What is the most fertile period in a cycle?

Question

What is the most fertile period in a cycle?

Answer 1

Let's start with the medical facts:

1. Not all menstrual cycles are 28 days long. 28 is an average. Some women have a cycle of 23 days or less, while others have a cycle of 32 days or more. So it is useless to think "I ovulate 14 days after my periods". Also, the duration of your cycle can vary from one cycle to another, especially if you have recently stopped taking the pill.

2. Ovulation is when an ovary (we have two ovaries) releases an ovule (people refer to it as egg also). This ovule can be fertilised by sperm, on average, for a period of 24 hours (I insist) on average after it is released from the ovary. It could be more, it could be less. It varies a from a woman to another.

3. Sperm survives in a woman's body for 48 hours (2 days) to 120 hours (5 days). Experts say that, on average, sperm survives for 72 hours. This depends on the quality of the sperm (of course) and the vaginal and uterine environments. When a woman is in her fertile period, her cervical mucus becomes less acidic and therefore more "sperm-friendly". When she is not in her fertile period, her cervical mucus becomes more acidic and tighter, forming a plug preventing spermatozoa from reaching the uterus and Fallopian tubes.

So, you are most fertile around your ovulation date: starting 2 days before you ovulate to about 24 hours after you ovulate (the ovule cannot be fertilised after 24 hours usually).

The best way to detect your fertile period is by using a fertility monitor. There are 3 kinds of fertility monitors:

1. LH test strips.

Before you ovulate, your LH (Luteininsing Hormone) levels increase dramatically and trigger the ovulation. Those LH test strips detect this LH surge in your urine. Yes you have to pee on those sticks! So these strips can predict ovulation but cannot confirm it. Also, they do not work for all the women, since some have low levels of hormones (although they are perfectly fertile and have regular cycles) which cannot be detected by those test strips.

2. Temperature charting:

Basal body temperature is the lowest temperature you body attains at rest, usually during undisturbed sleep. When you ovulate, your basal body temperature increases by about half a degree celcius  and stays that way until your periods when it drops again. Women who chart their temperature usually have a routine sleeping pattern and wake up at a fixed time every day to measure their temperature (before doing anything), which is not very pleasant. (My husband and I are trying to conceive and have heard about a new fertility monitor, DuoFertility, that you stick under your arm and measures your temperature continuously. So no need to wake up. We've signed up for their free trial.)

3. Saliva microscopes:

When you ovulate the composition of electrolytes in your saliva changes. You can observe those changes and identify ovulation patterns by collecting saliva and examining it under a microscope. Studies about this technique seem to have mixed results.

You can combine other fertility clues with temperature charting to make ovulation detection even more accurate. These clues include the quality of your cervical mucus (which is more elastic during your fertile period) and your cervix position. Some women also experience ovulation pains, which helps them know when they ovulate.

Answer 2

when the egg ovulates, everyone ovulates at different times during the month, the best way to know when you are ovulating is to take an ovulatuion test

Answer 3

on the 14th day of the menstrual cycle

Answer 4

Nikki is right, all of the charts will tell you that it is about 14 days after you first start your period as well as 14 days before your next period if you are on a 28 day cycle but every woman is different so the only way to know for sure is by using an opk or checking your cervical mucus and position but that can be very frustrating, so I would stick with the opk or just try to have s*x every other day from the time your period ends until the next one starts or you get your BFP. That is the plan I am going to stick to this month. That way I cover any possible ovulation days:)

Answer 5

Women are generally fertile 5 days during their menstrual cycle: 3 days before ovulation, on the ovulation day and 1 day after ovulation.

Answer 6

If you have an average 28 day cycle, anywhere between cd 10 and cd 18. That gives a good week to ttc

Answer 7

Actually, while both of the above answers are kind of right, there is  a way to calculate your 'fertile window', but only if your cycles are pretty regular. Ovulation is ALWAYS around 14 days before your NEXT period, because the corpus luteum has a finite lifespan of 14 days (just like the egg has a finite lifespan of around 1 day).

Sperm can live for 5 days, so your fertile window starts 5 days before your expected ovulation, or 19 days before your period, and ends when the egg dies, lets say 2 days after ovulation (in case Ov is a little late). Therefore if you BD every day starting 20 days before your next period and BD until around 11 or 12 days before your period, you'll catch ovulation. At that stage you still have only a 1 in 4 chance of pregnancy :(

If you're irregular of course, it gets a little harder to figure this all out.