Your Cervical Mucus Has An Egg White
When is the last time you checked your underwear? Or, ahem, felt your down-there discharge? It may sound odd, but your cervical mucus can provide a tip-off to when sex will be most fruitful. Youre looking for discharge that feels like egg whites, which indicates your bodys in ovulation mode.
Once you start monitoring your CM all month, youll see a pattern: Youll likely be dry for several days to a week after your period. Next, your CM may get sticky for a day or two. Then, on around day eight, it will amp up and turn creamy it could be white or pale yellow.
The next stage is the biggie: ovulation mucus. Your discharge will not only be plentiful but slippery and stretchy . This egg-white stage is a clue that youre ovulating and you and your partner may want to skip dinner and a movie and get busy being intimate.
Incidentally, that CM texture is natures way of ensuring sperm make their way to the egg. Finally, after ovulation day, you may become drier down there.
When To See A Fertility Doctor
If youre having intercourse twice a week for a year and you arent getting pregnant, its unlikely that timing is to blame. Something else could be at play and you should see your doctor to tackle the challenge together. If you are 35 or older, see a fertility specialist after 6 months of trying to get pregnant.
You should also seek care if you know you have polycystic ovary syndrome or irregular periods. For example, if youve been taking birth control for years and dont get your period within three months after you stop taking it, make an appointment. Otherwise, you could waste time collecting data with an ovulation kit and be nowhere closer to conceiving.
How Long Is The Menstrual Cycle
Womens cycles can vary in length and from month to month, but the average is around 28 days. Its normal to have regular cycles that are longer or shorter than this .
It doesnt matter how long your cycle is, most women will ovulate around 10 to 16 days before the start of their next menstrual cycle.
- the 5 days before ovulation
- the day of ovulation
Simple. Just calculate your window and enjoy worry-free romps for the rest of the month, right?
Not so fast. Like sex, your bodys schedule can be beautifully messy. Its more art class than math class.
Even during your period, when pregnancy-friendly progesterone is low, your body is prepping for its next fertile window. Sometimes, your ovaries get eager and release an egg early. Or sometimes you skip an ovulation day.
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Myth : Ovulation Occurs On Day 14
Although many textbooks and websites will have you believe that ovulation always occurs on Day 14 of the menstrual cycle, this is NOT the case. In fact its thought that ovulation occurs on Day 14 in only 13.5% of menstrual cycles!
While ovulation certainly occurs around this time for some women, there can be enormous variation. One excellent American study looked at a total of 696 menstrual cycles from a group of 213 women. In this study group, ovulation occurred as early as Day 8 of the menstrual cycle and as late as Day 60! .
Track Your Basal Body Temperature
This is your temperature when you first wake up in the morning. When you ovulate, it goes up slightly and stays up until your next period.
To track it, you’ll need a basal body thermometer, which measures small changes. You can get one at most drugstores and supermarkets.
Take your temperature before you get out of bed every morning. Note the first day it goes up.
“Once you identify the day you ovulated, you can predict that ovulation will happen on or close to that day in future cycles,” Manglani says.
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What Is The Optimal Age To Get Pregnant
A womans fertility declines with age. So, your 20s is when youre most likely to be fertile and you have the best odds of getting pregnant. But you dont need to get pregnant in your 20s . In fact, according to the CDC, the rate of women giving birth in their 30s is at a higher rate than women in their 20s. So, if you are not in your 20s, you havent missed the boat: You can still go on to have a healthy baby and get pregnant over 35 its worth speaking to your doctor to give yourself the .
Trying for a baby is one of the most exciting times for in a couples life and knowing your body and when you are at your most fertile can help you get pregnant more quickly.
You Have A Short Menstrual Cycle
Although an egg doesnt typically release during the immediate post-period phase, called pre-ovulation, your chances of conceiving arent zero. Sperm can live up to five days in fertile cervical mucus. That means they can stick around for a few days until your body does release an egg during ovulation. If you have a short menstrual cycle, you may be fertile soon after your period ends.
For example, if you ovulate on day 11, it is technically possible to get pregnant from sex as early as day six of that cycle, which may be right after your period ended.
One study showed that people who had sex only one time during this phase still got pregnant, says Steven R. Bayer, M.D., a Boston-based reproductive endocrinologist. In fact, a 2018 study in Obstetrics and Gynecology examined PIV intercourse patterns in people trying to conceive with the help of ovulation tests. Researchers found an increased pregnancy likelihood in the days leading up to ovulationâ18.5% for day one and 23.6% for day two.
