The Best Time to Conceive
Is there truly a best time to conceive a baby? In a typical woman's cycle, the window of opportunity for conception each month is very narrow. There are countless numbers of women who have conceived without even trying, or without knowing exactly when conception happened.
But for those of us who are actively trying, and getting to know our bodies better as a result, there is a vast amount of education to be learn regarding the best time to conceive.
An egg is released each cycle when ovulation occurs. This only happens once in a cycle. However, there are rare instances when another egg is released within 24 hours of the first egg. Given the fact that the egg will only live for 12 to 24 hours, the window of opportunity is very narrow for pregnancy to occur. It is important to time intercourse properly, to make sure that there are sperm present when an egg is released from the ovary. From this stand point, a woman has 12 to 24 hours to actually get pregnant each month. However, sperm can live up to 5 days in good, fertile-quality cervical fluid. This gives somewhat of an increase in the window of opportunity. Unless you have been charting, and know for certain that your cervical fluid is excellent fertile-quality, don't rely solely on this. To be absolutely sure of when ovulation occurs, chart your fertility signs - basal body temperature, cervical fluid and possibly cervical position. That way you can best pinpoint the most beneficial days to have intercourse in order to conceive.
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With all this in mind, how often you should actually have intercourse depends upon a few things. If your partner has a normal sperm count, then having intercourse every day wouldn't hurt. If he has a low sperm count, you may want to try the every other day approach. At the very least, if you know when ovulation should occur, have intercourse starting 3 days prior to ovulation until 1 to 3 days after. This will insure that there are sperm present when the egg is released.
The best time to conceive will depend on when you actually ovulate. Whether you find out when ovulation occurs by charting or by ovulation predictor kits (I recommend charting or a combination of the two), it's important to time intercourse so that the sperm will be there, ready to fertilize the egg. It is rare that the egg will actually become fertilized from having intercourse the day after it has been released. By the time sperm actually reach the egg, it is quite possibly the egg is already dying. You have a better chance for pregnancy if you have intercourse right before, and the day of, ovulation.
One last piece of advice. Keep the romance alive in your relationship. Relax and have fun. It seems that when relaxed, the body will function better and do what it's meant to do to aid in conception. Enjoy yourselves. This is meant to be a fun journey. I believe that stress sometimes hinders conception, as it's the body's way of protecting itself from further stress. So live in the moment, and keep those positive thoughts in your head. Conception will occur at the right time!
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