For many people, trying to conceive can be emotionally challenging and stressful. Understanding your menstrual cycle, cycle tracking and recognising the signs of ovulation can be very helpful and improve your chances of conception.
Please note: This video may not be copied or used, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of City Fertility © 2016.
Ovulation is a key phase of the menstrual cycle. Ovulation is when an egg is released from the ovary during a woman’s monthly period. For most women with a regular 28-day cycle, ovulation usually happens around day 14, but this timing can vary from person to person. Understanding your cycle and ovulation can help if you’re trying to conceive.
To calculate your “fertile window”, you’ll need to know what day you ovulate. To do this you need to first track your cycle length (which can vary from 23 to 32 days). Count the days from the first day of your last period to the first day of your next one. Subtract 14 from the total and this gives your ovulation day. If your periods are irregular or the length of your cycle varies each month, it becomes more difficult to pinpoint your ovulation date. Ovulation urine tests may be useful, but you may also want to consider seeking further advice from your GP or a fertility specialist.
You may also be able to tell that ovulation is occurring if you feel a backache or tenderness in your lower abdomen. This may last a few minutes to a few hours. If you don’t notice these signs, you can still look out for other changes in your body.
As your menstrual cycle progresses, check your cervical mucus daily. This is the discharge that you see in your underwear or on toilet tissue. It will change in consistency, depending on where you are in your cycle. About the time of ovulation, your cervical mucus becomes clear, slippery and stretchy.
Following ovulation, your temperature can go up by about 0.2C (FPA 2010). You likely won’t feel the change, but you may be able to detect it on a basal body temperature (BBT) thermometer. This temperature spike is an indication that you have ovulated. Releasing an egg (ovulation) stimulates the production of the hormone progesterone, which raises your temperature. You are most fertile in the two or three days before your temperature increases.
The best method of identifying when you are ovulating is to chart your temperature each morning for a few months, that way you can detect a pattern and pinpoint your likely ovulation date. Once you know this you can plan to have sex during two to three days before the day your temperature begins to rise.
The days leading up to ovulation are the most fertile in your menstrual cycle – we call this your “fertile window”. This corresponds with days 12 – 16 in a 28-day cycle with a 14-day luteal phase. During this time, the egg is moving down the fallopian tube, waiting to be fertilised.
At City Fertility we encourage couples to have unprotected intercourse every two days throughout the female’s “fertile window”. This means that sperm are ready and waiting for the egg when the female ovulates. If you wait until after ovulation has occurred, you will likely have missed the opportunity for conception that month.
If you have not conceived after 12 months of trying (or six months if you’re aged over 35), it’s time to meet with your GP or a fertility specialist. At City Fertility we also have our own GPs who can assist with fertility. They offer free fertility health consultations and can start some investigations.
The City Fertility team have helped thousands of people become parents and we would love to help you. We understand the emotional journey of fertility and know you don’t need to face this alone. We can support you with compassionate care and a range of support services for guidance and comfort, please reach out to our team, we’re always happy to help.
Whilst knowing when you ovulate and your fertile window will help many people conceive, there may be fertility issues to consider. These include increasing maternal age, lifestyle and environmental situations as well as medical conditions.
There are several lifestyle changes you can make to boost your fertility and give your baby the best start in life.
Some of these include:
For further information on pre-conception care, please head to City Fertility’s dedicated page for detailed guidance and personalised support.
Anovulation is the medical term used when a woman does not ovulate. It can result from several factors, including hormonal imbalances, age and early menopause and medical conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The most common symptom of anovulation is an extended menstrual cycle, over 32 days.
Irregular periods often make it difficult to know when a woman is most fertile, but even those with an irregular cycle ovulate, just at different points in their cycle. The challenge here to pinpoint ovulation and the fertile window in each cycle. Whilst irregular cycles are usually not dangerous, it is important to determine the reason for this and a fertility specialist can assist you.
When you are trying to fall pregnant and it is just not happening fast enough, it can be a challenging experience for everyone involved.
We recommend that if you’ve been trying to conceive naturally for 12 months (six months if you’re over 35), it’s best to seek advice.
Our team at City Fertility are here to help you on your journey to having a baby, so please reach out. You can call our Fertility Advice Centre team, make an appointment with one of our fertility specialists or take up a free fertility health consultation with a City Fertility GP. We can support and guide you to grow your family.
Request an appointment with one of our specialists.
Make your appointment
