Question: Can you get pregnant right after your period? Robert Zurawin, M.D.: It's possible but not very likely. Ovulation occurs around the middle of a woman's cycle (specifically, in the middle third): If you have a 28-day cycle, for example, then you'll usually ovulate on the 14th day, counting the first day of your period as the first day of your cycle. If your period lasts seven or eight days, by the time you finish menstruating you're only five or six days away from ovulating. If you consider that sperm can live in the Fallopian tube for two or three days, then you have a narrow window in which you could get pregnant if you ovulated a little earlier than normal. If you're not actively trying to get pregnant, it's always safer to use reliable contraception when you have sex, no matter when in it is during your cycle
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Re: Everything YOu wanted to Know about Ovulation
What is ovulation? Ovulation is when one or more eggs are released from the ovary and is the fertile time of your menstrual cycle. Each month, many eggs mature inside the ovary. The largest is expelled into the pelvic cavity and swept into the Fallopian tube. Which ovary releases the egg is fairly arbitrary. Ovulation does not necessarily rotate between ovaries each cycle.
How does ovulation determine when I can get pregnant? To be fruitful and multiply, you must have sexual intercourse during the period spanning four or five days before ovulation to about 24 hours afterward. The reason: Sperm cells can live for four or five days, but an egg survives no more than 24 hours after ovulation. Unless, of course, fertilization occurs. If you have sex near the time of ovulation it stands to reason you'll increase your chances of getting pregnant. And you'll be happy to know that the odds are with you: In normally fertile couples there is a 25 percent chance of getting pregnant each cycle, meaning around 75 to 85 percent of women who have sex without using birth control will get pregnant within one year. You can try to up your likelihood of getting pregnant by learning to pinpoint exactly when you ovulate by familiarizing yourself with the cyclic hormonal and physical changes that take place in your body each month. You can also use this knowledge to attempt birth control by avoiding intercourse near the time of ovulation.
How can I tell when I'm ovulating and therefore most fertile? Figure out when your next period is due to begin and count back 12 to 16 days. This will give you a range of days when you will probably be ovulating (for women with a 28-day cycle, the 14th day is often the one). To use this method, you must know how long your cycle usually lasts. Try BabyCenter's ovulation calculator if you want us to do the math for you.
The best way to determine your most fertile time, though, is to pay attention to your body and learn to spot the signs that ovulation is imminent.
Change in cervical mucus. As your cycle progresses, your cervical mucus increases in volume and changes texture. The greater volume and changes in texture reflect your body's rising levels of estrogen. You are considered most fertile when the mucus becomes clear, slippery, and stretchy. Many women compare mucus at this stage to raw egg whites.
The role of mucus is to nourish, protect, and speed the sperm on its way up through the uterus and into the Fallopian tubes for the rendezvous with your egg.
A rise in body temperature. Following ovulation, your temperature can increase by 0.5 to 1.6 degrees. You won't feel the shift, but you can detect it by using a basal body temperature (BBT) thermometer. This temperature spike indicates that you've ovulated (releasing an egg stimulates the production of the hormone progesterone which raises body temperature).
You're most fertile in the two or three days before your temperature hits its high point. A few experts think you may have an additional 12 to 24 hour window of fertility after you first notice the temperature creep up, but most say at that point it's too late to make a baby. 'It can take one to two days after ovulation for progesterone to build up enough to raise your body temperature. But since the egg can only survive for about 24 hours, at that point it's too late for fertilization,' says Tracy Telles, an obstetrician at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. That's why experts recommend that you chart your temperature (taken each morning) for a few months to detect a pattern and pinpoint your likely ovulatory date. Then you can plan to have sex during the two to three days preceeding the day your temperature normally rises.
Lower abdominal discomfort. About one-fifth of women actually feel ovulatory activity, which can range from mild achiness to twinges of pain. The condition, called mittelschmerz, may last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours.
How do ovulation predictor kits work?
Available at drugstores and grocery stores without a prescription, ovulation predictor kits detect the surge in luteinizing hormone (LH) just before ovulation. They're easier to use and often more accurate than the BBT method and they can predict ovulation 24 to 36 hours in advance and help you maximize your chance of conception the very first month you use them.
But they're not foolproof. They can measure LH (you get either a positive or a negative result, not a number), but can't indicate whether you ovulate after a positive response; LH can surge with or without the release of an egg. False LH surges can also take place before the real one.
For maximum accuracy, follow the kit's directions to the letter. (However, if the instructions say to test your first urine of the day, you may want to test your second catch instead. Your urine can become concentrated overnight and might give you a false-positive result.) Your cycle starts on the first day you have your period. If you have a 28-day cycle, start the test on day 11 and use it for six days (or however many days the manufacturer recommends). If your cycle is longer, say 35 days, start on day 14 and test for nine days. If you have an irregular cycle, you may find that this is the least satisfying way for you to detect your ovulation because you'll have to buy many kits to use over a long period of time. If your cycle runs between 28 and 40 days, your ovulation may range between days 14 and 26. Because the kits (which range in price from $20 to $50) usually provide only five to nine days' worth of tests, you'll need to buy at least two kits a month.
