safe period

6.1

A time in a woman's cycle when she is least likely to get pregnant, usually before or after her period

noun
/seɪf ˈpɪərɪəd/

Indian

: período seguro

The couple used the calendar method to track her safe period and avoid unwanted pregnancy.

Examples

Many believe that avoiding intercourse during the safe period can prevent conception effectively.
It is important for women to understand their menstrual cycle to identify their safe period correctly.
Rock contended that his pill only elongated that safe period.

Academic text (2010)
The body's natural secretions of progesterone established "the pre- and post-menstrual 'safe period,'" which allowed Catholics to perform the rhythm method.

Academic text (2010)
We know, however, that young users of rhythm typically cannot correctly identify their "safe periods" (Morrison, 1985), suggesting the usefulness of increased education about this technique's lack of efficacy among teens.

Academic text (2005)

Antonyms

fertile period

1 4.6

Time in a woman's cycle when she is most likely to become pregnant

How Fertile

ovulation

Specialized

15 5.1

fertile phase

5.3

safe period

Indian

6.1

Surface Forms

safe period singular

safe periods plural

Morphology

safe + period

The phrase is compositionally built from 'safe' (protected/unlikely to be harmed) and 'period' (menstrual period), so a learner can infer it denotes a time in the menstrual cycle considered 'safe'. However, the precise interpretation—'safe from conception/pregnancy'—is a domain-specific extension that may not be fully predictable for an average B1 learner without background in family planning, so the transparency is partial.

Etymology

Safe period may come from the simple idea of watching a woman's monthly cycle to find a time when pregnancy was unlikely. The word safe means 'not likely to get pregnant' and period means a length of time, so the phrase came to mean the time when getting pregnant is least likely.