{"id":29363,"date":"2018-12-21T14:14:44","date_gmt":"2018-12-21T22:14:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.avawomen.com\/?p=29363"},"modified":"2020-01-29T10:09:44","modified_gmt":"2020-01-29T18:09:44","slug":"when-are-you-most-fertile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.avawomen.com\/avaworld\/when-are-you-most-fertile\/","title":{"rendered":"When Are You Most Fertile? How to Find Your Best Time to Get Pregnant."},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re trying to increase your chances of getting pregnant<\/a>, you might be wondering when you’re most fertile. The short answer: Your fertile window is the name for the six-day range each month that you can conceive. Pinpointing it accurately is the key to getting pregnant, as these are the days that a healthy sperm can fertilize a viable egg.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here, we will review: how to pinpoint your fertile days and why it’s essential to do so.<\/span><\/p>\n

When are you most fertile?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Like many things in life, when it comes to getting pregnant\u2014timing is everything. During the average woman\u2019s menstrual cycle, there are six days when sex can result in a pregnancy. These days, the five days before ovulation and the day of ovulation itself, are your fertile days. <\/span><\/p>\n

The fertile window extends for six days because sperm can live for up to <\/span>five days <\/span><\/a>in the female reproductive tract. So, if you have sex in those five days pre-ovulation, the sperm can wait it out in your fallopian tubes for a dominant follicle to rupture and release an egg. Or, if you have sex on ovulation day, the sperm and egg can arrive in the fallopian tubes around the same time. (Though <\/span>research<\/span><\/a> has shown that when conception occurs on ovulation day itself, it is more likely to result in a what’s called a <\/span>chemical pregnancy<\/span><\/a> or a loss.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are your most fertile days, ranked in order:<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
2-3 days before ovulation<\/span><\/td>\n20 \u2013 30 percent chance of conception<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4 days before ovulation<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/td>\n		10 \u2013 12 percent chance of conception<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ovulation day <\/span>
\n<\/span><\/td>\n		10 \u2013 12 percent chance of conception<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5-6 days before ovulation<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/td>\n		0 \u2013 5 percent chance of conception<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n


\n<\/span>The most important thing to note here is that you can conceive anytime during the five days before ovulation and on ovulation day itself. Within your six-day fertile window, the two to three days before ovulation are your most fertile.<\/span><\/p>\n

The fertile days are around cycle day 14 right? (Not necessarily.)<\/span><\/h2>\n

The reality is: menstrual cycle lengths vary. The basic understanding of the menstrual cycle was developed between 1910 and 1960. And at that time, <\/span>research<\/span><\/a> established that the average cycle was 28-days long and ovulation tended to occur on day 14. And following those established norms, little research was conducted on the variability of women\u2019s menstrual cycles. <\/span><\/p>\n

But more recent research, like this <\/span>study<\/span><\/a>\u2014an extensive menstrual cycle study which examined 184 women attempting to conceive\u2014uncovered the variabilities that exist in the female menstrual cycle. This study looked at 58 nonconceptive and 111 pregnancy menstrual cycles. The results of this study were consistent with earlier research on some points, such as the conclusion that the average length of woman\u2019s cycle was about 28 days. But what this study uncovered was that there was variation among when implantation occurred, as well as variation in when ovulation happened.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, I just need to know when I\u2019m ovulating, right?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Well, what you really want to narrow in on is the 2-3 days <\/span>before <\/span><\/i>ovulation. And what makes that a challenge is that ovulation can vary from woman to woman and even from cycle to cycle. <\/span>One study <\/span><\/a>found that women ovulated anywhere from cycle day 8 cycle day 26. (And this was just one small study in North Carolina that examined 221 healthy women for one menstrual cycle.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Why does this matter? It\u2019s important to point out because women have long been told that ovulation happens on or around day 14. And if you look at ovulation dates across a large group of women on average, it does. But lumping all women into one bucket and spitting out an average number doesn\u2019t tell you anything about when <\/span>you<\/span><\/i>, or anyone else individually, will ovulate.<\/span><\/p>\n

Only a small percentage of women ovulate on day 14<\/span><\/h2>\n

According to several studies, like <\/span>this one<\/span><\/a>, only a small percentage of women ovulate exactly on day 14. This is true even for women who have regular cycles. For women with irregular cycles, the fertile window is even trickier to pinpoint. So, while the day 14 average is useful for estimating when women\u2014as a population\u2014tend to ovulate, it\u2019s not very helpful for pinpointing when a woman\u2014as an individual\u2014ovulates. <\/span><\/p>\n

Most women\u2019s fertile window falls outside the clinical guidelines (that is, between cycle days 10 and 17)<\/span><\/h2>\n

Again, for years, women have been told that ovulation happens around cycle day 14. But the North Carolina <\/span>study<\/span><\/a> found a wide range in ovulation dates and discovered that most women\u2019s fertile windows (over 70%) didn\u2019t fall entirely within that range. This chart below shows the full distribution of the fertile windows recorded among the women in the study.<\/span><\/p>\n

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What does this mean? Even if you feel that you have a “normal” menstrual cycle, it is quite possible\u2014perhaps even likely, that your fertile window will not fall entirely within the clinical guidelines. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you want to get pregnant, you need to know your fertile window<\/span><\/h2>\n

If you have a regular cycle, this is easy\u2014right? Wrong. That same study found that the fertile window occurred during a broad range of days in the menstrual cycle. OK, well, if a lot of women fall outside of that 10 to 17-day range, you can just extend it, right? Let’s say you broaden that range to having sex between days 6 and 21. You\u2019re likely to\u00a0be\u00a0in your fertile window during those days, right? <\/span><\/p>\n

Again\u2014wrong. <\/span>The same study<\/span><\/a> found that on every day between days 6 and 21, women had at minimum a 10% probability of being in their fertile window, and pointed out that using the clinical guidelines to estimate ovulation is outdated.<\/span><\/p>\n

The takeaway? If you\u2019re just guessing at your fertile window, it\u2019s possible you\u2019ll miss it. <\/span><\/p>\n

So, when do I ovulate?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Most important takeaway: <\/span>ovulation<\/span><\/a> follows a series of hormonal events that happen each month, but the pace at which it unfolds can vary. Pinpointing ovulation (and your fertile days) is a bit of a guessing game, but there are signs you can look for, and <\/span>tracking your cycle<\/span><\/a> can help. <\/span><\/p>\n

Where can I find out more about ovulation?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Here at Ava, we\u2019ve become experts in the science of and research about ovulation, and how to pinpoint the fertile window. You\u2019ll find fact-checked posts that explain: <\/span><\/p>\n