Predicting ovulation
Having sex with your partner on the day you ovulate gives the best chance for the egg and the sperm to meet successfully. However, tracking your ovulation can at times be a bit tricky.
As discussed above, a woman's menstrual cycle typically lasts an average of 28 days; however, this is not always the case. Your menstrual cycle can last the standard 28 days or anywhere from 21 to 38 days. To make matters more complicated, it may also vary slightly from month to month and change over time.
While for some, making a baby can happen literally overnight, realistically the odds are that it will take a little longer. Even many healthy, fully fertile couples take six months or longer of actively trying before they become pregnant.
Understanding how to track your ovulation and the signals your body gives you during ovulation can assist greatly with your chances of conceiving. Let’s take a deeper dive in understanding ovulation.
The Fertile Window
On average the six days leading up to, and including, ovulation is what is commonly referred to as the ‘fertile window’. This is the period of time when sexual intercourse may lead to pregnancy.
The sperm can live in the fallopian tubes for several days after sex, ready to fertilise the egg once it is released. Once the egg is in the fallopian tubes, it however only lives for around 24 hours before it can no longer be fertilised, thus ending the fertile window.
Signs and Symptoms of Ovulation
- Basal body temperature (BBT) is a person's at-rest temperature. It is usually estimated by a temperature measurement immediately after awakening and before any physical activity has been undertaken. During ovulation your basal body temperature falls slightly, then rises again
- When you’re approaching ovulation, secretions near the cervix known as cervical mucus increase and you will notice wetter, clearer and more slippery mucus, similar to that of egg whites
- Just before ovulation, the cervix moves up higher (you may even have difficulty reaching it), becomes softer to the touch, and opens slightly. When you’re not in the fertile stage of your cycle, the cervix is lower, harder, and more closed
- Nature knows exactly how to get you to have sex at the ideal time for conception. Your sex drive may increase right before and during ovulation
- Ever notice a sharp pain in your lower abdomen that seems to occur randomly? If that pain comes mid-cycle, you may be experiencing ovulation pain. Ovary pain characterised by discomfort or pain on one side of the abdomen is called mittelschmerz
- For some women, their sense of smell sharpens as they near ovulation, and they become particularly sensitive to musky scents and male pheromones
It is important to understand that if you are not ovulating, you cannot get pregnant (anovulation is the medical term for not ovulating). If you’re ovulating irregularly, it may be difficult to know your when you are in the 'fertile window', thus making it harder to conceive.
