# Ladies: What's the latest you've ever been and NOT been pregnant? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 31, 2003, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-latest-youve-ever-been-and-not-been-pregnant/221867 "2003-12-31T00:48:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![geewhiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f0a364/32.png) [@geewhiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geewhiz)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-latest-youve-ever-been-and-not-been-pregnant/221867/41 "2003-12-31T22:48:38Z")
No it was the idea that you took a chance that you knew better than taking. If the condom would have broken, that is different. But you chose not to use a condom then you are like “she might be pregnant” Hello, duh! Obviously you were thinking very short term that night. And you had them right there! Here are three quotes out of your posts: “Not the first time a girl has been late on me. But it’s the first time it’s been someone that I don’t know very well, who HAS my number! Crap! Crap! Crap!” “…she calls me back saying she took a test and she is positive, THEN I WILL FREAK OUT. … well ok, i wont freak out, but i wont be happy. At all.” “She’s on the pill (grrr or at least she said she was. I dont think she was lying) PLUS I never came in her. So that’s like point zero something percent, right?” Do you understand why I think you were irresponsible. You have sex with a girl you really don’t know (yeah it happens but it doesn’t make it right and that is not the issue), don’t use a condom (you sound like you have been around, you might want to suggest she get tested for STDs and the same for you) and then freak out because she might be pregnant and actually has your phone number. For your sake and hers, I really hope she was honest about the pill and she is responsible in taking it. I don’t think you quite understand what the situation is about. It is serious. Her life will be affected way more than yours. Are you willing to marry her and join in the full time care of the child? Abortion is not the answer unless her life is in danger or rape or incest. Hey, you made your bed, lie in it. I am not going to say anything more about it, because you are an adult at least in age and I am not your mother. I just hope that if she is pregnant, you will honestly take responsibility. And if she isn’t, well you have learned something. Anyway, sincerely, good luck. ---
**Author:** ![Obsidian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/51bf81/32.png) [@Obsidian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obsidian)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-latest-youve-ever-been-and-not-been-pregnant/221867/42 "2004-01-01T00:14:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by geewhiz \* > \*\*Abortion is not the answer unless her life is in danger or rape or incest. Hey, you made your bed, lie in it. > \*\* Look, I wrote a long post about how ‘children are punishment to fornication’ is the worst attude about abortion in existance, but then I realized I shouldn’t hijack the thread with said incredebly contentious topic. Instead I’ll say that, while you are entitled to your own beliefs, what **Bear\_Nenno** and his chick do about their potential pregnancy is _none_ of your business, and you had no right to say that. PS: **Bear\_Nenno** , I can tell you as a woman that your girl likely cares and worries about getting pregnant far more than you ever will or have ever even considered. It is a serious thing. Lying to a man about birth control only serves to hurt oneself. That said, for myself, I would never call a man and tell him I was late (especially if it was casual sort of thing) unless I was pretty scared. So you may not want to dismiss it so easy. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-latest-youve-ever-been-and-not-been-pregnant/221867/43 "2004-01-01T00:32:29Z")
I’m not a lady, but I will mention what happened to my ex-wife during her late-teen to early-20’s years: She went seven years wtihout a period. She had a few intermittent periods up to age 16, then didn’t have another until she was 23 (a few months before we met). The reason: anorexia, sad to say. It really messes up one’s hormones. Fortunately for her, the damage was not permanent, and she had a daughter two months ago. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-latest-youve-ever-been-and-not-been-pregnant/221867/44 "2004-01-01T00:34:36Z")
> [@](#): > > Abortion is not the answer unless her life is in danger or rape or incest. Hey, you made your bed, lie in it. This would be IMHO, not GD, thanks:) ---
