Conception

How to find the best fertile days to conceive a child

What are the methods to understand when you are fertile in order to target intercourse and get pregnant?

Are you ready for pregnancy research?

If you have already been checked by the gynecologist and have started taking folic acid , you just have to understand which are the best days to have intercourse. This means nothing more than understanding when you are ovulating .

There are various ways to understand your fertility. The cheapest way is to understand the signals that our body sends us through the presence of a wet sensation and fertile cervical mucus.

Or you can use other methods that include calculations and ovulation tests.

The basics

  • You can ovulate about 11 to 16 days before your next period. If and only if you are as regular as a Swiss watch, you can rely on the fertile days calculator for the first few attempts
  • To get pregnant, you should have intercourse 2-3 days before and on the day of ovulation. These are in fact the 3 most fertile days ever. In reality, given that sperm survive up to 3-5 days in the woman’s body after intercourse, one is fertile from 4-5 days before ovulation until the day after ovulation (the oocyte remains fertilizable 12-24 hours after ovulation)
  • Spermatozoa can live up to about 5 days in the woman’s body, while the egg only 12-24 hours. That’s why it’s good to have sex before and during ovulation: this increases the chances that sperm and egg meet.
  • The basal body temperature method helps confirm that ovulation has occurred.
  • Ovulation tests can help you predict your fertile days

It is generally not recommended to jump headlong into tests and graphs in the first few months of trying. This can in fact cause unnecessary stress. On average, three relationships a week would be enough without any kind of accounts to increase the chances of pregnancy and live the search and the relationship peacefully.

However, if the first few months of attempts are unsuccessful then it makes sense to start verifying that you have intercourse on the right days and that ovulation actually takes place at the correct times.

Ovulation tests are also useful when it is not possible to have frequent intercourse due to work.

Ovulation tests

On the market you will find a bit of everything, and above all at decidedly variable prices.

Everyone goes to identify the peak of the LH hormone that occurs a few days before ovulation (burst of the follicle which releases the oocyte to be fertilized).

The cheapest are undoubtedly the Canadian tests , which allow them to be performed several times a day since with a few euros you can buy dozens of them.

The Femometer tests are widely used  because they are combined with an app that helps to read the two lines (the app is not necessary anyway).

These tests read the hormone LH which begins to increase approximately 35-44 hours before ovulation and peaks approximately 10-12 hours before.

In addition to these tests that read a single hormone, there are others that read two, such as the Persona Tests or the Clearblue digital Tests (purple colour)   which indicate the 5 most fertile days of the cycle.
The latter detect not only LH but also estrogen that rises before the LH surge. They are therefore able to predict the 2 most fertile days + 4 more in which it is possible to get pregnant by having intercourse in those days (thanks to the survival of the sperm). We remind you that intercourse every other day is sufficient in the fertile period.

Digital monitors (Persona or Clearblue),   on the other hand, store monthly urine data, therefore after the first month of data collection, from the second they can give indications on fertility and can be used both for pregnancy research and as contraceptive methods.

There are also saliva tests to detect ovulation.
They go to examine the mineral content in saliva when it dries. They are supplied with a mini microscope that allows you to view any salivary patterns. If you notice a fern leaf shape then ovulation is near.

While urine ovulation tests are used only once, saliva tests can be used multiple times. This is certainly an economic advantage but saliva tests are not good for all women. In fact, not all of them are able to see the fern, and the sickle is not present on all fertile days.

So if you opt for a test to detect ovulation, choose the urine tests that are more reliable.

How much to try to have a baby without worrying?

If you are under 36, it is advisable to try for a year with targeted intercourse (that is, in which you are sure you have had intercourse on your fertile days).

After the age of 35-36, specialists generally recommend having fertility checks already after 6 months of unsuccessful attempts.

Summing up

How many days is a woman fertile in a menstrual cycle (ie between periods)?
Only 6-7 and this is what is called the fertile window (or fertile period).

Spermatozoa can live up to 4-5 days in a woman’s body after intercourse so they are fertile 4-5 days before ovulation, the day of ovulation itself and the day after. The egg cell that is released from the follicle at the time of ovulation remains fecundable for 12-24 hours but becomes less and less fecundable as the hours go by. The best thing therefore is that at the moment of ovulation there are already viable spermatozoa ready to fertilize the cell.
In the stork’s beak  

Dr Kathryn Barlow

Kathryn Barlow is an OB/GYN doctor, which is the medical specialty that deals with the care of women's reproductive health, including pregnancy and childbirth.

Obstetricians provide care to women during pregnancy, labor, and delivery, while gynecologists focus on the health of the female reproductive system, including the ovaries, uterus, vagina, and breasts. OB/GYN doctors are trained to provide medical and surgical care for a wide range of conditions related to women's reproductive health.

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