Pregnancy Ovulation Calendar
There are a lot of things you can do to boost your fertility, but timing intercourse around ovulation is most important to your chances of conceiving. Using a pregnancy ovulation calendar can help determine when ovulation occurs so you can make the most out of your fertile days.
Ovulation is the small window of fertility in the menstrual cycle where the ovary releases a mature egg into the fallopian tube. As the egg moves down the fallopian tube and travels to the uterus, it may get fertilized by a sperm cell if unprotected intercourse takes place during this time. Ideally, ovulation should occur 14 days into the menstrual cycle, but this is not a universal rule. The date of ovulation depends on the length of a menstrual cycle, which varies from woman to woman. Not to mention that environmental factors like stress can delay ovulation and cause you to miss this small window of opportunity.
What is an ovulation calendar?
An ovulation calendar allows you to track the changes in your menstrual cycle so that you can easily predict when your luteal phase begins. The luteal phase, or the days past ovulation, is the second part of the menstrual cycle that begins on the day after ovulation and ends on the first day of your period. The idea is to be able to predict the day of ovulation so you can schedule intercourse around your “peak fertility” – that is, the day before and the day after ovulation. Our website contains an ovulation calendar that can help you out with this, completely free of charge.
Ovulation calendar and basal body temperature
The ovulation calendar alone cannot help you determine when your peak fertility begins. For best results, you need to use it to track your basal body temperature (BBT), the temperature of your body at rest. Your BBT varies throughout the menstrual cycle and these changes can help you figure out which days you are the most fertile. During the first part of your menstrual cycle (right after your period ends), your body temperature stays at 96-98 degrees. However, this temperature can rise up to 99 degrees as soon as ovulation occurs in order to provide a fertile environment for the egg. This temperature does not lower until the first day of your period.
You can track your BBT with a special thermometer called a basal thermometer. To make life easier, choose a digital basal thermometer that provides readings up to two decimals, e.g. 96.55. These decimals are critical to detecting the shift in temperature prior to ovulation.
Take note that the BBT method is not a precise method – it only lets you know when ovulation has taken place. It’s important that you get used to predicting the general pattern or rise in temperature so you can have intercourse on the days before ovulation occurs.
How to use the ovulation calendar
You can start using the ovulation calendar at the beginning of a new menstrual cycle. Print out the calendar and enter the date at the top left corner, starting with the first day of your menstrual cycle. Using your basal thermometer, take your morning temperature as soon as you wake up, before you get up and start your day. It’s best if you keep your basal thermometer by your nightstand because the slightest physical activity can alter your temperature. You can also obtain accurate results if you take your temperature at the same time every morning. It also helps to go to bed at the same time at night and to avoid drinking alcohol. Sleeping late and drinking can alter your body temperature, and it is important to make this chart as accurate as possible.
You can take your basal body temperature orally, vaginally, or rectally, as long as you use the same method throughout the entire cycle. You also need to place the thermometer the same way every day, e.g. same vaginal or rectal depth, or the same location in your mouth. Stay very still as the thermometer reads your temperature.
At the left side of the calendar are temperature readings in Fahrenheit ranging from 96.8 to 99. As soon as you obtain your reading, place a dot on the box below the date that corresponds with the temperature reading. At the end of your cycle, connect the dots so you will know when ovulation has occurred.
It is difficult to say what a “normal” temperature is because pre-ovulatory temperatures vary from woman to woman. What you want to find is a temperature change of at least .4 degrees over the last six days. If the temperature stays elevated for three consecutive days, then you have probably ovulated.
Repeat the practice every cycle. Within six months, you should be able to discern a pattern that will help you predict when your luteal phase begins. Charting your basal body temperature can also help you look for signs of pregnancy. If your temperature stays elevated for at least 18 days after you ovulate, you might already be pregnant.
Help Getting Pregnant After Age 30
Age can unfortunately become a barrier to conceiving as it just so happens that the human body’s fertility naturally begins to decline after the age of 20 and deteriorates at a progressively rapid speed when we turn 30. Although there are a number of factors that affect fertility, age-related infertility among women is mostly due to her finite supply of eggs. Not only do eggs diminish with time, but the remaining eggs and sex hormones also age along with the body. These events are completely normal and happen to every woman. Although our ticking biological clocks are not a great help, getting pregnant after age 30 isn’t impossible. There are a number of ways to boost your fertility and help you conceive. It’s just a matter of finding the right method for you.
