If you are trying to get pregnant, you should have unprotected sexual intercourse when you are fertile. Being aware of your menstrual cycle and the changes in your body that happen during your period can help you know when you are fertile. You are fertile when you are ovulating. You have to figure out when you are ovulating. This is called fertility awareness. Fertility awareness refers to a set of practices used to determine the fertile phase of a woman’s menstrual cycle.
What Doctors Recommend
Doctors recommend that couples who are trying to get pregnant should have sex between days 7 and 20 of a woman’s menstrual cycle. They also recommend that having sex every other day or every third day works just as well as having sex every day. This works despite not knowing the exact time of ovulation because sperm can live inside a woman’s body for 3 to 5 days. However, a released egg only lives for 4 to 12 hours. The highest pregnancy rates have been reported when the egg and sperm join together within 4 to 6 hours of ovulation.
Knowing More About Your Menstrual Cycle
You can get pregnant as per your plan if you learn more about your menstrual cycles and ovulation. The length of menstrual cycles varies from woman to woman. A woman’s menstrual cycles can vary from 21 to 35 days. The average menstrual cycle of a woman is 28 days. The time when ovulation occurs is different in every woman and even can be different from month to month in the same woman. Ovulation is most likely to occur between the 7th day and 20th day of a woman’s 28-day cycle. After ovulation, every woman will have a period within 14 to 16 days.
5 Ways To Get Pregnant Fast
You can get pregnant fast if you have sex when you are ovulating. You are most fertile when you are ovulating. Knowing when exactly you are ovulating helps you get pregnant fast.
The following 5 different methods can help you know when you are ovulating:
1. Calendar Method
Calendar method involves tracking and recording the length of your menstrual periods for at least 9 months.
Recording The Length Of Your Menstrual Period: Circle the first day of your current period on the calendar. Mark it as day 1. Then mark the first day of your next period. Count the number of days between the first days of each period. This number is the length of your period. The length of your cycle may vary from month to month. You may have a longer period in some months and a shorter period in some months. So write down the total number of days of each cycle for at least 9 months. You can find out your most fertile days in the coming months by using this record.
Finding Out The First Day Of Your Ovulation: To find out the first day of your ovulation, subtract 18 from the total number of days in your shortest cycle. Take this new number and count it from day 1 of your current cycle, and mark that day with an X. The day marked X is the first day of your ovulation.
Finding Out Last Day Of Your Ovulation: To find out the last day of your ovulation, subtract 11 from the total number of days in your longest cycle. Take this new number and count it from day 1 of your current cycle and mark that with an X. The day marked X is the last day of your ovulation. The days between the two Xs are your most fertile days.
2. Cervical Mucus Method
The hormones that control your menstrual cycle also induce your cervix to produce mucus or fluid. This is called cervical mucus or cervical fluid. Cervical mucus protects the sperm and helps it move toward the uterus and fallopian tubes. Cervical mucus changes in color, texture, and amount when your body is getting ready to ovulate. There are clear differences in how cervical mucus looks and feels during your menstrual cycle and in between cycles.
- No cervical mucus is present during the menstrual period.
- After the period is over, your vagina is dry and no cervical mucus is present for some days.
- Just before ovulation cervical mucus turns to a sticky/rubbery fluid.
- You are fertile if the mucus becomes very wet/creamy/white.
- You are highly fertile if the mucus becomes slippery, stretchy, and clear like an egg white.
- After ovulation, the vagina becomes dry again and no cervical mucus is present. The cervical mucus may become more like thick bubble gum.
You can find the mucus inside the lower end of the vagina. Use clean fingers to check the cervical mucus. Put your fingers into the vagina and then check the color and texture of the mucus on your fingers. You can tap your thumb and first finger together and then spread your thumb and the first finger apart. Ovulation is about to happen if the mucus stretches when you spread your thumb and finger apart.
3. Basal Body Temperature Method
Basal body temperature is your temperature at rest as soon as you awake in the morning. Your basal body temperature rises slightly with ovulation. The temperature stays at the higher level until your period starts. So, you can predict your most fertile days by recording this temperature daily for several months.
The average oral temperature before ovulation is anywhere from 96 to 98 degrees Fahrenheit. The average oral temperature after ovulation is anywhere between 97 to 99 degrees Fahrenheit. The rise in temperature can be a sudden jump or a gradual climb over a few days. Normally, the temperature hike is very small. A woman’s temperature rises by only 0.4 to 0.8 degrees Fahrenheit with ovulation. As the temperature hike is tiny, you must use a basal body thermometer. These thermometers are very sensitive. They are available in most pharmacies.
Take your temperature as soon as you wake up. Make sure to take your temperature every morning at about the same time. Don’t talk, eat, drink, check your phone, or going to the bathroom before taking your temperature. Certain things can affect your basal body temperature. Avoid the following things to get accurate readings of your temperature:
- Drinking alcohol the night before
- Smoking cigarettes the night before
- Getting poor sleep the night before
- Having a fever
The rise in temperature may not show the exact time of ovulation. But it indicates when the ovulation is going to happen. Almost all women ovulate within three days after their temperature spike.
Sperm can live for 3-5 days in a woman’s body. The sperm can fertilize an egg at any point during that time. So you can get pregnant fast if you have unprotected sex a few days before or during ovulation.
4. Symptothermal Method
Symptothermal method is the most trustworthy method of fertility awareness. It involves using a combination of all three methods of fertility awareness. You can get pregnant really fast if you use all three methods; calendar, cervical mucus, and body basal temperature methods.
5. Ovulation Predictor Kit Method
If you have an irregular menstrual cycle, an ovulation predictor kit can help you find out when you are most fertile. Luteinizing hormone rises about 36 hours before ovulation. You can get pregnant fast if you have unprotected sex when you are ovulating. Ovulation predictor kits can accurately predict when you are ovulating. These kits predict ovulation by detecting the luteinizing hormone (LH) in the urine. You can buy these kits without a prescription at most drug stores.
