The period of time that starts 6 days before your ovulation and ends on the day of ovulation is the time when pregnancy is possible during your cycle.

Also known as the “fertile window”, this is the time when you need to have sex with your partner, so that you get the best chance of getting pregnant.

The timing of the fertile window is quite predictable, as long as your menstrual cycle is regular. To calculate your fertile days all you need to do is make a note of the number of days it takes from the first day of bleeding in your last period to the first day of bleeding in the next, and then, subtract 14 days from the end of your current cycle to get the day you ovulate.

So having sexual intercourse during your fertile window it means that sperm will be present in the fallopian tubes where the egg is found following ovulation. It is inside the fallopian tube that the egg can be fertilised by sperm, and this is likely to happen only within 24 hours after ovulation.

Following ovulation the chance of getting pregnant, having unprotected intercourse from that moment on, is actually very small, although this should not be used as contraceptive advice. 

In order to determine your fertile window, you could use any of the currently available fertility-tracking methods, such as the calendar method, ovulation detection kits, however, keeping a note of how the vaginal mucus changes, along with your body temperature, can work equally well to give a fairly good idea, as to when is ovulation is about to happen. A clear, slick and slippery mucus, usually 2-3 days before ovulation, is a very good sign that ovulation is about to happen. Having sex on that day gives the highest chance of getting pregnant in that cycle.

Ovulation detection kits can also help you with picking up the time when ovulation is about to happen. Ovulation kits detect specific hormones that rise just before ovulation and can be detected in urine by having a simple test. Ovulation detection kits are quite accurate, although, in a small number of cases they may suggest ovulation, although this is not actually the case. Ovulation kits can be helpful when the menstrual cycle is not regular and ovulation is not so easy to predict.

©2021, Nicholas Christoforidis, Fertility Matters
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