Fertility 101

The process of conception necessitates the presence of three essential components: an egg, a sperm, and  a uterus. And an egg is only available during a small window of time during each menstrual cycle.

🔗 The Menstrual Cycle | Pussypedia

Ovulation is the point in the menstrual cycle when the mature egg or ovum is released from the ovary.

For fertilization to occur, sperm must meet egg within 12 to 24 hours of ovulation. Now, sperm can live for up to five days in the female reproductive tract. If you’re trying for a pregnancy, you need to have sex during the five day period before ovulation occurs or right around the time of ovulation. Having sex outside this fertile window will not result in pregnancy. In an average, 28-day menstrual cycle, ovulation occurs halfway through, around day 14. It’s important to note that not everyone has a textbook menstrual cycle, though, which can make it more challenging to figure out exactly when ovulation is occurring.

💡Tip: Having sex every two to three days gives you a pretty good chance of sperm having the opportunity to meet egg, even if you’re not sure when ovulation is occurring.

It’s also important to note that even with perfect timing, fertilization doesn’t always occur. And it can be a long, roughly two-week wait after ovulation to find out if you’re pregnant or not.

Tracking Ovulation

If you want or need to be as proactive as possible in your trying to conceive journey, there are ways to track the small window of peak fertility that occurs each cycle. Tracking ovulation can be really helpful for some and stressful for others.

Click the link below to access an article on different options for tracking ovulation:

🔗 How to Track Ovulation When Trying to Conceive | Verywell Family

If you want to dive deep into this topic, this book is an excellent resource:

📚 Taking Charge of Your Fertility: The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement, and Reproductive Health

I also want to acknowledge that not everyone trying to conceive has ready access to all three essential components (egg, sperm, and uterus). Check out this book if you’re looking for thorough guidance on navigating all of the options:

📚 Baby Making for Everybody: Family Building and Fertility for LGBTQ+ and Solo Parents

💡Tip: Even if you choose not to track ovulation, I highly recommend recording the dates of each menstrual cycle. This can give you and your care provider some valuable information about your fertility. And if you find out you’re pregnant, knowing the first day of your last menstrual cycle is helpful in establishing a due date.

Understand Factors That Affect Fertility

There are certain lifestyle factors that can affect fertility, like:

• Smoking
• Alcohol consumption
• Stress
• Poor nutrition

Sperm quality can also be affected by:

• Certain lubricants
• Hot tubs
• Tight clothing
• Long bike rides
• And more

Preconception Care

Before trying to conceive (or if you’re currently trying), I highly recommend scheduling a preconception appointment to help you prepare for a healthy pregnancy. If you have any questions or concerns about your or your partner's fertility, definitely bring them up with your care provider at this appointment. 

Know When to Seek Help

For some, conception can happen right away or even when it wasn’t planned. For others, it can take awhile, even with a lot of effort. The general recommendation is to contact your care provider when you’ve been actively trying to conceive for a year without a resulting pregnancy (or six months if you’re over 35). If you’re over 40, you can call right away.

🔗 Evaluating Infertility | ACOG

Early Signs of Pregnancy

When you’re trying to conceive, the “two-week wait” between ovulation and waiting to see if your period starts can feel SO LONG. It’s also hard not to wonder about every twinge and tired moment.

So how will you know if you’re pregnant? The most common and obvious symptom is a missed period, but there are other possible signs, like fatigue, morning sickness, sore breasts, and needing to pee more frequently.

These are just a few symptoms you may experience. Everyone is different, though, and you may not experience many symptoms at all right away. Or you may have some less common ones that aren’t on this list. 

If you suspect you might be pregnant, you can take an at-home pregnancy test to confirm. These are very reliable tests, especially if you’re taking one around the time of or after a missed period. Testing too early can result in a false negative result. The test is measuring a hormone called human chorionic gonadotrophin, or hCG. This hormone starts being produced in the body as soon as a fertilized egg implants in the uterus, but it takes time for enough of it to build up and register a positive result on a pregnancy test.

☑️ To Do: Make sure to call your care provider to get scheduled for your first prenatal appointment once you have a positive test result.

Oh, and a wide arrange of emotions is normal when you’re taking a pregnancy test. Both positive and negative results can trigger happiness, excitement, sadness, frustration, overwhelm, disbelief, and more. 

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