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Statistically speaking, every time that you ovulate, there is a 27-33% chance of conception should you have engaged in intercourse within the 72 hours leading up to the time of ovulation (https://www.fertilitysociety.com, 2020). That being said, you have to know a thing or two about your cycle to understand when your body is ovulating! Today's blog post will give you some helpful tips to know about your body before beginning your journey into trying to conceive.
Getting to Know Your Fertility Cycle
Begin tracking your whole cycle from menses to menses to identify changes in
your body and to begin to identify your ovulation time and fertility window.
Methods
There are three main methods of tracking fertility, the most effective is
combining all three.
The Temperature Method- keeping track of your basal body
temperatures first thing in the morning.
The Cervical Mucus Method- Tracking changes in your cervical fluid for
fertile fluid.
The Calendar Method- Tracking your whole cycle by writing your
changes you observe down on a calendar.
Key Components Necessary for Conception
An egg needs to be released during ovulation and is fertile for about 12 to
24 hours.
Sperm is needed and can survive for up to 5 days with the right conditions.
Wet-Quality Fertile Cervical Fluid is needed, which is typically egg-white,
slippery, stretchy, and wet.
Additional Signs of Ovulation
Wet-Quality Fertile Cervical Fluid is the best indication of fertility.
A cervix that is high, soft, and open.
Increased Libido
Often a temperature rise in basal body temperature is known as a sign, but is a common misconception and typically the rise happens after the egg is gone. This is why cervical fluid is the best indicator to catch your most fertile days.
Positive Ovulation Test
Frequency and Timing of Intercourse
This is very individual to each couple and each cycle, but a general guideline is that fertility can begin as early as day 8 in a cycle to as late as day 20 or beyond.
This is why getting to know your cycle is important. Generally, after menses, you will be dry. The next stage is sticky or creamy discharge before it gets more wet and slippery and turns into egg-white fertile fluid. The time to begin intercourse is as soon as any wetness begins instead of dry due to the lifespan of sperm. Frequency is no hard, fast rule; some do daily, others do every other day. This is personal between you and your partner.
Helpful Tools
Fertility Charts or App
Basal Body Thermometer
Ovulation testing kits or strips
Things to Consider
You can conceive, but if your time from Ovulation to your next Menses is less than 10 days, your fertilized egg will not have enough time to implant in the uterus, causing a seemingly normal or late menses even if conception occurred. More than 18 high temperatures are a sign you may have become pregnant. Fertility Awareness Methods are 77%–98% effective. That means 2–23 out of 100 couples who use FAMs will get pregnant each year. Ovulation Tests can be thrown off by most fertility drugs, especially those that contain FSH, LH, or HCG, certain antibiotics containing tetracycline, and hormone therapy (HT). It can also be thrown off by taking it at the wrong time based on instructions on the kit vs. based on your own cycles. The benefits of this method are education about your own body and optimizing your fertility to be personalized to you, and it is low cost. The disadvantages are that it does not prevent STIs or HIV.
Want to know more?
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References:
Fertility awareness-based methods of family planning. (2022). ACOG. https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/fertility-awareness-based-methods-of-family-planning
Fertility awareness methods | Natural birth control. (2024). Planned Parenthood. https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/birth-control/fertility-awareness#:~:text=Every%20day%20you%20take%20your,re%20doing%20them%20every%20day.
Weschler, T. (2015). Taking charge of your fertility, 20th-anniversary edition: The guide to natural birth control, pregnancy achievement, and reproductive health. William Morrow Paperbacks.
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