There are countless wives’ tales that swear they can help you get pregnant faster. But are any of them true? Can we really do anything to improve our chances of conception?
The short answer is yes. But it’s not what you may be thinking - like laying upside down after sex. When it comes to conception it’s both art and science, and timing may be the most important factor. Diet and exercise certainly get an honorable mention, but since I’m not a nutritionist, we’ll stick to timing.
The goal is to help you better understand when you’re in your fertile window so you can maximize your chances of getting pregnant.
What is a Fertile Window?
Despite how terrified we all were to accidentally get pregnant, there is only a small, six day window, each cycle, where conception is possible. This is called your fertile window and it comprises the five days leading up to ovulation, plus the actual day you ovulate.
You may be wondering why five days before ovulation. Don’t you need to have sex the day you ovulate so the sperm and egg can meet? Luckily, no. It turns out sperm can survive for up to five days in the fallopian tubes, so in theory, you can have sex five days before you ovulate and still get pregnant. That’s the good news!
Unfortunately, sperm doesn’t always cooperate, and guaranteeing that meet and greet with your egg can be tough. Unlike with our periods, our bodies don’t exactly call out when we’re in our fertile window. But luckily there are a few things we can do to get this timing right.
1) Monitor your Luteinizing Hormone
We know that ovulation is key to getting pregnant, but we don’t know when we’re ovulating. Or do we? As you approach ovulation, your Luteinizing Hormone (LH) will spike. Knowing when that spike occurs, like all pregnancy things, requires some good old fashioned peeing on a stick.
There are tons of at-home tests that can check for your LH peak. I used Easy@Home ovulation strips. They’re affordable and you get a lot of test strips, so you can test frequently without breaking the bank. Your results are also stored in an easy to use app, so you can see how your LH is changing over your fertile window. If you prefer to stay away from the apps, I also liked Clearblue’s Digital Ovulation Kit. It’s very accurate and gives you a little smiley when your LH is peaking. I’m a little extra, so I used EasyHome to identify my fertile window and track small changes in my LH, then Clearblue to confirm my true peak. Either one on their own is plenty!
Once your LH is peaking, you have 12-48 hours before you ovulate, so make sure your partner’s sperm gets to the party a little early. Eggs wait for no one.
2) Check Your Cervical Mucus
As much as you don’t like to think about your cervical mucus (CM), aka discharge, when it comes to getting pregnant, CM can be one of your best tools.
Throughout your cycle, the consistency of your CM is constantly changing. At some points you may barely notice it. At others, your clear and stretchy discharge will be hard to miss. Gross? Maybe. Normal? Completely. And it’s absolutely critical, because that type of discharge means you are about to ovulate. So as soon as you notice it, check for that LH peak, or just grab your partner and start the no pants dance.
3) Find a Good Frequency
After one month of tracking things like your LH peak, you’ll have a pretty good idea of where in your cycle your fertile window falls. Once you’re in that window, but before you’ve hit your LH peak, I recommend having sex once every other day. Sex when you’re trying to get pregnant can start to feel like more of a business transaction than a romantic moment, so pace yourself. Once you hit your LH peak, have sex once a day for the next two days and then try to stay patient for the dreaded two-week wait.
I don't recommend trying multiple times in one day. It sounds counterintuitive, but it takes about 24 hours for a man’s sperm count to replenish, so trying multiple times a day can have diminishing returns. Not to mention it’s a lot of work.
4) Set Your Alarm… Or Not
We’ve all seen a show where the woman calls her husband and tells him to come home from work ASAP because she’s ovulating. In reality, there is not much evidence to support the idea that the time of day you have sex corresponds to your chances of conceiving.
It is true that sperm counts are the highest first thing in the morning. So if you’re a morning person, you may consider scheduling an early session. But whether you have sex before the sun rises, after it sets, or some time in between, as long as you’re doing it during your fertile window, you’re doing it right.
Just remember that you can do everything right, and sometimes your egg and sperm will still miss each other. So try to stay patient, as hard as it is, and may your next fertile window be your last (for the next nine months)!
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