Each woman’s menstrual cycle is different, so getting to know your body better can improve your chances of conception.
Getting pregnant fast is far from simple, but calculating which days of the month you will be ovulating can take away some of the guesswork. Wondering where to start? Simplify trying to conceive ovulation calculator which tells you which days of the month you’re most likely to get pregnant.
Ovulation Date Calculator
A woman is able to become pregnant (fertile) only during a certain part of her monthly cycle. That is just before and during ovulation. By learning when you ovulate, you can predict when you’re likely to be fertile. This calculator gives approximate ovulation dates and fertile times for women who have regular periods. (Regular periods mean having a period every 21 to 35 days.) Fertility charting, basal temperature tracking, and purchased ovulation test kits can also be used to help predict a woman’s fertile times. These are especially useful if a woman has irregular periods.
For Ovulation Calculator to be the most accurate and useful, you’ll need to keep track of the dates of your recent menstrual periods.
Your cycle length is the number of days between the first day of bleeding of one period, and the first day of bleeding of the next. This can vary from 23 to 35 days, and 28 days is about average. If you have irregular menstrual cycles, calculating your ovulation date can be more difficult, but we suggest going by your shortest period date to ensure you don’t miss your ovulation date.
Conception and sex
To boost your chances of conceiving, aim to have regular sex throughout your cycle so you know that there should hopefully be good-quality sperm waiting for the time that the egg is released. An active sex life is all most people need to conceive.
If you are quite sure when you ovulate each month you can give yourself the best chance of getting pregnant by having sex in the days leading up to ovulation. Continue having sex during ovulation. After this your fertile time will be over for that cycle.
When is the best time to conceive?
To increase your chances of getting pregnant, you need to get your fertile eggs and your partner’s sperm together as often as possible. You can only get pregnant on the few days each cycle around ovulation, when an egg is released.
How does the menstrual cycle work?
- Your cycle starts on the first day of your period and continues up to the first day of your next period.
- At the same time, eggs begin to mature in the ovary.
- The lining of the womb thickens ready for fertilization.
- During ovulation your cervical mucus becomes thinner and clearer to help the sperm reach the released egg.
- About 10 to 16 days before the start of your next period, an egg is released from one of the ovaries (ovulation).
- If sperm is present at the moment of ovulation, or sometime during the next 24 hours, the egg may be fertilized.
- If the egg has not been fertilized, the egg is re-absorbed by the body, the hormone levels drop, and the womb lining is shed. This is the beginning of your next period.
How to spot the signs of ovulation
Ovulation usually happens about 10 to 16 days before the start of your next period, so it helps to know your cycle length before you start trying to conceive.
You may never have considered when you might ovulate within your cycle, and if you have been using a hormone contraceptive such as the Pill, you won’t have had a natural menstrual cycle for a while.
As a first step, mark on your ovulation calendar the dates that you bleed during a period. You can then count how many days from the first day of your period to your next period to work out the length of your cycle.
1. Cervical mucus changes
The cervix secretes mucus throughout the menstrual cycle, starting off sticky white and gradually becoming thinner and clearer. Before and during ovulation the mucus increases and becomes much thinner, slippery and stretchy. Women often compare it to raw egg white.
This thinner mucus is designed to help the sperm swim easily through it. It indicates that you are in your fertile phase, so this is the time to have sex if you want to get pregnant, but use contraception if you do not!
The last day you notice the wetter secretions is sometimes known as ‘peak day’ and for most women this occurs very close to the time of ovulation.
2. Temperature
You can also find out about your menstrual cycle by keeping a note of your temperature each morning when you wake up. Your temperature rises by about 0.2°C when ovulation has taken place. As it is only an indicator that you have ovulated, and doesn’t tell you when your fertile time starts, this is not very useful for most women.
Facts about timing:
Ovulation is when a mature egg is released from the ovary. The egg then moves down the fallopian tube where it can be fertilized. If sperm are in the fallopian tube when the egg is released, there is a good chance that the egg will be fertilized, creating an embryo, which can grow into a baby.
Pregnancy is technically only possible if you have sex during the five days before ovulation or on the day of ovulation. But the most fertile days are the three days leading up to and including ovulation. Having sex during this time gives you the best chance of getting pregnant.
By 12-24 hours after ovulation, a woman is no longer able to get pregnant during that menstrual cycle because the egg is no longer in the fallopian tube.
There’s almost no chance of getting pregnant if you have sex before or after the fertile window (but if you’re not trying to get pregnant, don’t rely on this – contraception is your best option!).
MAIN POINTS:
- A woman can only get pregnant during the ‘fertile window’ in the menstrual cycle.
- There are a few ways to work out when you’re ovulating.
- Your chance of getting pregnant is dramatically increased if you have sex on the day of ovulation, or two days before that.