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When Am I Most Fertile
The most fertile time in your cycle are the days leading up to ovulation, before the egg is released from the ovary. After ovulation the egg survives for just 24 hours, while sperm retain fertilising capability for two to three days in the fallopian tubes. For this reason, we recommend that couples have sexual intercourse every two days throughout the females Fertile Window. This means that sperm are ready and waiting for the egg when the female ovulates. If you wait until after the female has ovulated before you have sex, you will most likely have missed the opportunity for conception that month.
Lets Start With The Basics
Before diving into the facts around the best time to get pregnant, lets start off with the basics.
As you undoubtedly already know, in order to get pregnant, a sperm from the male partner needs to meet with an egg from the female partner, so that fertilisation can take place and a new life can begin. But as a species, humans arent particularly fertile and as a result, this pivotal event often ends up being a game of chance.
Your fertile time each month all comes down to the lifespan of both the sperm and the egg.
Men produce sperm continuously. For this reason, as long as a mans sperm are fit and healthy, he is always fertile and able to get a woman pregnant at any time.
In contrast however, women produce an egg only once every menstrual cycle. Even if two eggs are produced , the eggs are released within 24 hours of each other not days or weeks apart. So not surprisingly, its this event that receives so much focus when it comes to trying to get pregnant.
The process of releasing an egg from one of your ovaries is known as ovulation. After the egg is released at ovulation, it doesnt hang around for long. In fact it lives for just 12 24 hours. If it isnt fertilised by a sperm within this short timeframe, the egg will die and be reabsorbed by your body. Once your egg has died, theres no further chance for getting pregnant until the next menstrual cycle.
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How Long Should You Keep Sperm Inside To Get Pregnant
“When a man ejaculates, sperm swims out, goes directly into the cervical mucus and into the fallopian tubes,” says Serena Chen, M.D., director of the division of reproductive endocrine and infertility at the Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Pennsylvania. “This happens in a matter of seconds, regardless of the position during intercourse.”
Some people think that lying on your back with your hips elevated for 20 minutes after sex will help ensure that every last sperm gets a fighting chance at the prize, but the belief has no scientific foundation. Definitely take the excuse to relax after TTC sex, but if you’re short on time, you don’t need to “wait” for sperm to make its way inside.
Best Time To Get Pregnant You Might Be Surprised
July 25, 2016, by
Article updated September 2019
Timing sex correctly is critical to getting pregnant. If you dont have sex on the handful of days that youre fertile each month, sadly, you wont get pregnant. But figuring out when those fertile days are isnt always easy. Theres a lot of misinformation out there and the best time to get pregnant may not be when you think it is!
In this article, Ill be looking at some of the myths and facts around the best time to get pregnant, and how to ensure you get your timing right!
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Fertility And Your Menstrual Cycle
The most fertile time of your menstrual cycle occurs around ovulation, when your ovaries release a mature egg for fertilization. This window varies from woman to woman, depending on the length and regularity of her menstrual cycles. For those with a 28-day menstrual cycles, ovulation usually occurs between days 13 to 15.
Once an egg is released, it has 12 to 24 hours to be fertilized before it dissolves. Sperm, on the other hand, can stay alive in the body for 3 to 5 days, making a woman fertile for about 5 to 7 days.
How Soon After An Abortion Can You Get Pregnant
Ovulation can occur as soon as 2 weeks after an abortion. This means a person may become pregnant again before their next period. However, menstrual cycles vary in length, and people with shorter cycles may ovulate sooner.
Another factor that influences the timing of ovulation is the duration of the pregnancy before the abortion. If an abortion takes place later in the pregnancy, the person may not ovulate for several weeks afterward. This can occur when pregnancy hormones linger in the body.
A person who wants to avoid pregnancy soon after an abortion may want to use contraception. According to the ACOG, a person can use any contraceptive method, including an intrauterine device, immediately after pregnancy ends.
Anyone who wonders whether they have become pregnant soon after an abortion should take a pregnancy test. If the result is positive, they should see a doctor, who can determine whether there is a new pregnancy or whether leftover pregnancy hormones are present.
People can become pregnant within 2 weeks of an abortion. For those who are ready to get pregnant again, there is generally no medical reason to delay trying to conceive unless a doctor advises otherwise.
A person does not need to take extra steps to become pregnant after an abortion.
However, some doctors recommend waiting until the first menstrual period has ended. This will make it easier to estimate the delivery date of the next pregnancy.
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What Are The Chances Of Getting Pregnant After Giving Birth
Your practitioner will probably give you the green light to start having sex again four to six weeks after youve had your baby. Among women who arent breastfeeding, periods usually kick in six to 12 weeks after delivery.
Most nursing moms wont get their periods for the first three to six months, with many getting their first period about nine or more months after babys birth. Some women can conceive sooner, while others begin ovulating later.