Age and Infertility
Every girl is born with over one million eggs, and these numbers start dropping as she starts to get older. After puberty, there are only 300,000 eggs left in both ovaries. Reduced ovarian reserves is one of the reasons why the chances of conceiving over the age of 30 decline. By the time a woman is older than 45, experts believe it is almost impossible for her to conceive using her own eggs.
Aside from the ovaries’ finite supply of eggs, another obstacle to fertility as a woman ages is that the body’s response to follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) will begin to naturally interfere with ovulation and a regular menstrual cycle. FSH is the hormone responsible for developing and releasing a mature egg once every menstrual cycle. As a woman gets older, the ovaries become less and less able to respond to FSH levels in the body and menstrual cycles become shorter. The pituitary gland compensates for this by producing even more FSH in an attempt to boost egg development in the ovaries. Eventually, the ovaries reach a point where they cannot release an egg every month. By age 50, you have very little or no eggs left in your ovaries.
A blood test called the Day 3 FSH test should tell your doctor all about the state of your ovarian reserves. The Day 3 test involves taking a blood sample on the third day of your menstrual cycle. High amounts of FSH in your blood indicate that your ovarian reserves are running low. But, normal FSH levels do not necessarily mean you are in the clear. The quantity of the eggs in your ovaries is just one side of the coin; the quality of the remaining eggs affects your fertility too.
Egg quality refers to the number of normal chromosomes in an egg, its ability to accept a sperm cell, and its ability to sustain growth. Eggs with only a cytoplasm (the jelly-like substance that makes up a cell) or with abnormal chromosomes cannot develop into an embryo. A woman in her 20s and early 30s has a larger proportion of healthy eggs available for fertilization. She will have bad eggs too, but the number of healthy eggs is usually larger and present at a higher volume in a woman younger than age 30. When she reaches her late 30s and 40s, the number of bad eggs increases, making it more difficult for the woman to get pregnant or sustain a pregnancy.
Often, the cause of poor egg quality in terms of age is a problem with the mitochondria, the energy centers found in the egg cells. The mitochondria need to produce a high amount of energy for the fertilized egg to implant itself and transform into an embryo and fetus. However, the amount of energy produced by the mitochondria declines with age. If the mitochondria cannot provide the energy needed by the fertilized egg, the egg cells disintegrate and a miscarriage occurs.
Even if a woman in her 40s is able to carry the pregnancy to term, there’s also a high chance that the egg contains abnormal chromosomes, resulting in genetic abnormalities.
Treatment options
Fortunately, reproductive science provides a number of fertility treatment options for women older than 30. Before deciding on treatment, you need to go through a testing process to as best as possible determine the real cause behind your infertility. Once there is an identifiable cause, it will be easier for your doctor to recommend a fertility treatment. However, if a cause is not identified, medical fertility treatments are often also effective in cases where there is unexplained infertility.
Fertility drugs like Clomiphene and Menotropins are the primary treatment for women with ovulation problems. These medications work like FSH and trigger the ovaries to release more than one egg every month. When you are taking a fertility drug, your doctor will need to monitor you carefully with hormone tests, blood tests, and ultrasounds.
Fertility treatments for women over 30 can make use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) – artificial or partially artificial treatments handling the sperm or the egg, or both, to assist in achieving pregnancy. ART can be expensive and should be considered a last resort if you’re working within a budget. However, it has wondrous capabilities to help couples achieve pregnancy that may have not been able to without its assistance.
Take charge of your fertility
There are a number of lifestyle changes you can do to boost your fertility. Cigarette smoke and alcohol are known to deteriorate egg health, and quitting these habits can increase your chances of conceiving. A healthy diet of green vegetables, lean meats, and no trans-fats will also help. Additionally, many people are turning to unconventional means such as Chinese medicine to help them get pregnant. Acupuncture and acupressure are just two examples of alternative methods that have been proven to improve chances of conception.
Even though your fertility naturally declines with age, it’s no guarantee that you cannot conceive. With enough of your own personal research and through the help of your doctors, there is a good chance you will eventually find a fertility treatment that will assist you in becoming pregnant and carrying a healthy baby to full term. Think carefully before you decide to try a fertility treatment, especially if its cost goes beyond your budget. Ask your physician a lot of questions about your chances of conceiving with a particular approach and take your time deciding if this is the best path for you. If you do decide to opt for an ART treatment, take very good care of yourself before during and after the entire procedure to have the best chance for a successful outcome.
