Several couples or single women who are looking to conceive think that their fertile period is the 14th day of their cycle. This however only applies to those women whose menstrual cycle is 28 days. Some facts:
1. A normal menstrual cycle ranges from 21-35 days.
2. Every woman has a fairly consistent cycle under normal circumstances and this will only change during times of great stress or traveling and changing time zones.
3. The length of a menstrual cycle is the 1st day one begins a period to the 1st day one begins the next period.
4. The female egg (ovum) is released 14 days before the onset of the next period plus or minus 2 days. The period follows when the ovum is released and not fertilized. For women whose cycles are 21 days from onset to onset of the period, it then follows they will release their ovum on day 7 from the first day of their last period plus or minus 2 days which then means anywhere between day 5 and day 9 from the beginning of their last period. Someone who has a 35-day cycle will then release their ovum on day 21 from the beginning of their period plus or minus 2 days which is anywhere between day 19 and day 23. The consistent time is from the release of the ovum to the next period which for all women is 14 days plus or minus 2. Therefore, the fertile day for a woman of 21 days cycle is day 7 (21-14), for the 25-day cycle is day 11 (25-14), for a 30-day cycle is day 16 (30-14), etc. and for all cases plus or minus 2 days.
5. For a woman to know the pattern of her cycle, she needs to mark the dates of the beginning of each menstrual period for a period of 6 months to 1 year.
6. Once the ovum is released from the ovary, it stays alive for 24 hours in which period it can be fertilized. After 24 hours it dies.
7. The male sperm once ejaculated can live in the female genital organs for up to 72 hours. This means that sexual intercourse that occurred three days prior to ovulation can still result in fertilization and pregnancy.
8. In a woman, the time of ovulation coincides with the time of the highest libido. During this period, a woman is literally, ‘on heat.’ Sexual intercourse is also easier at this time due to the ovulation mucus a woman produces to facilitate the movement of sperm. This mucus also acts as a natural lubricant for sexual intercourse. It’s because of this reason a lot of girls will admit to having sex only once around the time of ovulation and getting pregnant.
The desire to become a parent is universal and noble. If you’re looking to get pregnant this year, I trust these tips have been useful.