During each monthly cycle, healthy couples in their 20s or early 30s who aren't using birth control have a 20 percent chance of
getting pregnant. And that's a surprisingly high percentage considering that you can conceive only around the time of
ovulation
— a small window of opportunity each month (usually about 12 to 24
hours) during which the egg is viable, or open for the business of
fertilization.
Doesn't sound like much of an opening? Consider, then, that sperm
are able to live to fertilize for a lot longer than an egg is willing to
hang out, anywhere from three to six days. Which means that even if you
have sex a few days before ovulation, there may be plenty of sperm
still around to greet the egg when it emerges. (And remember: It only
takes one sperm to make a baby.) Of course, having sex the day you
ovulate would be ideal. After ovulation, that window tends to slam shut
till the next cycle. Clearly, knowing when the Big O occurs is key when
doing the Baby Dance.
Here are five ways to help you pin down the big
day.
1. Check the calendar: Ovulation most often occurs
halfway through your menstrual cycle — the average cycle lasts 28 days,
counting from the first day of one period (day one) to the first day of
the next period. But as with everything pregnancy-related, there's a
wide range of normal here (anywhere from 23 to 35 days), and your own
cycle may vary slightly from month to month. By keeping a menstrual
calendar for a few months, you can get an idea of what's normal for you —
tools like this
ovulation predictor
can help you pin down the date. If your periods are irregular, you'll
need to be even more alert for other signs of ovulation, so read on.
2. Listen to your body: If you're like 20 percent
of women, your body will send you a memo when it's ovulating, in the
form of a twinge of pain or a series of cramps in your lower abdominal
area (usually localized to one side — the side you're ovulating from).
Called
mittelschmerz — German for "middle pain" — this monthly
reminder of fertility is thought to be the result of the maturation or
release of an egg from an ovary. Pay close attention, and you may be
more likely to get the message.
3. Chart your temperature: That is, your basal body
temperature, or BBT. Taken with a special thermometer (yes, you guessed
it, a basal body thermometer), your BBT is the baseline reading you get
first thing in the morning, after at least three to five hours of sleep
and before you get out of bed, talk, or even sit up. Your BBT changes
throughout your cycle as fluctuations in hormone levels occur. During
the first half of your cycle,
estrogen
dominates. During the second half of your cycle (once ovulation has
occurred), there is a surge in progesterone. Progesterone increases your
body temperature as it gets your uterus ready for a fertilized,
implantable egg. Which means that in the first half of the month, your
temperature will be lower than it is in the second half of the month,
after ovulation. Confused? Here's the bottom line: Your BBT will reach
its lowest point at ovulation and then rise immediately and dramatically
(about a half a degree) as soon as ovulation occurs. Keep in mind that
charting your BBT for one month will not enable you to predict the day
you ovulate but rather give you evidence of ovulation after it has
occurred. Charting your BBT over a few months, however, will help you to
see a pattern to your cycles, enabling you to predict when ovulation
will occur in future months — and when to hop into bed accordingly.
4. Get to know your cervix: Ovulation isn't an
entirely hidden process. As your body senses the hormone shifts that
indicate an egg is about to be released from the ovary, it begins to
ready itself for the incoming hordes of sperm and give the egg its best
chance of getting fertilized. One detectable sign of oncoming ovulation
is the position of the cervix itself. During the beginning of a cycle,
your cervix — that neck-like passage between your vagina and uterus that
has to stretch during birth to accommodate your baby's head — is low,
hard, and closed. But as ovulation approaches, it pulls back up, softens
a bit, and opens just a little, to let the sperm through on their way
to their target. Some women can easily feel these changes, while others
have a tougher time. Check your cervix daily, using one or two fingers,
and keep a chart of your observations. The other cervical sign you can
watch for is the appearance, increase in quantity, and change in
consistency of cervical mucus (the stuff that gets your underwear all
sticky). Its more noble purpose is to carry the sperm to the ovum deep
inside you.
After your period ends, you'll have a dry spell, literally; you
shouldn't expect much, if any, cervical mucus. As the cycle proceeds,
you'll notice an increase in the amount of mucus with an often white or
cloudy appearance — and if you try to stretch it between your fingers,
it'll break apart. As you get closer to ovulation, this mucus becomes
even more copious, but now it's thinner, clearer, and has a slippery
consistency similar to an egg white. If you try to stretch it between
your fingers, you'll be able to pull it into a string a few inches long
before it breaks. (How's that for fun in the bathroom?) This is yet
another sign of impending ovulation — as well as a sign that it's time
to get out of the bathroom and get busy in the bedroom. Once ovulation
occurs, you may either become dry again or develop a thicker discharge.
Put together with cervical position and BBT on a single chart, cervical
mucus can be an extremely useful (if slightly messy) tool in pinpointing
the day on which you are most likely to ovulate — and it does so in
plenty of time for you to do something about it.
5. Buy an ovulation predictor kit: Don't want to
mess around with mucus? You don't have to these days. Ovulation
predictor kits (OPKs) are able to pinpoint your date of ovulation 12 to
24 hours in advance by looking at levels of luteinizing hormone, or LH,
which is the last of the hormones to hit its peak before ovulation
actually occurs. All you have to do is pee on a stick and wait for the
indicator to tell you whether you're about to ovulate.
Another option is a saliva test, which takes a peek at levels of
estrogen in your saliva as ovulation nears. When you're ovulating, a
look at your saliva under the test's eyepiece will reveal a microscopic
pattern that resembles the leaves of a fern plant or frost on a
windowpane. Not all women get a good "fern," but this test, which is
reusable, can be cheaper than those sticks you have to pee on. There are
also devices that detect the numerous salts (chloride, sodium,
potassium) in a woman's sweat, which change during different times of
the month. Called the chloride ion surge, this shift happens even before
the estrogen and the LH surge, so these tests give a woman a four-day
warning of when she may be ovulating, versus the 12-to-24-hour one that
the standard pee-on-a-stick OPKs provide. The key to success in using
this latest technology is to make sure to get an accurate baseline of
your ion levels (currently, there's a device on the market that needs to
be worn on the wrist for at least six continuous hours to get a proper
baseline). No OPK can guarantee that you will get pregnant or that
you're actually ovulating; they can only indicate when ovulation may be
occurring. So no matter which device or method you choose, patience and
persistence are key! Just don't forget to put together a candlelit
dinner, draw a warm bubble bath, or plan a
romantic weekend getaway — whatever it is that puts you and your partner in a baby-making mood.
Good luck — and have fun trying!