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Re: Everything YOu wanted to Know about Ovulation
Which is a better indicator of ovulation -- ovulation predictor kits or basal body temperature?
Question: Which is a better indicator of actual ovulation — ovulation predictor kits or basal body temperature? Sherman J. Silber: Well, they function somewhat differently. An ovulation predictor kit will turn color the day before you ovulate based on a surge in your luteinizing hormone (LH), which is what causes you to ovulate 24 hours later. So ovulation predictor kits can tell you when you're going to ovulate (usually the day after the predictor kit turns color).
A basal body temperature / cervical mucus chart (see our example chart — and fill in your own) reflects your progesterone level, which is close to zero before you ovulate and rises dramatically after ovulation. So a basal body temperature (BBT) chart can tell you only when you have already ovulated, not when you're about to, because your temperature goes up after you ovulate.
A BBT chart tells you something about when you ovulated in a particular month, but it can't tell you the exact moment to have sex (or uterine insemination) that same month. You have to chart your BBT for a few months and spot a pattern in your cycle before you can use it to predict when you're most fertile. An ovulation predictor kit, however, can give you advanced warning of ovulation the first month you use it. The main drawback to the kits is that they're expensive, running between $20 and $50 per cycle.
Also keep in mind that sometimes neither will work: Both ovulation predictor kits and basal body temperature / cervical mucus charts can be inaccurate in some people.
Ovulation Calculator Find out when you're likely to ovulate -- and increase your chances of getting pregnant!
Just tell us the day you last started menstruating and how long your cycle usually lasts (anywhere from 20 to 45 days), and we'll tell you when you're most likely to be fertile over the next six months, as well as your approximate due date if you do conceive on one of those days.
NOTE: This tool provides approximate dates only and assumes a regular menstrual cycle. If your menstrual cycles are irregular, you may have trouble pinpointing your day of ovulation based on the calendar alone. In that case, you should try monitoring your basal body temperature and cervical mucus. To learn how to do that, read our article on detecting ovulation
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Re: Everything YOu wanted to Know about Ovulation
BBT and Cervical Mucus Chart vs. Ovulation Predictor Kits
Getting Pregnant Basal body temperature and cervical mucus Approved by the BabyCenter Medical Advisory Board
If you're trying to get pregnant — or, if you're trying not to — it's helpful to know when you're ovulating so you can time intercourse accordingly. Many women have had success using ovulation predictor kits, which are handy because they tip you off before you ovulate. But the natural way to get a sense of your ovulation cycle is to chart your basal body temperature (BBT) and monitor your cervical mucus. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What's below: • What is basal body temperature?
• What is cervical mucus?
• Which one should I chart?
• See also | Other Sources --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What is basal body temperature? Basal body temperature (BBT) is your temperature when you first wake up in the morning. Before you even get out of bed to brush your teeth or start your day, pop a basal thermometer (available at drugstores) into your mouth. (It's important to try to wake up and take this reading at about the same time each morning.) This thermometer shows the minute incremental degree changes that a regular one can't. Most basal thermometers come with a temperature plotting chart. (For instructions on how to fill one in and a sample you can download, click here.) Make some extra copies of the chart in case it takes you a few months to get pregnant. Your BBT probably ranges from 97.2 to about 97.7 degrees before ovulation. During the two or three days after you ovulate, hormonal changes have caused a rise in your BBT of between 0.5 and 1.6 degrees, which lasts at least until your next period. You'll probably notice your temperature spiking on other days, but unless it stays that way, you probably haven't yet ovulated. If you become pregnant, your temperature will stay elevated throughout your pregnancy.
It's helpful to chart your temperature for a few months so you can see whether there's a pattern to your cycle. If you're sick or fail to take your temperature immediately upon awakening, any pattern you find may be inaccurate.
What is cervical mucus? There are many different types of ******l discharge, one of which is cervical mucus. The type of mucus your body produces provides clues to your fertility. You can check your cervical mucus using either your fingers or toilet paper. On days when you're not fertile, the mucus from your cervix is either light or sticky (about the same texture as sticky rice). During the few days leading up to ovulation, when you're most fertile, you'll have more discharge — clear and slippery with the consistency of raw egg white. You are most fertile on the last day you notice cervical mucus of this kind. It usually happens either the day before, or the day of, ovulation. The change in volume and texture of your cervical mucus is due to the increase in estrogen levels that accompanies ovulation.
Which one should I chart? Both, say many fertility experts. A combined approach will give you the clearest picture of your cycle, so you can more accurately predict ovulation.
