Increase Your Chance of Conceiving

Before most people realize they may have trouble conceiving, they first try. And sometimes try and try for months or years. The first step in fertility education should come from knowing about conception – when are you most fertile and what is you chance of conceiving?

When am I most fertile?

When couples start to consider building a family, they often wonder when they are most fertile or try to make a fertility calendar. Generally speaking, your “fertility window” is 6 days leading up to and ending on the day of the female partner’s ovulation.  This is because sperm can live inside the female body for several days and the egg survives for about 24 hours after ovulation. Having intercourse every 24-48 hours leading up to ovulation will increase your chances of pregnancy.

For women that have regular cycles, determining ovulation and your fertility calendar is easy – it is typically 14 days before the start of your next period. However, many women do not have regular cycles, making planning more challenging. Ovulation predictor kits detect rises in luteinizing hormone (LH) which happens prior to ovulation. For those of you already in fertility treating at NCCRM, you are probably very familiar with LH, as it is part of your basic Day 3 testing and often included in treatment protocols to stimulate the development of eggs.

What are my chances of conceiving on your own?

While it may seem that your friends seem to keep getting pregnant with ease, the truth is women in their 30s only have about a 15% chance of conceiving each month.

• There is about a 15% chance of conceiving in each ovulatory cycle. And that is with doing everything right – meaning, you don’t have any medical issues and his sperm count is fine.
• Approximately 40% will conceive during the first three months of trying, and about 70% of couples will conceive during the first six months.
• Within the first year of trying to conceive, up to 85% of couples will conceive. Leaving us with the approximately 1 in 8 couples that are impacted by infertility.

NCCRM encourages women under 35 years of age that have been trying to conceive for over a year to schedule an appointment with a fertility specialist. For couples over 35, meeting with a fertility specialist after 6 months is recommended.