How to Find Fertile Days

Trying to conceive can be a stressful experience, especially if you don't get pregnant right away. Repeated months of negative pregnancy tests and another period can discourage anyone. Part of the difficulty in conceiving is that you only have a short window every cycle to get pregnant. Sperm only live about five days maximum -- if adequate cervical fluid is present -- and an egg only lives about 12 to 24 hours. However, if you time intercourse to coincide with this "fertile window," you can increase your odds of becoming pregnant.

Instructions

    • 1

      Chart your basal body temperature (BBT) using a basal body thermometer purchased from a drugstore. Starting on the first day of your period, take your temperature as soon as you wake up, preferably about the same time every day. When you see a temperature rise of about .4 degrees Fahrenheit for two days, it indicates that ovulation has occurred. BBT won't tell you ahead of time when you will ovulate; it can only confirm ovulation. But if you chart your temperature over several months, you may find that you ovulate around a similar day in your cycle.

    • 2

      Watch for your cervical mucus to become clear, slippery and stretchy like egg whites. Throughout most of your cycle, your cervix produces little to no mucus or it may be sticky or creamy. As ovulation nears, though, the mucus becomes increasingly sperm-friendly. You will often notice the most abundant amount of egg-white cervical mucus right before ovulation.

    • 3

      Check your cervix position. During most of your cycle, your cervix will feel relatively low, closed and firm like your nose's tip. Shortly before ovulation, though, your cervix moves higher and becomes more open and soft. To check cervix position and texture, wash your hands thoroughly, insert a finger into your vagina and gently touch your cervix.

    • 4

      Use an ovulation predictor kit (OPK). OPKs test the level of luteinizing hormone (LH) in your urine. You have a small amount of LH in your system all the time, but shortly before ovulation, a surge in LH tells the ovaries to release the egg. Start testing sometime between noon and 8 p.m., a few days before you think you might ovulate, in order to catch this surge in LH.

    • 5

      Purchase a fertility monitor. These monitors test hormones or electrolytes in your urine, saliva or sweat to predict ovulation. Follow the instructions that come with your monitor to determine how to correctly use it.

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