What To Expect At Your Appointment
During your first visit with a fertility specialist, your doctor will ask a lot of questions about your history, to try to understand factors that may be making it harder to become pregnant. They may order some blood tests to try to understand any irregularities that might be keeping you from getting pregnant, and to make sure you are in the best possible health to become pregnant. Theyll also order a on your partner though this wont be performed on the day of your initial appointment. Depending on your medical history, you might also plan an ultrasound and additional imaging to further explore. If you arent ovulating, your doctor may prescribe medications, including ones that can help induce ovulation. The best choice is very personal and your doctor will help you understand all of your options.
Wherever you are on your fertility journey, remember that approximately 85% of healthy women will get pregnant within a year of trying. For those who struggle to conceive, you can increase your chances by mixing love with science and seeing a doctor who specializes in fertility.
We want our patients to feel as comfortable as possible during this emotional and sometimes stressful time. Our team is committed to providing the most caring, compassionate, and leading-edge fertility care available.
How Can I Spot The Signs Of Ovulation
Ovulation usually happens about 12 to 16 days before the start of your next period, so it helps to know your cycle length before you start trying to conceive.
You may never have thought about when you might ovulate within your cycle, and if you have been using a hormone contraceptive such as the pill, you wont have had a natural menstrual cycle for a while.
As a first step, mark on your diary the dates that you bleed during a period. You can then count how many days from the first day of your period to your next period to work out the length of your cycle.
If you want to work out when you ovulate, there are a number of things you can try, such as monitoring your cervical mucus changes and body temperature or using ovulation test kits.
Sex During Your Period
The chances are pretty good that you will not get pregnant if you have sex during your period. Menstruation is the signal that the ovum was not fertilized or implanted, leading to a drop in hormone levels and the shedding of the uterine lining. Even if a sperm made it to an egg, which is very unlikely, the uterine lining would not be ready for implantation. So, during this stage in your cycle, your risk of pregnancy remains negligible.
However, the odds of conception during your period arent zero. If you have a very short cycle, ovulation may occur soon after your period. Given that sperm can live inside you for up to three days, having sex at the end of your period may lead to fertilization in the days following it. One study charting the most common conception days in the menstrual cycle shows that odds start to rise on day 7 LMPjust a week past your first day of bleeding.
It’s also important to note that what you may think is a period might not be. An estimated 2.8% of people with periods have spotting around ovulation, which is actually when you are most fertile. In other cases, spotting may be implantation bleeding, a very early sign of pregnancy. Unlike a regular period, spotting in these circumstances is typically lighter in color and flow.
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Fertile Period In Regular Menstruation
Contents
For women who have a regular menstruation cycle, ovulation occurs around the 14th day of the normal 28-day cycle. The fertile period will therefore take place 3 days before and 3 days after that date.
For example, if your menses come on the date 10th, the fertile period after menstruation will be between the 20th and 26th. The most fertile day will be on the 23rd, as this will be the central date of the fertile period. In some cases can use a fertile period calculator to be able to know the fertile period.
Understanding Your Most Fertile Days
Also known as your fertile period, there are about seven days during your menstrual cycle when it is actually possible to get pregnant. These are considered to be your most fertile days.
Technically, your fertility is highest during the five days before you ovulate, the day you ovulate , depending on the time that you ovulate.
There are six days that count as your most fertile days because sperm can live up to 5 days. Once released, your egg can only live for about 24 hours. If you have sexual intercourse during this fertile time, By learning to be your own ovulation predictor, you should be able to identify your most fertile days.
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How Does The Menstrual Cycle Work
- Your cycle starts on the first day of your period and continues up to the first day of your next period.
- This is 28 days on average, but its normal to have a cycle that lasts between 21 and 40 days.
- At the same time, eggs begin to mature in the ovary.
- The lining of the womb thickens ready for fertilisation.
- During ovulation, your cervical mucus becomes thinner and clearer to help the sperm reach the released egg.
- About 12 to 16 days before the start of your next period, an egg is released from your ovaries .
- If sperm is present during ovulation, or some time during the next 24 hours, the egg may be fertilised.
- If the egg has not been fertilised, the egg is re-absorbed by the body, the hormone levels drop, and the womb lining is shed. This is the beginning of your next period.
Read more about how pregnancy works.
Using Ovulation Calculators And Kits
Ovulation calendars and kits can also help you predict ovulation.
Ovulation calendars are available on websites such as www.yourfertility.org.au, and use the date of your last period and the length of your cycle to predict when you are likely to be most fertile.
