Calculating your ovulation date: what are your fertile days?
There’s a lot of talk about when you can best get pregnant, and how you can calculate your ovulation date. Well, we have a ‘surprise’ for you: A natural pregnancy usually isn’t a plannable thing.
The number of attempts that it takes to get pregnant differs from person to person, but individual pregnancies can also be wildly different for a single person. There are the lucky ones who can get pregnant in one month, or whose pregnancy - sometimes even with the use of contraception - is unplanned. But, there are also the ill-fated ones, who want to get pregnant but are having trouble doing so.
Let’s start with the facts: when are you fertile
In principle, a woman is fertile from the moment that she starts menstruating up until she reaches the age of 51 (which is the average age of menopause). That’s between your twelfth and fifty-first, though neither the upper nor the lower limit can be recommended as ages to try getting pregnant at. On average, it takes a year to get pregnant. Yes, you read that correctly ON AVERAGE. So while your one friend has a positive pregnancy test in her hands in no time, your other friend might have to wait a year and a half for her to get one. In general, it's the case that a healthy young couple has a 15 to 20% chance of fertilization per menstruation cycle. So it isn’t odd if you don’t immediately achieve a smashing success, since your chance of getting pregnant is much smaller than your chance of not getting pregnant. If you still haven’t conceived after a year of trying to, it is advisable to visit your GP, though it doesn’t have to be an immediate cause of concern.
When you have a pregnancy-wish, it’s best to be patient. That’s easier said than done, since being patient tends to be just the thing that is difficult for most people who are trying to get pregnant. Having sex based on a time schedule isn’t very good for your sex life. As it turns out, couples who regularly have sex throughout the month have a higher chance of pregnancy than those who only have sex around the time of ovulation.
Are things taking too long for your taste? In that case, we’d like to give you some anchors to hold onto. They aren’t guarantees, but useful tidbits. Above all: try to invest in yourself and each other. That keeps things fun.
What is ovulation?
During ovulation, an egg comes free from one of your ovaries, and in some rare cases both ovaries release an egg. On average, this happens once per menstruation cycle. Once the ovulation has occurred, the egg will spend the next 1 to maximum 36 hours traveling to the uterine cavity where it can’t wait to meet a sperm cell. If the egg isn’t fertilized, it’ll die and your body will get rid of it. About fourteen days later you’ll get your period, and it’ll all start over again.
How can you calculate your own ovulation date?
Your fertile period is just about in the middle of your cycle, if we’re basing ourselves on a 28-days-long cycle. Not everyone’s cycle is of the same length, and some people have an irregular cycle, so don’t take it as a fact. It’s smart to track your cycle for a few months, so that you know exactly what your situation is. That will help you calculate your fertile days.
How to recognize your ovulation
If you’re lucky enough to have a regular cycle, your ovulation day should be quite simple to calculate. You can do so by subtracting 14 days from the total number of days that your cycle lasts. This is how you do the math:
On the first day of your period (red blood) day 1 starts.
Start counting until the day before your next period. This number is the length of your menstruation cycle.
If your cycle is the same length for a number of months, you can calculate your estimated ovulation day.
You can do this by predicting the first day of your menstruation. Your ovulation takes place about fourteen days before this date.
The day of your ovulation and the two days leading up to it are your most fertile days.
If your cycle lasts for 28 days, there’s a big chance that your ovulation date is on the 14th day of your cycle. If you have a longer cycle, for example one that lasts 32 days, then it’ll be around day 18. If your cycle is only 21 days long, your most fertile period will be around day 7. Do realize that there are a lot of things that can influence your cycle, and that your fertile period can differ.
If you have an irregular cycle or wish to be more sure of yourself, we have some more tips we can offer you.
Ovulation pain: pain in your lower stomach
There are people who claim that they can feel their ovulation, it is often described as a shooting pain on the left or right of their lower belly. Some also have more sensitive or swollen breasts around the time of their ovulation.
Looking at your cervical mucus: the Billings method
About three days before your ovulation up to two days after the ovulation, your cervix will make more mucus (also called discharge) than is normal for you. You’ll also be a bit wetter than usual. This slime is elastic, stretchy, clear, and thin. This is also a sign that you are in your fertile period.
Measuring your body temperature
Your ovulation also has an effect on your body temperature. In order to get a better grasp on your ovulation, you should check your temperature every day at the same time. Just after your ovulation, your body temperature will decrease. After your ovulation, it will rise between 0,2 to 0,5 degrees Celsius, since the ovulation releases certain hormones into your body. This increase in temperature will last for a few days, with a small spike during the first three days, and a more level temperature afterward.
Ovulation test
If you don’t feel any ovulation pain and don’t feel like inspecting your underwear for discharge, you can choose to use ovulation tests. They’re a bit pricey, but simple and clear. They’re available in different kinds and sizes: luxury ones and more simple versions.
These tests can be very useful, but don’t let them take over your life. Try to avoid making sex a thing that you pen onto your calendar, so that it doesn’t end up feeling like a chore. If it’s difficult to get pregnant, this can cause a lot of tension and stress. Be sure to pay attention to one another and to yourself. Keep things fun, and don’t just have sex for the sake of getting pregnant. If you do that, it’ll soon stop being fun.
Ovulation app
It’s impossible to imagine a life without mobile phones, so it’d be odd if we weren’t able to calculate our ovulation day using an app or an online tool. Using your input, this app tracks the course of your menstrual cycle, and uses this information to determine your fertile days. If you request this, the app will let you know when this is using a push notification. Some apps that do this are the Dutch app Menstruatiekalender, the app WomanLog, or the Natural Cycles and Daysys apps.
When are you the most fertile?
Now you know when you’re fertile, but you aren’t finished just yet. When is the right time to get laid? Is that only on the day of ovulation? The answer is no. The egg cell remains alive for about 24 hours, but sperm cells can remain alive in the body for up to five days. This means that the most fertile days are two days before ovulation and the day of ovulation. You are also fertile three to five days before ovulation, but the chance of fertilization is smaller on these days.
How often should you be having sex?
As much as possible, or does that negatively impact the sperm quality? Research has shown that people who frequently have sex throughout the month have a higher chance of getting pregnant than those who only have sex around the time of ovulation. So, there really isn’t a right or wrong answer. Try to have fun together, that is the (most) important thing!
On a more serious note: the above information is good to keep in mind, but certainly don’t try to have calendar-sex, and try to keep things fun!
