The fertility window is not as wide open as one may think so finding the right time in a cycle to manage to have sex that will likely result in pregnancy takes a full understanding of the ovulation cycle and fertility days. Women have just 2 fertile days each cycle and it’s during one of these two days that the sperm must make their way up the vaginal canal, through the uterus and into the fallopian tubes to penetrate the egg if conception is to occur.

Many different factors influence fertility but overall, one of the best ways to ensure that you are taking part in sexual activity at the right time is to know your body. Every woman is different and there’s more that goes into determining fertility days than just subtracting X number of days from the first day of your period. Other bodily clues can help you to better understand if you are fertile or if there is a fertile day approaching in your cycle.

Your Best Time to Get Pregnant?

The best time to get pregnant is when you are fertile! Understanding how to tell if your are fertile is a whole different story!

The menstrual cycle is typically broken down into three phases. The first phase is the menstrual phase which begins the first day of the cycle when menstrual bleeding begins. This phase typically lasts about 5 days but may be longer or shorter depending on your individual cycle. Following the menstrual phase, women cycle into the follicular phase which is the time of the woman’s cycle when the egg follicle gets ready to release into the fallopian tube. This phase varies significantly and may be short or long depending on your own individual cycle.

Following the follicular phase, the woman’s cycle transitions into the luteal phase. It is during the last 5 days of the follicular phase and the first day of ovulation that the woman is most fertile and should be making every attempt to connect her egg with awaiting sperm. The luteal phase starts on the first day of ovulation and continues until the first day of the woman’s next period.

Predicting Ovulation

For many years, many women were prone to believe in the myth that ovulation occurred on the 14th day of the menstrual cycle. Unfortunately, every woman’s cycle is different which means there is no way to predict that ovulation will occur on the 14th day or the 15th day or any particular day at that. In fact, women ovulate on different days each cycle so even if you ovulate on the 15th day one cycle, you may ovulate earlier or later in the next cycle. This is due to changes in the follicular phase of the cycle which can range from 7 to 22 days long depending on the woman herself.

There are steps that you can take to predict ovulation and have a better chance at making sure to have sex leading up to the time when you ovulate. This provides you with a better chance at timing sex in a way that will result in a positive pregnancy test. During the time leading up to ovulation, many bodily changes are occurring such as changes in cervical mucus, changes in basal body temperature and changes in the cervix.

A woman’s cervical mucus will feel very dry following the onset of menstruation. As the body prepares for ovulation, the cervical mucus will tend to become slippery. During the days just before ovulation (the days when you are most likely to become pregnant) the cervical mucus becomes very thick and tends to resemble raw egg whites. This is the time when conception is most likely because the slippery mucus acts as a transportation medium for the sperm.

Basal body temperature will tend to rise little by little leading up to ovulation. This can be tracked each day by using a thermometer to measure the temperature inside the vagina at the same time each day. During the days leading up to ovulation, when a woman is most likely to become pregnant, the basal body temperature (BBT) will rise until ovulation has occurred. Then this temperature tends to take a dip and continue to fall until the next ovulatory cycle.

Finally, changes in the cervix are also clues as to when ovulation is going to or has already occurred. Early in the cycle, when menstruation has just occurred, the cervical position will be low and the cervix will tend to feel like a fingertip. As your body nears the point of ovulation, the cervix will become softer, it will open slightly and it will feel supple like your lips. Your most fertile time, the best time to get pregnant during your cycle, is when the cervical position is in a SHOW position. SHOW is the acronym that stands for soft, high, open and wet.

These are just some of the ways that you can take note of your fertility and make sure that you are taking the steps to achieve pregnancy during the right time of the menstrual cycle. Keep in mind that you should keep daily track of changes within your body and that it’s best to have sex on the days leading up to and immediately following ovulation in order to have the best chance of becoming pregnant.