**Author:** ![Essured](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Essured](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Essured)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-latest-youve-ever-been-and-not-been-pregnant/221867/45 "2004-01-01T02:13:47Z")
**Bear\_Nenno,** to answer your question, the latest I’ve been is a month. I believe it was stress related (I was 15 at the time). I hope this turns out in a way that makes both you and the other woman involved, happy. A question, if you don’t mind, since I’m having difficulty wrapping my head around it. You say you’d be unhappy if she was pregnant… I assume this means you do not want to become a father (or at least, not right now). If so, why would you believe another person about their birth control situation ? Forget STDs, why would you hand over the rest of your life (or at minimum, the next 18 years of your financial freedom) into the hands of a near-stranger ? Are you honestly unhappy about the idea of becoming a father, because your actions don’t match the actions of a person who doesn’t wish to become one. Not trying to be accusatory, just trying to understand why someone who didn’t want a pregnancy, wouldn’t take their own personal steps to avoid it, but instead rely on the word of someone who isn’t exactly a trusted soul-mate, IYKWIM. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-latest-youve-ever-been-and-not-been-pregnant/221867/46 "2004-01-01T16:24:38Z")
I’m assuming you are a med student… There are women out there (I’ve met them) who’s career ambition is to be the wife of a doctor or lawyer. And the fastest way is pregnancy. At the very least, they figure, the child support payments should set them up nicely…Don’t trust women who tell you they are on the pill. Most of us are fine upstanding honest people. And some of us are snakes. I’m not saying this one is, just that its naive to believe there are not women who are evil enough and dumb enough to try and take advantage of your work it med school. Your chance of getting pregnant on any single cycle - assuming you are trying - is 25%. This assumes things like you are bothering to time intercourse. Getting pregnant on purpose is seldom easy (getting pregnant accidentally seems to be much easier). So you have a 25% chance - assuming there is nothing but nature between you and someone calling you Daddy - and assuming you guys were doing the horizontal tango about two weeks before the expected start of her period. Withdrawl is 60% effective. So that 25% chance goes down futher - 40% of 25% is 10%. Add the pill - 99% effective when taken according to directions (in reality something like 95% effective - a lot of women take them three at a time cause they forget, antibotics can be a factor), you are down to “practically zero” ---
**Author:** ![Stomp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71e660/32.png) [@Stomp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stomp)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-latest-youve-ever-been-and-not-been-pregnant/221867/47 "2004-01-02T00:27:34Z")
I have always been very athletic. This has caused a few problems for me. I have gone 4 months before without my period. That worried me. Now I am on Depo-provera and haven’t had my period for nearly 4 years. It’s really cool. ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-latest-youve-ever-been-and-not-been-pregnant/221867/48 "2004-01-02T17:35:21Z")
About 2 weeks. I was a little freaked but not too much. ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-latest-youve-ever-been-and-not-been-pregnant/221867/49 "2004-01-02T17:44:58Z")
Pre-Pill (ages 11-19): I was pretty regular - every 28-30 days, little to no PMS, 4 days long. On Pill (ages 19-25): Every 28 days, no PMS, 3.5 days long. Post-Pill (ages 25-27 (current)): I didn’t have a period at all from October to June. (I went to the doctor’s that December and he said not to worry about it). Since then (about a year and a half), I have been very irregular. The time in between can be anything from two weeks to 2.5 months. I can have no PMS, or migraines, or bad cramps and a nasty temper. I will bleed anywhere from 1 day to (one nightmarish occasion) 2 weeks. I’m going to blame this one on my steep weight gain between ages 19 and 25, though. ---
**Author:** ![Lynne\_kilii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lynne\_kilii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynne_kilii)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-latest-youve-ever-been-and-not-been-pregnant/221867/50 "2004-01-02T19:03:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dangerosa \* > \*\* > Your chance of getting pregnant on any single cycle - assuming you are trying - is 25%. This assumes things like you are bothering to time intercourse. Getting pregnant on purpose is seldom easy (getting pregnant accidentally seems to be much easier). So you have a 25% chance - assuming there is nothing but nature between you and someone calling you Daddy - and assuming you guys were doing the horizontal tango about two weeks before the expected start of her period. Withdrawl is 60% effective. So that 25% chance goes down futher - 40% of 25% is 10%. Add the pill - 99% effective when taken according to directions (in reality something like 95% effective - a lot of women take them three at a time cause they forget, antibotics can be a factor), you are down to “practically zero” \*\* Breaking this down: nothing: 25% chance of pregnancy, 75 % effective Withdrawl: 40% chance of pregnancy, 60 % effective Pill (in practice): 5 % chance of pregancy, 95% effective The chance of getting pregant on any given cycle isn’t factored in, because that’s already factored in with the pill. Withdrawl + the pill is a better “formula”. Good luck anyway. ---
**Author:** ![zephyrine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/35a633/32.png) [@zephyrine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zephyrine)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-latest-youve-ever-been-and-not-been-pregnant/221867/51 "2004-01-02T19:10:43Z")
Statistics aren’t much help if you think of the negatives. Even half a percent is a baby for someone. I hope it works out, **Bear\_Nenno**. ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-latest-youve-ever-been-and-not-been-pregnant/221867/52 "2004-01-02T22:22:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Risha \* > \*\* I will bleed anywhere from 1 day to (one nightmarish occasion) 2 weeks. \*\* \ When I started on the pill my period lasted A MONTH. I win. 😃 \ ---
**Author:** ![MaddyStrut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@MaddyStrut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaddyStrut)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-latest-youve-ever-been-and-not-been-pregnant/221867/53 "2004-01-03T00:06:46Z")
**Stomp** , we could be twins! When I’m on depo (which I currently am) I don’t get my period at all. Likewise, when I was working out pretty heavily and my body-fat dropped, I didn’t get my period either. When I’m at my normal weight and not on depo, I’m quite regular. ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-latest-youve-ever-been-and-not-been-pregnant/221867/54 "2004-01-04T08:29:39Z")
_Eep!_ A MONTH! I think that I would have started to panic after the third week. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-latest-youve-ever-been-and-not-been-pregnant/221867/55 "2004-01-04T17:44:31Z")
Negative! Woohoo! ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-latest-youve-ever-been-and-not-been-pregnant/221867/56 "2004-01-05T08:22:55Z")
I don’t like to rain on people’s parades (unless they’re people I particularly don’t like, of course) but one negative home test don’t mean jack shit on a hill of beans. False negatives are relatively common, you know. My mother took _four_ pregnancy tests, both urine and blood, and they were all negative. That was seven months before I was born. A friend of mine took two negative ones when she was six weeks pregnant. It happens, so don’t get too enthusiastic with that happy dance just yet. Also, if you’ve studied OB/GYN, you really ought to understand the difference between the theoretical (perfect use) and practical (typical use) statistics for birth control. The pill is _theoretically_ 99% effective, but in real life it’s more like 95%. Coupled with withdrawal, that would put your odds at 2-3%, not .5%. This isn’t just semantics, it’s something really important to understand if you’re going to be doing OB/GYN work. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-latest-youve-ever-been-and-not-been-pregnant/221867/57 "2004-01-05T08:27:26Z")
Oh, and I used to just skip months a few times a year when I was younger. It started happening five years before I started having sex, so pregnancy wasn’t a worry for me, and it had gotten down to once every 2-3 years when I got my Mirena and quit having periods. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-latest-youve-ever-been-and-not-been-pregnant/221867/58 "2004-01-06T00:40:53Z")
So, since you just rained on my parade, does that mean you don’t like me? I Hope not!! I still think that 40% for withdrawl is pretty high. Even Dr. Drew agrees that this is the real world statistic caused by people who aren’t pulling out quickly enough. Not the percent chance of a person who actually pulls out well before ejaculating. Two tests, days apart – both negative. I understand the idea of false negatives though. But since I was not concerned a bit before the tests, two negatives have now turned this into a non-issue. But if she starts getting really fat in the next couple months. I will let you all know. And eat some crow. BTW, thanks for all the replies people!! This has become my longest thread ever. Woohoo! ---
**Author:** ![bittersweet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@bittersweet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bittersweet)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-latest-youve-ever-been-and-not-been-pregnant/221867/59 "2004-01-06T03:24:11Z")
A few years back, I was about 2 months late and quite worried, as my cycle is quite regular. The cause: I had taken a Prednisone for my asthma and apparently that just threw a wrench in the works. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-latest-youve-ever-been-and-not-been-pregnant/221867/60 "2004-01-06T06:36:43Z")
No, I didn’t enjoy raining on your parade at all, **Bear** , but I felt like it was something you really ought to keep in the back of your mind. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-latest-youve-ever-been-and-not-been-pregnant/221867.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-latest-youve-ever-been-and-not-been-pregnant/221867.md?page=4)