Understanding your body

If you understand when you ovulate you stand a much greater chance of conceiving.

The time in which you have intercourse can have a huge bearing on getting pregnant or not, because your fertile window is made up of a few days each month when pregnancy is possible. Sperm can survive for a maximum of five days inside a woman but your egg survives for just one day. This means that your fertile period is six days long comprised from five days before you ovulate and one day after. Pregnancy is possible on any one of these six days but your chances will increase if you have intercourse on the three days immediately leading up to and including your ovulation day. So this means you have a practical fertile window of just three days. Confused? Work out which days you ovulate with our ovulation calculator. Simply input the date of the first day of your last period and how long your cycle usually lasts for, and the calculator will work out when your most fertile days are over the next year!

Sex!

Yes, you do have to have sex to become pregnant unless you’re going down the artificial insemination route. There are many old wives tales about the type of sexual positions that can help you to become pregnant, but the aim is to keep the sperm inside you for as long as possible, so all it takes is a little common sense. Missionary position seems to work for most couples (Man on top) and some people swear by putting a pillow under the woman’s hips so that her cervix is tilted upwards and the sperm have more chance of staying inside and finding that egg!

Orgasms

According to research, a women’s fertility is increased when she has an orgasm during or after the man does. This is because your partner’s ejaculation deposits a pool of sperm at the back of your vagina. When you reach orgasm your cervix pushes forward, dipping into this pool of semen, increasing the chances of the sperm entering your uterus and finding the unfertilized egg.

Having sex in your fertile period

It’s essential that you have sex in the few days a month when you’re most fertile. If your menstrual cycle lasts around 28 days (which is the average) you’re most likely to ovulate 12-14 days before your next monthly period. The trick is to work out when you might be ovulating so that you can ensure you have unprotected sex around this time – your vaginal mucus offers a clue, becoming wetter and stretchier, almost like egg white, at the time you ovulate. You can also buy an ovulation predictor kit at your pharmacy.

Getting healthy for conception

Cutting out alcohol, cigarettes and caffeine should be one of the first steps on your route to pregnancy as they all pose a risk to your reproductive health. It’s also worth trying to achieve a healthy weight before you get pregnant – being overweight or underweight can interfere with ovulation. If you’re seriously overweight this can also cause problems once you’re pregnant, as it can lead to complications such as pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes and pre-term birth. Try to get at least 30 minutes’ exercise a day – see our feature on fitness for fertility. You’re also more likely to fall pregnant if you eat a healthy balanced diet – and remember to start taking folic acid supplements well before you plan to conceive, as folic acid helps cut your risk of having a baby with a neural tube defect such as spina bifida.

See the science of conception for a reminder of how babies are made...

The information in this feature is intended for educational purposes only. If you have any concerns about your health, the health of your child or the health of someone you know, please consult with a doctor or other healthcare professional.