some halachic information about this situation?


Answer:

Even if you did get pregnant from intercourse on an onat prishah, there are no halachic ramifications. While relations are forbidden on the onah, you are not actually a niddah until the bleeding begins, so the child would not have been conceived as a result of relations during niddah.

Furthermore, it is unlikely that you got pregnant on the 27th day of your cycle. A woman can get pregnant only around the time she ovulates, which is generally 10- 14 days before the next period. Since you are nearing the end of your cycle, it is most likely that you ovulated a while ago and cannot get pregnant at this point.

You should make efforts that this does not happen again – either mark your calendar and leave it in a conspicuous place for you and your husband to see, or even program a reminder on your cell phone if necessary.

Please feel free to get back to us with any further questions.

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