When you want to become pregnant, your first step is ensure sure that your egg gets fertilized. Women generally ovulate once per menstrual cycle, with the date usually being about two weeks from the onset of bleeding. For women with regular menstrual cycles, it is easy to estimate the date of ovulation and make sure to have sexual intercourse at the appropriate time. However, if you happen to have an irregular period, it can be a little bit harder to know when to time sex for the highest odds of pregnancy.
Instructions
1. Visit a physician to discuss your irregular menstrual cycles. In some cases, the underlying causes of an irregular menstrual cycle might be health conditions that can ultimately cause pregnancy complications or increase risk of miscarriage. Thus, it can be helpful to pinpoint the reason for the irregular menstrual cycle before getting pregnant.
2. Have sexual intercourse every two to three days. Even if you don't know when you will ovulate, having regular sex ensures that there will be sperm present in your reproductive tract to fertilize the egg whenever ovulation does happen.
3. Keep track of your cycles by using the temperature charting method, which involves taking your temperature with a basal thermometer each morning before getting out of bed and plotting the results on a chart throughout your cycle. A rise of more than 0.3 degrees Fahrenheit from the baseline over a period of three days or longer generally indicates ovulation. This method will not give advance warning of ovulation in any specific cycle, but it can give you a general idea of whether you have a regular pattern to your cycles as well as collect information that might be useful to your doctor if you have any trouble conceiving. If you confirm your date of ovulation in the cycle that you do conceive, it will also help in calculating your due date.
4. Use ovulation predictor test strips around the time that you think you might be ovulating. These are usually test sticks that detect hormonal surges in your urine immediately before ovulating, and a positive result usually means you will ovulate within 24 hours. When you detect that you are ovulating, have sexual intercourse that day.
5. Consider using a fertility monitor if the above methods do not work for you. A fertility monitor is a computerized device that analyzes urine test sticks throughout your menstrual cycle to give you an indication of whether you have low, high or optimal fertility (with an optimal reading coming on the day before you ovulate). Ovulation prediction kits usually have a limited number of test sticks per box and you have to have a general idea of the time period in which you will probably ovulate, but a fertility monitor might be more accurate if you have highly irregular cycles. Note that a fertility monitor is considerably more expensive than other ovulation tracking methods, however.
6. See a physician for a fertility consult if you have not gotten pregnant after one year of trying (and having sex around the time of your ovulation). If you are older than 35, see a doctor if you are not pregnant within six months. Your doctor will be able to help you determine whether there are health factors that are preventing you from conceiving and may be able to offer treatment.
Tags: fertility monitor, menstrual cycle, date ovulation, irregular menstrual, sexual intercourse