While taking care of your body is a great way to prepare for pregnancy, women around the world often wonder what else they could do to increase their chances of conceiving.
The most important thing a woman can do is to be in tune with her body and her menstrual cycle. Once you know how long your cycle lasts and when ovulation typically occurs for you, you can better know when it’s the best possible time to try to become pregnant.
An at home fertility test is useful for those trying to become pregnant. Using a simple finger prick, these tests measure a number of different levels, including how many eggs you have, your progesterone level, and in some cases, other hormone levels that can help determine the likelihood of you having issues such as PCOS which may make it harder for you to conceive.
When you are trying to conceive, it is a good idea to track your menstrual cycle. This will help you better keep track of exactly how long your cycle lasts each month, if they are regular cycles or off by a few days each month, and so on.
Once you have this information written out on a calendar you will better be able to determine when you ovulate. Because ovulation only happens for 12 to 24 hours each month, and it is this window when conception will occur, it is important to have a good idea of when it happens for you.
Typically, ovulation happens about two weeks into a woman’s cycle. However, this time can vary from woman to woman and can be harder to predict for women with irregular cycles.
Home ovulation tests can help you better predict when you will ovulate, although it will not be able to tell you when ovulation has actually occurred. If you choose to use these tests, it is important to begin trying when they turn positive and continue every day for the next three days for your best chances at conceiving that month.
Another option for checking ovulation is to track your cervical mucus. As ovulation becomes closer, a woman’s mucus will increase in amount, becoming thinner and watery until ovulation it finally resembles egg whites. This type of mucus can help a man’s sperm be able to find its way to the egg, so it is important to note when this mucus occurs for you and be sure to time intercourse at this point.
One study published in the magazine Fertility and Sterility noted that women who were consistent in checking their cervical mucus were more than twice as likely to conceive within a six-month time frame.
Track Your Fertile Window
The term “fertile window” refers to a six-day time span when it is the most likely you will conceive in a certain month. Fertility tracking apps and ovulation tests can help you to determine this time. Once you know when it is for you, it is important to have sex every other day during this time.
It is important to note that research shows not a whole lot of difference in the percentage of couples who conceive by having sex every day during the “fertile window”, 37 percent, versus those who chose to have sex every other day in this time, 33 percent.