For women trying to conceive, one of the most important factors is their menstrual cycle. Choosing the time to have sex with your partner during the fertile days of your menstrual cycle, when you're ovulating, can greatly increase your chances of getting pregnant. Before you can determine the most fertile day or fertile period in your menstrual cycle, also known as the fertility window, you need to better understand your cycle and monitor it properly.
Step
Part 1 of 2: Understanding the Menstrual Cycle
Step 1. Determine the main stages of your menstrual cycle
The menstrual cycle occurs in several stages, but that does not mean that the fertile period occurs throughout the menstrual cycle or menstruation. In fact, the notion that women's fertile period that can cause them to become pregnant occurs throughout the menstrual cycle is a myth. On the other hand, you can only get pregnant on the most fertile days of your cycle, namely before and during ovulation. Ovulation occurs when a mature egg is released from the ovary, and travels down the fallopian tube (the tube that connects the ovary to the uterus) where it can be fertilized by sperm. The phases of the menstrual cycle are:
- Menstruation, the phase that starts the cycle. This phase occurs when the body sheds and expels the thickened uterine lining from the body through the vagina. This process causes bleeding during your period, and generally lasts for 3-7 days. This phase also marks the first day of the follicular phase, which stimulates the growth of the follicle, which contains the egg cells. This phase ends when ovulation begins. The follicular phase usually lasts 13-14 days, but can last anywhere from 11-21 days.
- The ovulation phase occurs when luteinizing hormone (LH) levels increase drastically. This increase stimulates the release of the egg. This phase is brief, usually lasting only 16-32 hours, and ends when the body releases an egg.
- The luteal phase begins after the ovulation phase and lasts until the start of your next period. In this phase, the uterus is prepared if the fertilization process occurs and the egg implants in the uterine wall. This phase usually starts about 14 days into the next cycle and lasts for about 14 days.
Step 2. Pay attention to the fertile period or grace period of the fertile period
This period is the period in the menstrual cycle that is most likely for you to get pregnant if you have sexual intercourse. For most women, the fertile window will last approximately six days.
Keep in mind that having sex during your fertile period does not guarantee you will get pregnant. But your chances of getting pregnant increase drastically if you have sex for five days before ovulation and 24 hours after ovulation. Healthy and fertile young couples usually have a 20-37% chance of getting pregnant using this fertile window method
Step 3. Check if your period is regular
Every woman's monthly cycle is different and can change or vary due to external factors such as stress. The best way to determine if your periods are regular, in which case they start at about the same time each month, is to graph the length of time your periods last for three to four months.
- Mark the first day of your period on the calendar. Mark as Day One. Then, count the number of days until your next period. Keep in mind that a typical menstrual cycle lasts 28 days; However, your cycle may vary between 21-35 days.
- Monitor for three to four months. Note if your cycle is the same length every month.
Step 4. Find out if your period is irregular
If no pattern appears after three to four months of cycle monitoring, then you have an irregular menstrual cycle. It occurs in many women and can be caused by factors such as extreme weight loss, increased physical activity, stress, or a more serious medical problem. Talk to your doctor if your periods are irregular to rule out the possibility of a serious medical problem. Women who have irregular menstrual cycles can still monitor their fertile window, it just takes more time and effort than women who have regular menstrual cycles.
Talk to your doctor if you haven't had your period for 90 days or more and you're not pregnant. If your normally regular periods become irregular, or you have bleeding at non-menstrual periods, you should talk to your doctor to make sure you don't have a hormonal problem, an infection in your reproductive organs, or another health problem
Part 2 of 2: Determining the Fertility Period
Step 1. Use the duration of your menstrual cycle to determine your fertile window
If you have regular periods, you can figure out your fertile window based on how long your period usually lasts. The fertile period will start six days before ovulation and includes the ovulation period itself. But you will experience the most fertile period starting from the three days before ovulation and including the ovulation period itself. Use the duration of the menstrual cycle to determine the most fertile period by subtracting 14 days from the total length of your menstrual cycle:
- 28-day menstrual cycle: If your menstrual cycle normally lasts 28 days, ovulation will begin on day 14 of your cycle. So the most fertile grace period is the 12th, 13th, and 14th days.
- 35-day menstrual cycle: If your menstrual cycle is longer, ovulation will begin on day 21 and the most fertile window will be days 19, 20, and 21.
- 21 day menstrual cycle: If your menstrual cycle is shorter, ovulation will begin on day 7 and the most fertile window will be days 5, 6, and 7.
- If you have regular menstrual cycles, but they don't occur within this period, you can use an online fertility calculator to determine your fertile window. You only need the first day of your last period.
Step 2. Have your temperature checked or use an ovulation predictor kit if your periods are irregular
If your periods tend to be irregular, or if you think your cycle may be off, you can use other methods to determine when you ovulate:
- Monitor your body temperature. During ovulation, body temperature will increase. Take your temperature every morning at the same time to see if you have "thermal changes." Most women will experience a change in body temperature of about half a degree in the 24 to 48 hours after ovulation. You can use a regular thermometer or buy a special thermometer for basal body temperature.
- Use an ovulation predictor kit. Look for an ovulation predictor kit at the nearest pharmacy. Although it is a more expensive option than monitoring body temperature, this method can be a more accurate way to pinpoint ovulation. This device will test your urine to determine the level of LH (luteinizing hormone) in the urine. You will have to urinate on a test stick to see if your LH levels are elevated. This is a sign that one of your ovaries is about to release an egg, or it means that your ovulation period is about to begin.
- Watch for changes in your cervical (cervical) mucus. During the time before ovulation in the cycle, the body will produce large amounts of clear, watery cervical mucus. This mucus clears the way for sperm to reach the egg. Just before ovulation begins, you may notice mucus in your underwear or around your vagina. The mucus will look clear white, elastic, and slippery, like raw egg white. You can take a sample of cervical mucus by gently wiping your vaginal opening with a tissue or a clean finger. If you don't find mucus after checking it several times a day, it's likely that you're not in your fertile window.
Step 3. Have sexual intercourse during the fertile period
Doctors will generally advise you to have sex with your partner every day or every other day for about five days before ovulation until the day after ovulation. Sperm can live for up to five days inside a woman's body, while an egg's life span is only 12 to 24 hours. Therefore, having sex before, at and after ovulation can maximize your chances of getting pregnant.
- Focus on having sex during your fertile window, or for the three to five days before ovulation. If you wait to have sex when ovulation has started, it's likely that the sperm will be too late to fertilize the egg by the time the sperm enters the uterus.
- If you are under 35 years of age and have had sexual intercourse during your fertile window of 12 months but have not been able to conceive, or if you are 35 years of age and over and have had sexual intercourse throughout the fertile window of six months but have not succeeded in conceiving, you may need to talk to your doctor about fertility. You and your partner can do fertility testing to see if there are other problems that are preventing you from getting pregnant.
Necessary Things
- Calendar
- Thermometer
- Ovulation predictor tool
Related article
- How to Get Pregnant
- How to Calculate Your Ovulation Period
