If you are trying to get pregnant or you are planning on trying here soon the most important thing to do is to understand your cycle. Understanding your cycle will allow you to understand when you are most fertile. Many women actually don't know about their cycles and don't fully comprehend how your body actually becomes pregnant. They understand that they have a period once a month, but that is the extent of their knowledge. It is so important to know what each day of your cycle means, what your bodies do throughout each part of the cycle, and to know when you are most fertile.
Cycle Day 1: The first day of your cycle is the first day of your menstruation. According to Planned Parenthood, "during your menstrual cycle, hormones make the eggs in your ovaries mature — when an egg is mature, that means it’s ready to be fertilized by a sperm cell. These hormones also make the lining of your uterus thick and spongy." The first day of your cycle comes about 14 days after you ovulate making an average of 28-day cycle. On your first day, the "blood and tissue lining the uterus (womb) break down and leave the body. This is your period. For many women, bleeding lasts from 4 to 8 days. Hormone levels are low. Low levels of the hormone estrogen can make you feel depressed or irritable." Some women go a little bit shorter and some have a little bit longer cycles. Your cervix is "normally low and hard and slightly open to allow the blood to flow out. It feels like the tip of your nose. After your period stops, the cervix remains low and hard and the opening to the uterus (uterine os) remains closed."
Fertile Days: You are the most fertile about 24-36 hours before you ovulate. You will want to have sex before you ovulate. You can figure out when you are fertile by using ovulation predictor kits. Take the ovulation test every single day starting on cycle day one and continue taking them until the test line is as dark or darker than the control line. When the test line is as dark then that means that you will ovulate in the next day or so. According to Clear Blue, "While an egg only survives for up to 24 hours, sperm can remain active for up to five days. It may, therefore, be surprising to learn that a couple can conceive through sexual intercourse four to five days before the egg is released.
The total ‘fertility window’, taking into account the lifetime of both the sperm and the egg, is about six days. The 'fertile days' are all the days during your menstrual cycle when you have the ability to become pregnant if you have unprotected sex." It is important to understand that there is a difference between fertile days and ovulation. Fertile days are the days leading up to ovulation. You can tell when your CM and your cervical changes. According to Parents.com, "Your body produces the most cervical mucus as it prepares for ovulation. Type 4 discharge is clear and has a stretchy consistency similar to raw egg whites. Your odds of getting pregnant are two to three times higher now.” Your cervix will also become low, soft, and open.
Ovulation: Ovulation is when the egg is released and if the egg has been fertilized then it will result in pregnancy. If sperm have not fertilized the egg then it will not result in a pregnant and you will end up having your menstruation cycle. For a typical woman, ovulation occurs around cycle day 14. However, some women have inconsistent cycles and that is why it is so important to track your ovulation to see if you are having a healthy normal cycle. Ovulation is the name of the process that happens usually once in every menstrual cycle when "hormone changes trigger an ovary to release an egg. You can only become pregnant if a sperm fertilizes an egg. Ovulation usually happens 12 to 16 days before your next period starts. The eggs are contained in your ovaries. During the first part of each menstrual cycle, one of the eggs is being grown and matured."
Least Fertile: After you have ovulated you are the least fertile. If you didn't get pregnant before you ovulated then you will not get pregnant during this cycle. You will have to wait until the next cycle to get pregnant. If you have become pregnant during this cycle then you might start showing signs of implantation as early as 5-8 days after ovulation but you will not be able to positively tell that you are pregnant until your expected period. However, many pregnancy tests now claim that they can confirm pregnancy 5 days before a missed period which would equate to approximately 10 days past ovulation. If the test is not showing up at 10 days past ovulation do not get heartbroken yet, because there might not be enough HCG in your system to show off in a test. If spotting occurs between ovulation and your period then you may have what is called implantation bleeding. Implantation bleeding "happens when the embryo makes its way into the uterus, which may cause little blood vessels to burst. When the embryo implants in the lining of the uterus, it can disrupt tiny blood vessels in the spot it burrows into. This won’t cause any problems (the endometrium recovers!) but some women will experience light bleeding, from pinkish or red to brown discharge."
Learning about your body is the first step in your pregnancy journey. If you would like to become pregnant then you need to know how to figure out when you are most fertile. It is very important to understand that it is likely not to happen for a few months. If you are one of the women who get pregnant right off the bat then that is great, but don't get discouraged if it takes you a little bit. According to Yolanda Kirkham, an OB-GYN at Women’s College Hospital and St. Joseph’s Health Centre in Toronto, "your chances of conceiving each cycle you try are 25 to 30 percent if you’re under 35, eight to 15 percent if you’re 35 to 39, five percent if you’re 40 to 42 and one to two percent at age 43." If you have been actively trying for a year then that is the time that you can talk to a fertility specialist. However, 85% of couples get pregnant within the first year of trying.
Souces: Progyny, Planned Parenthood, Women's Health, Clear Blue, Parents.com, Very Well Family, Medical News Today, What to Expect, Today's Parent, American Pregnancy Association