Predicting Ovulation & Timing Intercourse
For many, treatments for infertility begin with predicting precisely when ovulation should occur.
Ovulation generally occurs 12-16 days before your period begins.10
Because the highest pregnancy rates are seen when a couple has intercourse every one to two days during the fertile window, it’s helpful to know when you’re ovulating.11
To determine your exact ovulation schedule, you can chart your menstrual cycle and monitor your basal body temperature.12 You can also closely monitor cervical mucus and vaginal secretions, which start to increase five to six days prior to ovulation and peak two to three days prior to ovulation.13
Your fertility specialist may also suggest an ovulation predictor kit that measures increases in your luteinizing hormone level just before you ovulate. Available without a prescription, these kits can usually provide a 24- to 36-hour ovulation window.
If at any point planning pregnancy becomes frustrating, there’s no harm in getting answers from a Reproductive Endocrinologist.
10 American Pregnancy Association, Ovulation FAQ, Accessed July 2016
11 ASRM, Optimizing Natural Fertility, 2015
12 ASRM, Infertility: An Overview, 2012
13 ASRM, Optimizing Natural Fertility, 2015