What are my most fertile days?

Do you want to get pregnant? Then you are undoubtedly wondering on which days of your cycle you are most fertile. Perhaps your cycle is irregular or you simply do not know how best to calculate your fertile days. In this blog we will tell you everything about your fertile days and discuss the most popular methods to determine them. 

From the moment your first menstrual cycle starts, your fertile life begins. You are then, in principle, able to get pregnant. Until menopause, ovulation occurs approximately every month, as an average cycle lasts 28 days. We also call this ovulation the egg release. A fertile egg is released from one of your ovaries and moves to the fallopian tube. From there, the egg travels to the uterus. On the way, in the fallopian tube, an egg can be fertilized by a sperm cell.

To be able to get pregnant, it is important that the sperm cells are at the egg on time. Ideally, they are already there, waiting for the egg to release from the ovary. Then they are immediately on site and fertilization can take place. Even after ovulation, you have a maximum of two days in which an egg can be fertilized. But the earlier you are, the higher the chance of fertilization.

Because sperm cells survive longer, your fertile days start before ovulation. Namely about 5 days before. The sperm cells in the man's semen can survive for up to 5 days in the woman's body, waiting for ovulation. The two most fertile days are the day before ovulation and the day of ovulation itself. Your fertile days end two days after ovulation.

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You have the best chance of getting pregnant if you have sex a few times in the days before ovulation takes place. Then the sperm cells have a better chance of reaching the egg on time than if you have sex after ovulation. It is recommended to have sex every two to three days in the 6 days before ovulation.

All these calculations are interesting. But it is very complicated if you do not know exactly when you ovulate. Ovulation does not always take place exactly on day 14 and your cycle is by no means always exactly 28 days. There is a lot of variation in cycle length. So many women, so many differences.

A normal menstrual cycle can last between 21 and 42 days. It is useful to know that the time between ovulation and the start of your period remains almost constant: namely 14 days. Do you have a regular cycle that always lasts the same number of days? Then you can calculate the day of ovulation.

Example: Does your cycle always last 31 days? Then ovulation is on day 17, because: 31-14=17.

Is your cycle not regular and do you have cycles of different lengths? Then you are certainly not the only one. Many women have this. And then it becomes much harder to determine when you ovulate. You can no longer calculate it with a simple calculation. You will have to find another way to determine your fertile days. We discuss a number of popular methods below.

Some women can feel ovulation. They can notice physical sensations around ovulation. These sensations can range from mild to distinct. Symptoms such as mild pain or cramps on one side of the lower abdomen, for example. Other signs are changes in vaginal discharge. At the time of ovulation, the mucus often becomes clearer and stretchier. Although feeling ovulation can be useful, the symptoms are not equally clear or obvious for everyone. Some women notice nothing.

On your phone you can use all kinds of apps to track your menstrual cycle and your fertile days. If you consistently enter when you started your period every month, you can calculate an average cycle length. The app then shows exactly in a calendar when ovulation is likely to take place and what your fertile days are. But this method is also not very practical if your cycle is very irregular, because there is too much variation in cycle length and fertile moments. Calculating ovulation with a cycle app on your phone therefore works best for women with a regular cycle.

Ovulation tests are a reliable way to identify your most fertile days. These tests measure the increase of luteinizing hormone (LH) in your urine, which peaks just before ovulation. LH is the hormone that causes the mature egg to be released. Some tests use lines to show whether there is an LH peak. Others show a smiling smiley face on the day ovulation takes place.

Start testing a few days before your expected ovulation and keep testing until you see a positive result. With a positive result, ovulation will likely follow within 24 to 36 hours. It is then wise to have sex immediately and not wait, for the highest possible chance of pregnancy.

Ovulation tests cost quite a bit of money, especially if you need a lot of them. The more irregular your cycle, the earlier you have to start testing and the more ovulation tests you will probably use before you find ovulation. And if you do find it, of course you still have no guarantee that you will actually get pregnant. This method can therefore ultimately become quite costly.

Another method to determine your ovulation is by measuring your basal body temperature. Your temperature rises slightly after ovulation due to the increased amounts of progesterone in your blood. It goes up by a few tenths of a degree, namely about 0.3 to 0.5 degrees. You must therefore have a thermometer that measures accurately. The temperature increase drops again when you start your period again.

By measuring and recording your temperature in a chart every morning before you get out of bed, you can start to recognize a pattern. A sustained temperature increase can indicate ovulation. You must measure very precisely at the same time every day for this. A rectal measurement, so through the anus, gives the most accurate results.

Because you have to measure at the same time every day, you must be very precise and accurate in following this temperature method. Moreover, the temperature increase often only takes place after ovulation, while before that you are actually more fertile.

But, there are still more uncertainties regarding this method. Your temperature can also be elevated because you have a virus, for example. And for example alcohol consumption, stress or sleep deprivation also affect your body temperature.

Some women use the temperature method the other way around, as a contraceptive method. But for that, it is certainly not a safe method.

Determining your ovulation is really a challenge if you have irregular periods. Hopefully you will find an end with the methods described above. And you can thus increase your chances of pregnancy a bit. Remember that every woman and every cycle is different. And that it can really take months to a year before you are pregnant for the first time. Approximately 80% of women get pregnant after trying for a year.

If you have difficulty getting pregnant and you have been trying for more than a year, then contact your GP. Also when you have problems with sex or when you are so irregular with your periods that you do not know when, and whether you ovulate, that is a reason to go to the GP.

After your fertile days, come the exciting waiting days. The days in which you can no longer do anything and have to wait and see if fertilization has taken place. The most reliable result of a pregnancy test you get at the moment that you test on the day you would actually start your period. But many women want to test earlier. There are also tests available with which you can test 4 or even 6 days earlier. These tests are more sensitive and measure smaller amounts of the pregnancy hormone.

If you have had the menopause (your very last menstruation) and you therefore no longer have menstrual cycles, you have reached the definitive end of your fertile period. But much earlier it becomes difficult to get pregnant. From your 35^th the amount of eggs decreases drastically and from your 40^th the chances of pregnancy have become even smaller.