Ovulation - How to increase your chances of getting pregnant

When you are ready to have a baby or want to use the natural method for contraception, you need to know when you ovulate in order for you to get pregnant or avoid pregnancy. Ovulation is the fertile days that a woman has during her monthly cycle. When a pregnancy does not occur, the woman will then have her monthly bleed known as her period.

Most girls will remember their school days when teachers in sex education class told them to always use protection as they can fall pregnant anytime; this is in fact incorrect as you are only fertile for a few days a month.

If you have a regular cycle, then it is easy to pinpoint when you will ovulate by making your own calendar. If you have a 28 day cycle, then you will most likely ovulate during the middle around day 14. Not everyone has textbook cycles though so they average from 26 – 38; if your monthly cycle is less than 26 or over 38 it may be harder for you to conceive. Knowing when you ovulate is good if you don’t want to take synthetic hormones that will mess up your body’s natural rhythm.

There are a few ways to calculate ovulation either naturally or with some help. One way is to take your basal body temperature every morning at the same time and plot it on a graph. After a few months of doing this you will see a pattern; when the temperature dips then spikes up this is when you are fertile. Other things to pay close attention to is a sharp pain near the ovaries and cervical mucus; this is also your body’s way of telling you that you are fertile. Some women also feel horny during this time too.

If you cannot take your waking body temperature or rely on signs from your body to tell you when you are ovulating then you may want to try OPK’s; ovulation prediction sticks are cheap and are sold in multiples, you pee in a cup around your fertile time of month and when you are near ovulation it will tell you. They are much like pregnancy tests, if two lines appear but they are very dark then you are near ovulation, you may need to do several a day so you don’t miss the surge so buying as many as 10 is ideal.

If you are menstruating, then you are most likely to be ovulating too as getting your period is your body’s way of telling you that you are not pregnant. Knowing more about ovulation will greatly benefit you when you are ready to start a family as timing is the key.