Tracking ovulation is most simple when a woman’s cycle is regular. Once the first day of your period is known counting backward 14 days will usually place you within the general window of ovulation, with the surrounding two to three days being your most fertile window.

For those who wish to be more exact there are over the counter ovulation kits, most of which report on the level luteinizing hormone (a hormone that stimulates the ovaries) found in the body.

Fertility clinics and OB offices often can also track ovulation with more exact methods such as blood tests and ultrasounds.

Your basal body temperature is your temperature when you’re fully at rest. Ovulation may cause a slight increase in basal body temperature. Tracking your basal body temperature (BBT) only requires the purchase of a very accurate type of thermometer.

The lowest body temperature typically occurring during sleep. Your BBT will rise slightly just before ovulation due to the production of hormones indicating ovulation. If your BBT does not increase, the hormone indicating ovulation is not present.

Timed intercourse is deliberate sex during an optimized window of a women’s cycle, with the goal of achieving pregnancy. Many couples who wish to become parents use timed intercourse without involving or requiring any clinical support.

Any heterosexual couple who wishes to conceive and are willing to put in a bit of effort should consider non-clinical timed intercourse. Tracking a cycle, over the counter kits and free apps are available to help make pregnancy a reality that much sooner.

If your menstrual cycle is irregular or absent, it may be due to lifestyle factor, or it could be an indication of an ovulation disorder, which happen to be one of the most common causes of infertility and account for infertility in 25% of couples.

Of course, a lack of a period can also be an indicator that a pregnancy has already been achieved.

We wish we had a more exciting response for you but no particular sex position has been proven to improve the odds of conception. We encourage you to be kind to yourselves and your partner and “work together” in whatever manner you prefer as a couple.

A woman’s health and lifestyle choices month and in some cases years before conception can have an impact on their health during pregnancy as well as fetal development. First and foremost, discontinue all smoking, drug use, and alcohol consumption, consider your nutrition and movement regimen and read more on this topic on our blog.

For a woman’s body to have the potential to become pregnant, she must ovulate (release a mature egg).  If your doctor believes that no egg is being released, then ovulation induction may be part of your treatment plan.  For some couples, ovulation induction medications paired with timed intercourse are all that is needed to achieve a pregnancy. For others, ovulation induction may need to be paired with IUI.