Ovulation prediction

Many young couples choose not to have children during the early stages of their relationship and often make use of contraceptives and condoms to enjoy their time together. After a while though, they begin to feel the need for starting a family. While some of them successfully manage to get pregnant in no time after they stop using contraceptives, other couples keep trying for a long time, often stressing over their lack of success.

The key to achieving your goal of getting pregnant lies in learning as much as you can about the process involved. For women understanding how the menstrual cycle works, helps a lot in ascertaining as well as predicting and planning your ovulation phase to get the most out of it.

The menstrual cycle is nothing but the preparation of the body for the possibility of a pregnancy. This can only happen when a male sperm finds the egg in its prime state at the right time, leading to fertilization. Once the egg is fertilized, the process of pregnancy sets in to motion. When it fails to happen, the egg, as well as the thickened wall, is shed by the body in the form of menses.

This whole period from the start of one period cycle to another is referred to as the menstrual cycle. Many changes take place in the body during this period. One among these is ovulation. Understanding when exactly this happens can help you get pregnant faster.

Ideally the week right before ovulation is the most fertile. The very day ovulation takes place as well as the day that follows are also considered to be very fertile. Miss this chance of capitalizing on the situation and you’ll have to wait another month to take a shot.

To be able to correctly predict this phase one needs to understand not only the basics of menstruation in general but also needs to be able to understand and take into consideration their own cycles and patterns which tend to differ from woman to woman.

Basically the menstrual cycle can be divided into two stages – the pre-ovulation phase and the post-ovulation phase.

The pre-ovulation stage is what you need to focus on to predict ovulation: You start your period on Day 1. This goes on for the next five to six days. By the time you finish your period, your pituitary gland has begun to release the two essential hormones – FSH and LH – to get your follicles to release another egg. The uterus then begins to prepare itself by thickening its lining in anticipation. This whole process spans days 7-11. It’s about this time that the ovary on receiving more LH releases an ovum which then enters and travels towards the Uterus. Providing your menstrual cycle spans 28 days, your ovulation should occur on day 14. The egg is good for fertilization for the next 24 hours.

Everything that happens after this period falls under the post-ovulation period that involves either egg fertilization or menstruation.

By correctly calculating your cycle, you can effectively predict when you’ll ovulate. This in turn means you can engage in sex at the right time – when your body is in prime condition to get pregnant – and make your dreams come true.