Home ovulation predictor kits are available from pharmacies. You use the kit a few days before your predicted ovulation day, to test for a rise in the level of a hormone called luteinising hormone in your urine. A positive result indicates you will ovulate within the next 24 to 36 hours.
A blood test, which your doctor can order, can also detect ovulation by measuring levels of the hormone progesterone.
If you are trying to get pregnant, there are also a number of other things you should consider, such as taking folate, maintaining a healthy diet and making sure your vaccinations are up to date.
For more information and support, call Pregnancy, Birth and Baby on 1800 882 436.
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Can You Ovulate On Your Period
You cannot ovulate on your period. If you are trying to plan a pregnancy, the best time to conceive is on the day of ovulation and 24 hours before – so the chances of being fertile on your period are extremely low. Its also worth knowing that some women may experience spotting around ovulation – this is a much smaller amount of blood than you get with period bleeding. If you are spotting, you may be fertile.
How Does Fertility Differ With The Pill
Birth control pills aim to prevent unintended pregnancy. The pill prevents pregnancy by releasing synthetic hormones that stop ovulation from occurring and the uterus lining from thickening.
So, even if the ovaries do release an egg, a fertilized egg would be unable to implant in the wall of the uterus. The pill also thickens cervical mucus, making it harder for sperm to reach an egg.
According to the CDC , the birth control pill is more than 99% effective with perfect use but only 91% effective with typical use. This means that around 9 out of 100 women would become pregnant in a year of taking the pill with typical use.
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Can You Be Fertile On Your Period
While its extremely unlikely, the simple answer is yes. Women are not able to conceive whilst on their period, but sperm survives within the female reproductive system for up to five days. This means that a tiny fraction of women do have a small chance of becoming pregnant from unprotected sex during their period. It all depends on the length of your menstrual cycle simple, right?
Lets take an example, say you have a menstrual cycle shorter than 28 days. You have sex towards the end of your six-day-long period and ovulate shortly after, then there is a chance that some of the sperm survive and you could get pregnant. So while getting pregnant is unlikely, its technically possible if you dont know your fertile window.
Factors That Affect Ovulation
Timing your ovulation can be tricky because it may not happen on the same day or same time every month. The length of your cycle may also change from month to month.
Even carefully tracking the numbers may not always help you to predict ovulation. You may ovulate earlier or later than you predicted.
A change in the day of ovulation can have a number of causes, including:
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When Does Conception Happen
Conception occurs between 12 and 24 hours after ovulation. Its sometimes hard to pinpoint ovulation, so using ovulation predictor kits or tracking your menstrual cycle on a calendar may be helpful. The two biggest factors in conception are:
- The timing of sexual intercourse with ovulation.
- Egg and sperm health.
How Many Fertile Days Are In A Cycle
Its only possible to get pregnant in the first 24 hours after ovulation, but your fertile window the ideal time to have sex is much longer.
Youre actually capable of ovulating once from each ovary , so your ovulation window lasts roughly 72 hours. It should be noted that ovulating from both ovaries isnt especially common.
After intercourse, sperm can live in the body for up to five days. This means that having sex as early as four days before ovulation could still result in a pregnancy.
Furthermore, any day you spot cervical fluid is potentially a fertile day. The bottom line? Although conception can only occur on a maximum of three days per cycle, your fertile window, when sex may result in pregnancy, may last up to eight days.
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Using Ovulation Test Kits
Ovulation predictor kits are available from chemists and are quite easy to use. They work by detecting a hormone in your wee that increases when ovulation is about to take place. The simplest urine kits test for luteinising hormone , which surges 24 to 36 hours before ovulation. This will help to identify the best 2 days for conception, although you can be fertile for a day or so before and after this time.
It is best to become familiar with your usual menstrual cycle to help figure out when you should start testing. If you have an irregular cycle, then an ovulation predictor kit can help you identify the time of ovulation, but you will probably end up using a lot more of the test strips. There is also no evidence that using an ovulation predictor kit will improve your chances of getting pregnant naturally.
Read more about apps, tools and kits for predicting ovulation.
You Had A Period Then You Had Unprotected Sex Are You Pregnant
Possibly, but probably not. If you have a relatively predictable cycle , heres how your odds of baby making shake out:
- If you have a super short cycle , its possible though rare to get pregnant from having sex just after your flow. Sperm can live up to 5 days after sex, so they might swim around long enough to meet up with your next egg.
- If you have irregular cycles, its possible but still rare! to get pregnant from period sex or sex just before or after your flow.
- Youre most likely to get pregnant during your fertile window, the 6-ish days in the middle of a 21- to 35-day cycle.
Getting pregnant just before or after your period is unlikely but its not impossible.
