The best way to find out your individual and unique fertile days is to keep track of your cervical mucus, basal body temperature and menstrual periods.
There are ranges for women's most fertile days, but this range can vary greatly from woman-to-woman. It can also vary greatly from cycle-to-cycle. Typically, women ovulate about 2 weeks before their menstrual period, which is not the most helpful way to calculate your most fertile days!
Most experts suggest women who are trying to conceive to have unprotected sex often (every-other day, or at least 3 times per week) for the best changes of conception. You can really become anxious and stressed with a lot of tracking (and many women--including myself--become symptomatic because we are so in-tuned with our bodies that we notice every little cramp, ache, twitch, discharge, etc).
You can read about tracking your cervical mucus, as the discharge changes throughout your cycle, and the consistency and quantity changes when you are ovulating (most fertile). It is best to have frequent sex BEFORE you ovulate, so again...tracking your "CM" only helps so much.
Knowing these facts can also help you:
- Healthy women "only" have a 20% chance of conception with each cycle
- Healthy women should prepare for 6-12 months of trying to conceive; it does not automatically happen the instant we are off birth control (of course, for some women it does)
- Sperm can live inside a woman's body (who is not on hormonal contraception) for up to 3-5 days, and is the reason experts suggest frequent sex before ovulation. It is better for the sperm to be "waiting" for the egg to be released, and the ovum is only viable for 24 hours!
Comment Reply
The best way to find out your individual and unique fertile days is to keep track of your cervical mucus, basal body temperature and menstrual periods.
There are ranges for women's most fertile days, but this range can vary greatly from woman-to-woman. It can also vary greatly from cycle-to-cycle. Typically, women ovulate about 2 weeks before their menstrual period, which is not the most helpful way to calculate your most fertile days!
Most experts suggest women who are trying to conceive to have unprotected sex often (every-other day, or at least 3 times per week) for the best changes of conception. You can really become anxious and stressed with a lot of tracking (and many women--including myself--become symptomatic because we are so in-tuned with our bodies that we notice every little cramp, ache, twitch, discharge, etc).
You can read about tracking your cervical mucus, as the discharge changes throughout your cycle, and the consistency and quantity changes when you are ovulating (most fertile). It is best to have frequent sex BEFORE you ovulate, so again...tracking your "CM" only helps so much.
Knowing these facts can also help you:
- Healthy women "only" have a 20% chance of conception with each cycle
- Healthy women should prepare for 6-12 months of trying to conceive; it does not automatically happen the instant we are off birth control (of course, for some women it does)
- Sperm can live inside a woman's body (who is not on hormonal contraception) for up to 3-5 days, and is the reason experts suggest frequent sex before ovulation. It is better for the sperm to be "waiting" for the egg to be released, and the ovum is only viable for 24 hours!
Good luck!
February 27, 2011 - 10:52pmThis Comment
Reply