Timing is everything when it comes to falling pregnant – you need to have sexual intercourse during your fertile time in order to conceive.
So when is your fertile time?
A woman is most fertile during mid cycle ovulation. Ovulation generally occurs 14 days before the start of the next period. That is around day 15 on a 29 day menstrual cycle.
To successfully conceive – it is best to have intercourse in the fertile window of opportunity starting at a bout 2-3 days before ovulation.
Sperm can live for up to 3 days in the right conditions, and it is the fertile cervical mucus present in a woman’s cervix and vagina in the few days leading up to ovulation that creates these perfect conditions for sperm.
There are a couple of ways to find out when your fertile time is – by counting the days (the rhythm method) or observing fertile mucus.
Counting the days
Day 1 of bleeding is the first day of your cycle. So when you are charting this is where you start. Grab a calendar or diary and start marking the days of your cycle and after a month or two or four you will have a pretty good idea of what your body does each month.
Counting the days or using the rhythm method might be fine if you have a very regular cycle but what if you don’t? well if your cycle varies from month to month you can observe your fertile mucus to tell when you are fertile.
Your body starts preparing for ovulation a few days before it happens Hence the fertile window before ovulation. Cervical mucus is a great fertility indicator.
Observing mucus is covered in detail on this page Mucus
The bottom line is Cervical Mucus is one of the most important indicators of fertility. It will change throughout the menstrual cycle from being dry, thick or pasty (infertile) to being wet and slippery (fertile).
It is the job of the cervical mucus to either restrict or allow sperm penetration through the cervix. Getting to know your body and its types of mucus is a very important step in this process. Different women have different symptoms or characteristics of mucus, differences in the wetness, colour, smell, pastiness, so it only by “Knowing Thyself’ that you can know what your own personal pattern is… Personal observation is extremely important.
So to achieve pregnancy – OBSERVE WHEN YOU ARE FERTILE – count mid cycle days or observe fertile mucus ( or both ) and THEN HAVE SEX. Getting the timing right in this way helps enormously.
What about Lunar Fertility??
There is one more window of opportunity and that is lunar fertility. Studies have shown that women can be and are fertile during the same phase of the moon that they were born under. Go here for more info.
So to really increase your chances of getting pregnant – synchronising your mid cycle ovulation to your natal lunar phase fertile time can give you that extra oomph to help you conceive.
Coming off the Pill
If you have just come off the Pill and are ready to have a baby, be prepared for the fact that conception may not happen straight away.
You need to remember that while you have been on the Pill you have been having a fake or artificial menstrual cycle. The hormones in the Pill have been running and regulating your menstrual cycle not your body.
When you come off the Pill it takes a little while for your body to regain its natural hormonal rhythm. It essentially has to start doing what it hasn’t been doing in some time. How long it takes for your body to regain its rhythm is individual. Be patient.
