Discover Exactly When To Make a Baby
The Mastering Ovulation Cycle
When you really need to know
The ovulation cycle might not be a topic that presents an intense interest to a wide audience. This does not mean however, that is unimportant because for some what they don’t know can hurt them. While it might be laughable to think of a prospective MD failing a Medical school exam because of this lacking knowledge, the real hurt is most often felt elsewhere by those much more removed from any medical setting. The ultimate harm from an ignorance of the ovulation cycle usually comes in the form of difficultly when trying to conceive.
Ovulation and Conception
When it comes to fertility or infertility, big medical jargon is often slug with casual abandon. This only serves to intensify feelings of failure and inadequacy, which often accompany the inability to get pregnant. Rest assured that it is possible to understand the basics of ovulation, conception, and fertility with relatively few vocabulary lessons.
The first term that hopeful parents should get to know very well is that of ovulation or the ovulation cycle. To put it simply, ovulation is the act of an egg ripening and being released from the ovary ready for fertilization. Without ovulation, pregnancy is not possible. This is what makes knowledge of ovulation and its cyclical nature paramount when trying to conceive.
Round and Round the Ovulation Cycle
Like most bodily functions, ovulation occurs in a cyclical nature. It is not usually a willy-nilly randomized occurrence. The ovulation cycle is really just a dressed up name for the menstruation cycle. The two titles describe the same monthly changes in a woman’s reproductive system.
The only real difference is that one name places the focus on the menstrual flow, while the other shifts the focus to the fertile time of releasing the egg. The changing focus might sound like too much syntax. Nevertheless, to couples wishing for a baby, it makes all the difference in the world.
Unlike the masculine reproductive system that has sperm ever ready, the female reproduction cycle has a very small window of fertility from the time the egg is released (ovulation) until the time the egg is no longer viable. This window of time is only 12-48 hours long. If the egg and sperm do not come together in this time, then a whole menstrual cycle must pass again before there is another possibility of becoming pregnant.
On average, the ovulation cycle follows a regular pattern of about 28 days each month. Ovulation occurs on or near day 14 of this cycle. The significant application of this knowledge serves to increase odds of becoming pregnant by providing couples with the exact timeframe needed to focus their efforts to conceive.
By targeting the few days spanning the midsection of the ovulation cycle (roughly days 12-17) it is possible to greatly increase the odds of getting pregnant. (Sperm can live for up to 48 hours in the female system, so having sexual intercourse before the actual release of the egg is perfectly acceptable.)
Accounting for Differences in Ovulation
In a perfect world, everything, including ovulation, would happen like clockwork on a perfectly predictable schedule. As is so often the case, however, the ovulation cycle can be far from regular. This adds an extra layer of complexity to the whole process.
The release of the egg, instead of being predictably on the 18th of every calendar month can vary greatly from woman to woman, from month to month and from cycle to cycle. This unpredictable ovulation cycle creates a level of conception difficulty that can be the root cause of fertility problems.
While one woman has a perfectly typical cycle beginning every 28 days, another may have an equally regular cycle. Instead of occupying the “medically” normal 28-day timeframe, her cycle is 34 days long. The difference of only 6 days will mean the fertile window is moved backward by 3 days.
This may not seem like much, but it throws the target days off by that much. If this woman does not account for the extra days, then she and her partner are likely spending their time focusing on the wrong time and thus limiting their likelihood of success.
To counter the “moving target” effect of an unknown, unpredictable, or irregular ovulation cycle, more knowledge is needed. This extra knowledge is attained by careful observation and recording the clues the body gives off indicating ovulation. Since it is generally less intimidating and easiest to begin with the simplest cure, which is where you start when beginning the ovulation chart.’
Charting Fertile Times of the Month
The beginning an ovulation cycle chart is simply recording the first day of the menstrual period from month to month. Most woman are not aware of any signs or clues from the body that indicate ovulation or these signs are unreliable, so it is much easier to record the menstrual cycle.
Once several months worth of dates are collected, it will be possible to see any pattern to the cycle that may exists. In other words, it is possible to predict the average length of the cycle. To predict ovulation, simply divide this number in half and there is the magical target window of fertility known as ovulation. A simple step can be taken and many couples find this is all they needed
Beyond a Simple Ovulation Chart
Others couples find, however, that this simple chart is not nearly enough. In these cases of more challenging fertility issues, more knowledge is needed. There are many ways to get the extra information: adding the basil body temperature to the chart, the use of an ovulation test and noting cervical changes. The extra charting takes time, but it is worth the effort when the reward is a baby.
There are times when all this ovulation testing and charting reveals the real trouble to be the complete lack of ovulation. Don’t despair, there is still much that can be done. Research on fertility is adding to the stores of curative knowledge all the time.
Some of the most exciting and effective ways to induce an uncooperative irregular ovulation cycle into perfect synchronization are medicinal herbs. You don’t have to go through invasive and expensive treatment to increase your chances of fertility during your ovulation cycle, click here for some simple and proven tips that people are turning to everyday.