If youre not using some form of contraception, its nearly impossible to determine your personal odds of getting pregnant after giving birth. Thats because every womans body is different, and the timetable for first postpartum ovulation is unpredictable.
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Conception That Occurs Close To Menstruation Or Low Progesterone Levels May Cause What Looks Like A Period While Pregnant
Conception may not occur until mere days before your period is due if you have a short cycle or dont ovulate mid-cycle.
For example, lets say youre regularly maintaining a 26-day cycle. Chances are youll ovulate around day 13. Even if fertilization occurred that day, it would still take six to twelve days for the fertilized egg to reach and implant in your uterine lining.
If those hormone levels are insufficient, such as in a situation of low progesterone from luteal phase defect or had already begun to fall, you might have what seems like a lighter than usual period. You might even have what seems like an entirely normal period. In that case, its possible not to have any indication youre pregnant until you are already around eight weeks pregnant.
This type of bleeding is often referred to as break through bleeding, and is the most common type of bleeding mistaken for a period while pregnant. Break through bleeding is usually seen during the first month of pregnancy but may continue in the first trimester if hormone levels stay low.
Its important to note that any bleeding following the first bleed would not occur in a timely, predictable manner like a period. It would be sporadic bleeding with a varying flow. Multiple timely bleeds like a period, whether irregular/light for you or not, are very unlikely to be pregnancy bleeding.
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If Youre Trying To Get Pregnant
If youre trying to get pregnant, pinpointing ovulation is a vital first step. If youve been dutifully baby dancing mid-cycle and havent yet gotten pregnant, you may even wonder if you have more irregular ovulation and would benefit from sex during or right after your period.
There are several ways you can try to figure out your ovulation patterns. They include:
At-home ovulation predictor kits. These tests work by detecting LH , which surges 12 days before ovulation takes place. So these kits can tell you when youre going to ovulate, but they cant tell you when ovulation has taken place.
Progesterone test kits. Some women who have irregular periods, such as those with PCOS, find that using a kit that detects progesterone the hormone released right after ovulation is helpful to use in addition to a standard ovulation kit. Determining whether or not your body produced progesterone will help you to know if you ovulated or not.
Fertility apps.Ovulation-tracking apps compile a monthly record of multiple factors, such as basal body temperature and cervical mucus. They can help women with regular periods determine when theyre ovulating. We wish we could put this in neon flashing lights, though: These apps can help you get pregnant, but theyre not birth control and shouldnt be used to prevent pregnancy.
How Can I Get Pregnant
If you are planning pregnancy, it is important to know the right time to indulge in sex.
- Stop using the contraceptives throughout the month.
- Track your ovulation period, and have intercourse during the five most fertile days of your menstrual cycle.
Period and the days leading to and following your period are not the best time to get pregnant. If you want to get pregnant, you need to have sexual activity during your ovulation period. But if you want to avoid pregnancy, then you need to take contraceptives even during the less fertile time of before and after periods. Moreover, sex during periods may not be enjoyable due to its messiness.
Have anything to share on this topic? Let us know in the comment section.
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How To Use Fertility Prediction
If you want to use fertility prediction to avoid pregnancy, the process is always the same:
- Determine how many days each monthly cycle lasts
- Predict the day of ovulation by charting signs in your body and counting back 14 days from the first day of your period
- Count back six days from ovulation, and abstain from unprotected sex for these six days
- Do not have any unprotected sex for the entire day after the day you ovulated
Since your cycle may change from month to month, tracking it is not a reliable birth control method.
Your Period Lasts A Long Time
It’s not uncommon to have spotting in the day or so before your period starts and for a few days after that. Because of this bleeding, you might falsely believe you’re still on your period and can’t get pregnant. In reality, though, ovulation can be closer than you think.
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When Is The Best Time After My Period To Get Pregnant An Expert Explains
Timing is everything â especially when youâre trying to conceive . Thereâs plenty to do, from timing when your cycle starts, to what time of day to pee on an ovulation test. When Im charting my fertility window, I even have to find the best time to have sex in order to have the highest chances of conceiving. I know when my period starts each cycle, its kind of like a compass to follow, so when is the best time after my period to get pregnant?
It turns out if youâre watching your cervical mucus, your basal body temperature, and checking an ovulation test kit, youâll be able to figure it out pretty easily. The best time after your period to have sex is either the day before, the day of, or the day after ovulation.
Sperm can live inside you for 72 hours, but knowing when you ovulate makes timing your intercourse a âstraightforward process,â Ross says. âThe idea is to have the sperm waiting for the egg. For example, if you have determined that you ovulate on day 15 , then you can have timed intercourse on day 14, 15, and 16. Having intercourse on these days ensures that the sperm and egg are interfacing with hopes of an embryo being formed.â
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