All About Timing Sex for Pregnancy

If you're currently trying to conceive, there's a lot to keep in mind about timing of sex or fertility treatments such as IUI. You may find yourself wondering if there's anything you can do to help yourself get pregnant faster.

You're most likely to conceive just before or during ovulation, but technically, you can get pregnant at any time during your menstrual cycle, even if you are having your period. However, your odds of getting pregnant increase dramatically if you have sex daily or every other day during your most fertile period, which lasts about a week, and incudes several days before and up to ovulation. Ahead, learn more about ovulation and timing for sex when looking to get pregnant.

When Am I Most Likely to Get Pregnant?

Knowing how ovulation works and being able to calculate your fertile window will help immensely with trying to time sex or fertility procedures for pregnancy. While you can technically get pregnant any time, the odds are increasingly likely if you time conception with your fertile window.

Understanding Ovulation

Ovulation usually occurs around days 12 to 14 of a 28-day cycle, but it varies from person to person based on the length of their cycle. It can even vary from cycle to cycle!

The egg that ovulates is only able to be fertilized for 12 to 24 hours after it's released from the ovary, but with the help of your cervical mucus, sperm can live up to five days in the female reproductive tract. Since it can be nearly impossible to pinpoint the exact moment of ovulation, having sex before you ovulate (as opposed to after) can help increase your chances of conception by having sperm ready and waiting for the egg.

Calculating Your Fertile Window

Your fertile window is essentially the five days leading up to ovulation. To calculate it, you'll want to determine when your menstrual cycle begins (AKA the first day of your menstrual period). From there, determine how long your cycles are.

Of course, not everyone's cycles are always the same, which can make calculating your fertile window tricky. Ovulation predictor kits can come in handy, but they aren't always entirely accurate.

How to Track Ovulation

You can keep track of ovulation based on a calendar, and some tools use physiological changes such as body temperature, cervical mucus, or hormone levels. Here are some methods you might consider.

Pay Attention to Cervical Mucus

Research suggests that the best day for sexual intercourse or a fertility treatment for conception is the day you notice the most fertile cervical mucus. Fertile cervical mucus is a vaginal discharge that resembles raw egg whites. This kind of discharge, which is clear, stretchy, and slippery, is healthy and normal, and it typically appears on the days before ovulation. Once you know what to look for, it's relatively easy to detect.

Cervical mucus improves sperm motility (movement) and helps them survive on their journey to into the uterus. The more sperm that survive and travel to your fallopian tubes to meet (ideally) the egg  eggs that are released during ovulation, the higher the likelihood of fertilization.

Use Ovulation Predictor Kits

Ovulation predictor tests work a lot like pregnancy tests, except they tell you when you're likely about to ovulate. They come as test sticks or test strips that react with your urine. To use these, you can urinate into a cup and then dip the test strip into the collected urine. You will get your result based on color changes or digital reading.

At-home ovulation tests detect the luteinizing hormone (LH) in your urine. LH surges just before you ovulate, so when the test reads positive, this indicates that your body is attempting to trigger the egg release from the ovary and that it is probably your optimal time to become pregnant.

Charting Your Body Temperature

Basal body temperature charting requires taking your temperature every morning before you get up. Your basal body temperature is your body's temperature at complete rest, and your hormone levels affect this temperature.

The hormone progesterone raises your body temperature. Progesterone increases after ovulation, so when your basal body temperature rises and remains high for at least a few days, this means that you probably ovulated just before you observed the rise.

Keep Track of Everything With Fertility Apps

There are many online and smartphone apps that track ovulation cycles. The more accurate ones require you to input your basal body temperature or cervical mucus changes, but if your periods are very regular, a simple calendar-based app can help you pinpoint what are likely to be your most fertile days. You need to input when you get your period so the app will learn your cycle, and tell you when you're most likely to be ovulating.

How Often Should I Have Sex in Order to Get Pregnant?

First of all, it's important to know that the frequency with which you have sex if you're trying to get pregnant is truly up to you and your comfort level. With that said, experts advise that you don't have sex more than once per day. It may seem that more sex would equal a better chance of pregnancy, but actually, having sex too frequently may decrease the number of healthy sperm.

For those who are looking to conceive by sexual intercourse, consider the following tips:

Have Sex Regularly During Your Fertile Window

If you're comfortable tracking and detecting ovulation, then you can be sure to have sex during your most fertile time. Consider having sex regularly when you:

• Experience fertile cervical mucus
• Have a positive ovulation detecting test
• Have a positive saliva ferning test

If you chart your basal body temperature, you can know the approximate day you ovulated each month—but only after the fact. In this case, you should have sex for the three days before you expect to ovulate and possibly on the day you expect to ovulate, too.

It's also a good idea to have sex regularly throughout your cycle, if you want to. It can help to provide time to enjoy sex without a baby-making mission attached.

If Timing Sex Is Creating Stress, Try to Have Sex Regularly Throughout the Month Instead

While some people feel empowered by tracking ovulation, others may feel anxious and overwhelmed by it all. Whatever method of ovulation tracking you choose—checking your temperature every morning, using ovulation detection strips, checking your saliva for ferning, checking your cervical mucus, or all of the above—paying close attention to your cycles and ovulation signs can be emotionally exhausting.

If timing sex for ovulation is causing anxiety, you can instead just rely on regularly timed sex. In these cases, experts suggest having sex every week, about every other day, particularly during the middle of your typical cycle. Following this schedule, you're bound to have sex at least once during your fertile window, even without tracking your cycle.

The Bottom Line

When you're eager to get pregnant, it's easy to over-complicate things. It's true that you're more likely to conceive quickly if you have sex or undergo fertility procedures during your fertile window, but it's also true that if you have sex frequently all month, you're likely to get pregnant eventually.

There is a lot of pressure online within fertility support groups to use as many ovulation tracking methods as possible. It can be helpful, enlightening, and even fun to track your cycles, but it can also become stressful. Do what works best for you. If you don't get pregnant after trying for one year (or after six months, if you're over 35), it's important to reach out to a health care provider.