Is it true that women can only get pregnant at certain times of the month?

yes but even though we ovulate once a month that egg is viable for a few days and sperm can live for up to 5 days so if you had unprotected sex 5 days before you ovulate there would already be sperm waiting to fertilize the egg at ovulation or if you had unprotected sex any day from then on including a few days after ovulation the egg would still be viable and could be fertilized, so therefore the "rhythm method" as it is commonly called is not very effective in preventing pregnancy. especially considering the number of women who don;t understand how their own bodies work and who don't know when they ovulate or who have irregular periods and could ovulate on any day of the month.

You are talking about 'natural family planning' and avoiding intercourse when a woman is most likely to be fertile. It is not an effective system. If you insist on trying, you should at least be educated.

Ok, a quick review of a 'typical' menstrual cycle. When counting days in a woman's reproductive cycle, the first day of the period is cycle day #1.

If a woman's cycle is really, really regular, then ovulation is most likely to occur on ~day 14 of the cycle. Sperm can live in the reproductive tract (there will be sperm in the reproductive tract even if you use the 'pull-out' method - pulling out is NEVER a contraception method) for 2-3 days. Consider that actual ovulation might be a day or two on either side of day 14 and now you are talking about being pretty fertile from day 10 through day 18 or so of the cycle.

A typical period lasts 6 to 7 days so there isn't much room for error after the period ends and before the most fertile part of her cycle. So, during her period and a few days before it's due again are the 'safest' days for having unprotected sex without conception occurring. But they aren't safe. Many young women aren't regular (for ovulation) and predicting when ovulation is going to occur isn't easy to do.

This kind of planning when intercourse is less likely to result in pregnancy is what is referred to as 'natural family planning' which is notoriously ineffective. Lots of parents were using it when they conceived. Please use a barrier method or alternately a hormonal method if you want to be sure.

It can be more effective if you really know when she ovulates, by charting her basal body temperature or using ovulation predictor strips (or a fertility monitor).

good luck!

Yes this is called the rhythm method of pregnancy prevention. People in the olden days used this since they did not have any pregnancy prevention options. It's not really possible because in today's time, a woman's cycle is not exactly predictable.

Yes, but sperm can stay in the vagina for over a week, so be sure to use a condom.

You only get pregnant when you are fertile, and you can get ovulation sticks (rather like pregnancys tests) to tell if your fertile or ovulating.