When is the Best Time to Get Pregnant

When is the Best Time to Get Pregnant

Uncovering just when is the best time to get pregnant often involves accurate calculation and timing of your menstrual cycle. Usually women have a sense of how often they menstruate. A typical cycle varies in length from between 23 and 35 days from day 1 of your period. Your period usually then lasts anywhere from 3 to 7 days. Any variation in cycle length usually occurs before ovulation. Most women usually have 12–16 days between the time of their ovulation and the start of their next period. Once ovulation has occurred and your egg has been released, it moves along one of your fallopian tubes towards your womb. Without fertilization, the egg can survive for up to 24 hours. At the same time, sperm can live for several days. Therefore, there are three highly fertile days - the two days before ovulation and the day of ovulation - when it is the best time to get pregnant.

Doctors recommend that you have sex once a day on each of your three most fertile days, to increase the chances of getting pregnant. To better understand out when you are ovulating, you can also monitor your mittelschmerz, cervical mucus, and basal temperature.

• Mittelschmerz is a German word that means "middle pain." Some women experience an achy or dull sensation on either side of the abdomen when ovulation begins; others have very intense pain that can last a few minutes, several hours, or even up to 48 hours.
• During ovulation, cervical mucus assists the sperm in surviving its journey toward the egg. When you’re ovulating, you produce much more clear, stretchy, slippery cervical mucus.
• Your basal temperature is your body’s temperature upon awakening and before getting out of bed. A slight rise in body temperature occurs during ovulation, so keeping a daily chart of your basal temperature can let you know when ovulation has occurred. Your temperature will rise only slightly (0.04 to 0.06 degrees), so using a special basal thermometer is recommended. Start your chart on the first day of your period.

If you still have trouble telling when you ovulate even with these tips on how to increase the chances of getting pregnant, have sex 2-3 times a week, every week, just to be sure.

4/27/2007 3:44:29 PM