Are you and your partner trying to have a baby, but even after a few months you haven’t seen two lines on the pregnancy test? It is important for you to know how your body works and when the chances of getting pregnant during your menstrual cycle are highest.
Normally, one egg matures in the ovary each month and is released from the ovary into the pelvic cavity during ovulation , where it is captured by the fallopian tube.
In the fallopian tube, the egg is fertilised by sperm and the fertilised egg (early embryo) is then transported by the fallopian tube to the uterus. Around the sixth day after fertilisation, the embryo settles in the uterine cavity and continues to develop and grow there.
At first glance, it may seem like a simple process. However, the truth is that it is very intricately controlled and its correct course depends on the interplay of several organs – the hypothalamus and pituitary gland in the brain, the ovaries, the fallopian tubes and the uterus. After ovulation, the egg is ready for fertilization for 24 hours. If it is not fertilised during this time, it dies and pregnancy cannot occur in the cycle.
However, the ability of sperm to survive in a woman’s fallopian tubes after unprotected intercourse is highly variable. With normal spermiogram parameters, sperm should be able to survive in the fallopian tubes for at least 3 days, but sometimes it can be up to 7 days.
However, it is still true that a woman can only get pregnant at the time of ovulation (which is the one day when the egg enters the fallopian tube. There, the eager sperm should be waiting for it). On the other hand, however, it is necessary to realize that a woman’s body is not a machine, and a woman may not always ovulate on the same day. Even a perfectly healthy woman may not ovulate every month – such menstrual cycles are then called anovulatory.
How do you know if you are ovulating?
There are several home methods to detect ovulation, i.e. when a woman has fertile days, which are described below. It should be borne in mind that these are really indicative methods. If you are not sure that you are ovulating, consult your gynaecologist.
Calculation from the usual length of the menstrual cycle
This is the simplest method, based on the fact that the period between ovulation and the start of the next menstruation lasts about 14 days. This calculation is only suitable for women who have a regular cycle. If you subtract 14 days from your expected menstruation date, you will arrive at the date when ovulation is most likely to occur.
When are the fertile days after menstruation at different cycle lengths?
- If a woman has a 28-day menstrual cycle, ovulation – the release of an egg from the ovary – occurs around 14. day from the start of menstrual bleeding.
- If she has a longer cycle, ovulation occurs later (in a 35-day cycle, ovulation is on the 21st day of the cycle).
- If, on the contrary, the cycle is shorter, the woman ovulates earlier than 14. day of the cycle (with a 21-day cycle, ovulation occurs on the 7th day of the cycle).
Monitoring cervical mucus
One of the signs of ovulation is ovulatory discharge. At the time when you are most fertile, the nature of the mucus secreted by the cervix changes and you notice it as discharge. The discharge at ovulation is thinner, transparent and forms in larger quantities. Immediately after ovulation, it thickens and turns white.
Basal temperature measurement
Basal temperature is the body temperature that is measured immediately after waking up and increases by up to 0.5°C after ovulation. It will then remain elevated until the next menstrual period, or possibly throughout the pregnancy.
Ovulation tests
Ovulation tests, which you can buy in any pharmacy or even drugstore, detect the presence in the urine of the so-called luteinizing hormone, which is responsible for triggering ovulation. Their biggest advantage is that they prepare you for ovulation in advance, as this hormone is produced in greater quantities as early as 12 to 36 hours before ovulation.
Determination of ovulation at the gynecologist
The most accurate method of determining ovulation is its confirmation by ultrasound and determination of hormones from the blood. Before the expected ovulation, the gynecologist will perform an ultrasound examination, so-called. folliculometry, which measures the size of the maturing follicle on the ovary and can even tell you with a fair degree of accuracy when you can expect to ovulate.
Approximately 7 days after ovulation, the progesterone concentration in the blood can tell you whether ovulation has taken place correctly and whether the progesterone levels are sufficient to get pregnant.
What is most important when trying to get pregnant
But the most important thing is to realize one thing. If a woman wants to get pregnant, she needs to be mainly cool and calm.
Regular measurement of basal temperature and repeated examination of ovulation tests begins to be a very stressful factor after a certain period of time. Over time, this stress can be transferred to your partner and negatively affect your relationship. Having said that, ovulation is not set as an alarm clock and even in a healthy woman it can vary over a fairly wide range. Reproductive medicine experts do not recommend monitoring ovulation and timing intercourse to the middle of the cycle. Properly trying for a baby means unprotected intercourse once every 2-3 days throughout the month. This will ensure that you have a chance of getting pregnant for real even if ovulation is delayed. However, a one-time test to check if ovulation is taking place and to examine the spermiogram parameters in your partner should be a matter of course.
If you still can’t reach the two commas on the pregnancy test, please contact us at any time. Not only will we help you find out the reason why you are still unable to get pregnant, but we will also help you solve the problem.
