Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 2: Understanding your menstrual cycle
• Part 2 of 2: Determining your fertility window
• Necessities

One of the biggest factors for women trying to conceive is their menstrual cycle. Scheduling sexual intercourse with your partner during the fertile days of your menstrual cycle, when you ovulate, can dramatically increase your chances of getting pregnant. Before you can determine your most fertile day or days, also known as your fertility window, you will need to better understand and monitor your cycle.

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Part 1 of 2: Understanding your menstrual cycle

1. Identify the main stages of your menstrual cycle. Your menstrual cycle occurs in a number of phases, but this does not mean that you are fertile throughout your menstrual cycle. In fact, it is a myth that a woman can get pregnant throughout her menstrual cycle. In reality, you can only get pregnant on your most fertile days, before and during ovulation. Ovulation occurs when a fully grown egg is released from your ovary and moves down your fallopian tube so that it can be fertilized by the sperm. The phases of your menstrual cycle are:
   • Menstruation, that's where your menstrual cycle begins. It happens when your body removes the thickened covering of your uterus from your body through your vagina. This causes bleeding during your period and usually lasts between 3 and 7 days. It also marks the first day of the follicular phase, stimulating the growth of follicles containing eggs. This phase ends when ovulation takes place. The follicular phase usually lasts 13-14 days, but can vary between 11-21 days.
   • The ovulation phase occurs when the level of luteinizing hormone increases dramatically. This stimulates the release of an egg. This phase is short, usually only 16-32 hours, and ends when the body releases the egg.
   • The luteal phase starts after ovulation and continues until the start of your next period. It prepares your uterus in case an egg is fertilized and implants in the uterine wall. This phase usually starts around the 14th day of your cycle and lasts for about 14 days.
2. Be aware of the fertile period or fertility window. This is the period in your menstrual cycle when you are most likely to get pregnant from intercourse. In most women, their fertility window will last about six days.
   • Keep in mind that having intercourse during your fertile period is not a guarantee that you will conceive. But your chances of getting pregnant are much higher if you have sex in the five days before ovulation and the 24 hours after ovulation. Healthy, fertile young couples usually have a 20-37% chance of conceiving using this window.
3. Determine if you have regular periods. The cycle is different for every woman and can also shift and vary due to external factors such as stress. The best way to determine if your period is regular, in the sense that it occurs at nearly the same time every month, is to keep track of how long it lasts for three to four months.
   • Mark the first day of your period on your calendar. Call this Day One. Then count every day until your next period starts. Keep in mind that the average menstrual cycle is 28 days; however, your cycle can range from 21 to 35 days.
   • Do this for three to four months. See if your cycle is the same length every month.
4. Check if your periods are irregular. If you don't see a pattern after three to four months of tracking your menstrual cycle, you may have irregular periods. This occurs in many women and can be due to factors such as extreme weight loss, increased physical activity, stress, or a more serious medical condition. Talk to your doctor if you have irregular periods to rule out any serious medical conditions. Women with irregular periods can still calculate their fertility window, but it may take more time and effort than women with a regular cycle.
   • Talk to your doctor if your period is absent for 90 days or more and you are not pregnant. If your cycle becomes irregular after it has been regular, or if you lose blood between periods, you should talk to your doctor to make sure you don't have a hormonal disorder, reproductive tract infection, or other conditions.

Part 2 of 2: Determining your fertility window

1. Use the duration of your menstrual cycle to determine your fertility window. If your periods are regular, you can determine your fertility window based on how long your periods usually last. Your fertility window will consist of the six days prior to and including ovulation. But your most fertile days will be the three days prior to and including ovulation. Use the length of your menstrual cycle to determine your most fertile time by subtracting 14 days from the total length of your menstrual cycle:
   • 28-day cycle: If your cycle usually consists of 28 days, ovulation will occur on day 14 of your cycle. So your most fertile days will be days 12, 13 and 14.
   • 35-day cycle: If you have a longer menstrual cycle, ovulation will occur on day 21 and your most fertile days will be days 19, 20 and 21.
   • 21-day cycle: If you have a shorter menstrual cycle, ovulation will occur on day 7 and your most fertile days will be days 5, 6 and 7.
   • If your menstrual cycle is regular, but it doesn't fall within these periods, you can use an online fertility calculator to determine your fertility window. All you need is the first day of your last period.
2. Check your body temperature or use an ovulation kit if you have irregular periods. If you usually have irregular periods, or if you feel like your cycle is upset, you can use other methods to determine when you are ovulating:
   • Keep track of your body temperature. Your body temperature will rise during ovulation. See if you have a "temperature change" by taking your temperature at the same time every morning. Most women will experience a change in body temperature of about half a degree 24 to 48 hours after ovulation. You can use a regular thermometer or buy a special basal body temperature thermometer.
   • Get an ovulation kit. Get an ovulation kit from your local drugstore or pharmacy. While it's a more expensive option than tracking your temperature, it can be a more accurate way to determine when you're ovulating. This kit tests your urine to determine the level of luteinizing hormone (LH) in your urine. You will have to urinate on test strips to find out when your LH levels are rising. This is a sign that one of your ovaries is about to release an egg, or that you are about to ovulate.
   • Watch for changes in your cervical mucus. Around the time in your cycle before you ovulate, your body will produce large amounts of thin, clear cervical mucus. This substance smooths the way for the sperm to get to the egg. Just before you ovulate, you can find mucus on your underwear or around your vagina. It will appear clear, stretchy and slippery, like raw egg whites. You can collect a sample of your cervical mucus by gently wiping your vaginal opening with a tissue or a clean finger. If you check for cervical mucus several times on the same day and you don't find mucus, you are probably not in the fertile stage of your cycle.
3. Have sexual intercourse during your fertility window. Most doctors will advise you to have sex with your partner every day or every other day from five days before ovulation to the day after ovulation. While sperm can live in a woman's body for up to five days, the life expectancy of an egg is only 12 to 24 hours, so having intercourse before you ovulate and the day and the day after ovulation can give you chances of conception. to maximize.
   • Focus on having intercourse within your fertility window, or three to five days before ovulating. If you wait to have intercourse until you ovulate, it will be too late to fertilize your egg by the time the sperm enters your body.
   • If you are under 35 years of age and have intercourse within your fertility window for 12 months with no result, or if you are 35 years of age or older and have timed intercourse within your fertility window for 6 months with no result, it may be a good idea to talk to your doctor about a fertility test. You and your partner can have fertility tests done to determine if there are other issues that are preventing you from getting pregnant.

Necessities

• Calendar
• Thermometer
• Ovulation kit