Understanding Your Fertile Window When You Are Trying to Conceive

Six days, not a whole month

Sperm can survive up to five days, an egg lives about twenty four hours. That gives roughly six fertile days each cycle, ending on the day of ovulation.

Signs the window is open

Your body announces it, quietly.

• Cervical mucus turns clear, slippery, and stretchy
• A rise in libido
• Mild one sided twinges
• A positive ovulation test, usually a day or two before release
• A small temperature rise that confirms ovulation after it happened

Timing without turning it into a job

Every day or every other day across the fertile week is plenty. Scheduling sex to the hour tends to cost more in tenderness than it gains in odds.

When to ask for help

Speak to a provider after twelve months of trying, or six if you are over thirty five, or sooner if your cycles are very irregular or absent.