It is common knowledge that women cannot get pregnant throughout the month but only on specific days that support fertilization and conception. The average menstrual cycle for a woman lasts for 26-36 days and the ‘fertile window’, or the days on which the chances of getting pregnant are the highest, varies according to the length of the menstrual cycle.
Results are based on the information you have provided and data from the publication below: Sarah Johnson, Lorrae Marriott & Michael Zinaman (2018): “Can apps and calendar methods predict ovulation with accuracy?”, Current Medical Research and Opinion, DOI:10.1080/03007995.2018.1475348
When a girl hits puberty, the ovaries release a mature egg every month which then moves down the fallopian tube and this process is known as ovulation. To prepare itself for the egg, the lining of the uterus thickens. This happens so that the egg can get nutrition and comfort if it develops, i.e. pregnancy occurs. However, if no fertilization happens, the egg degenerates and the uterine lining is shed along with blood vessels. This is the process of menstruation that occurs every month in women if they do not conceive. Hence, the day ovaries release an egg and some days preceding it together comprise the fertile window. The number of days depends upon the length of the menstrual cycle. Engaging in intercourse during this period is the best time to get pregnant.
How to keep track?
Knowing when you’re ovulating is extremely helpful when it comes to conception, for it allows you to engage in intercourse on the right days so that chances of conception are highest and the conditions for it to happen are optimum. Since there are almost no chances of getting pregnant before or even twenty-four hours after the fertile window, you must pay very close attention to your cycle and calculate the fertile window accurately so that you don’t miss out on the best days for conception. Most people prefer to mark their period dates in the calendar to keep track. Nowadays, apps that track your menstrual cycle and keep a record of all other factors that might influence it are available for better results.
How to calculate your fertile days?
The day you start menstruating is the first day of your cycle and hence the reference point for all calculations. Depending upon the length of your cycle, calculate the day of your ovulation which lies right in the middle of your cycle. If a woman’s menstrual cycle is the conventional twenty-eight-day cycle, then ovulation would occur right in the middle of the cycle on the fourteenth day. Five days preceding it would be the ninth day and the fertile window would then be considered from the ninth to the fourteenth day. The most fertile days are considered to be the three days that precede the day of ovulation. The day of ovulation is also favourable for conception, it should however be duly noted that right after twelve to twenty-four hours of ovulation, the chances of conception come down to zero because the egg degenerates.