Birth control is the only tried-and-true way to avoid getting preggo, even during your period. And if youre trying for a bun in the oven, calculating your odds throughout the month is still helpful. The more you know, right?
Heres how to tell your baby-making window from your safe-ish zone for unprotected sex.
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How Long Should A Normal Menstrual Cycle Last
An average menstrual cycle lasts 28 days, defined from the first day of menstrual bleeding to the first day of bleeding of the next period. However, irregular periods are very common. An irregular period is defined as a cycle that varies by more than seven to nine days.
There are several reasons why women may have abnormal periods, which can include fibroids, ovarian cysts, polyps, and even something as common as stress.
If youve constantly had an irregular period, please contact us for an appointment to determine the underlying cause and initiate treatment, said Dr. Martinelli.
The Fertile Days In The Menstrual Cycle
The days of fertility in a menstrual cycle are fairly fixed and depend on when you ovulate rather than when your period has ended. Knowing your fertile days can help pinpoint the most likely time to become pregnant during your menstrual cycle. While you can get pregnant right after your period, the most likely day to get pregnant is on the estimated day of ovulation.
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Should I Have Sex Before During Or After Ovulation
For the best chances of pregnancy, you should have sex every day or every other day during the:
- Five days leading up to ovulation
- Day of ovulation
- Day after ovulation
Theres a lot of information about methods for having sex that could increase your chances of getting pregnant. Theres no specific sex position that increases your odds of conceiving. Some lubricants may negatively affect sperm and prevent them from reaching the egg. Talk to your health care provider about which lubricants to avoid.
Can You Get Pregnant On Your Period While Using Birth Control
Its possible to get pregnant when youre using birth control, whether youre on your period or not.
The likelihood that a contraceptive will fail varies depending on the method of birth control :
- Oral contraceptives : About 7 to 9 percent failure rate
- Progestin-only pill: About 7 percent failure rate
- Patch: About 7 to 9 percent failure rate
- Vaginal contraceptive ring: About 7 to 9 percent failure rate
- Male condoms: About 13 to 18 percent failure rate
- Diaphragms: About 12 to 17 percent failure rate
For what its worth, tracking your monthly cycle called fertility awareness in order to avoid pregnancy isnt the most reliable birth control method the typical failure rate may be as high as 23 percent.
The bottom line: Although the odds are slim, you can get pregnant on your period or any other time of the month. Its even possible to get pregnant on your period if youre using birth control.
So unless youre trying to conceive, its always smart to be vigilant about contraception unless you like big surprises.
From the What to Expect editorial team and Heidi Murkoff, author of What to Expect When Youre Expecting. What to Expect follows strict reporting guidelines and uses only credible sources, such as peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions and highly respected health organizations. Learn how we keep our content accurate and up-to-date by reading our medical review and editorial policy.
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Got It So When Can You Have Unprotected Sex
Erm NEVER?!
Just kidding . In general, your period is the part of your cycle when youre least likely to make a baby. But regardless of timing, its impossible to be 100 percent sure that unprotected sex wont result in pregnancy.
If you have a 28-day cycle that runs like clockwork, your fertile window lasts for about 6 days mid-cycle . Your safest bet for unprotected sex is a week or so after ovulation just before, during, or just after your period.
But and were sounding like a broken record you could still get pregnant if you have an unpredictable cycle, if you have short cycles, or if you have sex within 5 days of your fertile window .
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Why Are You Fertile So Long After Your Period
Gauging the fertility of an individual is a highly scientific endeavor. The fertility levels of a woman change in accordance with the hormonal changes that are taking place in her body as a consequence of the menstrual cycle.
Usually, by the third day of your period, the levels of the two reproductive hormones- estrogen and progesterone- start rising again. This increase is important for the thickening of the endometrial layer of the uterus. It signifies that the body is once again preparing for the next cycle.
Soon after this process is initiated, around the fourth day, the follicles also start preparing for the release of the egg. Now, fertility is usually correlated to the release of the egg from the ovaries- a process known as ovulation. Thus, when ovulation occurs, the fertility of a woman is at the highest after her period.
For women who have a standard menstrual cycle, extending to 28 days, this will happen around the middle of the cycle. In other words, it happens around the 14th day before the next period. However, women with shorter cycles experience ovulation much faster than others. This implies that they will be fertile much before the 14th day of the cycle.
Moreover, it is critical to cognize that it is possible to conceive a child even if the unprotected intercourse happens a week before the ovulation date. This is because the sperm can live in the cervical mucus for up to 7 days. Thus, the possibility of pregnancy remains quite apparent.
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