By Kelli Kirwan for LIFELines
Even under the best of circumstances, many couples take months to conceive after they've decided they want a baby. Permanent change of station (PCS) moves, military schools, and deployments often give couples only brief windows of time in which to try to get pregnant. Conceiving on the military's schedule can add unwanted stress that may make conception difficult. Knowing when you ovulate and the best time to get pregnant will increase your odds.
The average menstrual cycle is 26 to 28 days. Tracking the first day of your period to the first day of your next period for several months will give you an idea about your body's schedule.
Counting the first day of your period as day one, you are most fertile on days 13 and 14 of your cycle, when the average couple has about a 25-percent chance each month of becoming pregnant. The good news is that days 12 to 15 actually offer you a four-day window of opportunity because male sperm can live for up to 72 hours within the female reproductive tract. In fact, to increase the odds of conception, sperm should be present prior to ovulation occurring. Intercourse should occur again on the day of ovulation to further increase your chances.
Tools to Help You Predict Your Ovulation
Basal body temperature (BBT) is one way to track ovulation. The theory behind BBT is that right after ovulation, your temperature rises. In order to determine your BBT, you must take your temperature before you get up each morning for about 10 days. It generally takes about four minutes to get a solid reading of your resting body temperature. The downside to using the BBT is that it is only after ovulation occurs that there is an increase in your resting temperature. But once you know your cycle, you should be better able to predict what day you ovulate each month.
Ovulation predictor kits, which sell for $20 to $50 per ovulation cycle, turn a different color the day before you ovulate, giving you a one-day advance warning of ovulation. It's expensive, but if a deployment is on the horizon and you don't have several months to track your cycle, it might be worth the investment.
Ovulation calendars are not fool proof or completely accurate, but combined with other methods, they can help increase your odds of becoming pregnant.
A change in cervical mucous happens during ovulation, when your mucous changes from a thick egg white-like substance to a thinner, clear mucous. This is in order to allow the sperm to penetrate through the mucous, which usually acts as a barrier to bacteria.
In-vitro fertilization (IVF) is an alternative that some couples may want to consider. It is a process that involves removing the mother's eggs, fertilizing them with the father's sperm in a laboratory, and then re-inserting the embryos within two to six days. Your doctor can tell you more about this and help you determine whether it's a step you should take.
Learning when you ovulate and the best time to conceive may seem very clinical. But once you have the technical information you need, don't forget there is more to starting a family than knowing when you ovulate. The pressures of military schedules can leach the romance out of your intimate relationship. Romance and intimacy are a big part of having a baby. Now that you're informed, relax and have fun.
Related Article: MilitaryAvenue.com Resources: Are you having a baby?