Sneak "Peak" on Fertility

Remember my post on Birth Control and Pregnancy Achievement? If you are trying to conceive (or not), it is nice to be aware of your most fertile or "peak" day of fertility. If you already chart your cycles, you are aware of how this works. If not, the following information may be very helpful.

Charting the Most Fertile Day of Your Cycle

Your peak day, as the name suggests, is the day that your fertility peaks and the best time to get pregnant. If you are charting you can determine your peak day by checking your cervical mucous. After you have ovulated your cervical mucous will begin to dry up. This is one way to confirm that you have ovulated. Your peak day is the last day of fertile cervical mucous. You won’t be able to identify your peak day until after it occurs, when you notice your cervical mucous has become dry. Mark your peak day on your chart with a P.

Charting your Peak Day

You will want to look for your peak day when you are charting. You will know it is your peak day by the days that follow it. Once you see the shift from wet fertile cervical mucous to dry cervical mucous you will know that your peak day has occurred. Mark your chart with a P on the last day you see fertile cervical mucous. Then mark the following four days of dry cervical mucous with 1, 2, 3, 4. Once you have seen four dry days you can assume you are no longer fertile.

Peak Day and avoiding pregnancy

If you are trying to avoid pregnancy, do not have intercourse until four days after your peak day. Your peak day usually occurs the day before ovulation or the day of ovulation. Since your egg can survive for about 24 hours you will not want to have sex until around four days after your peak day to avoid pregnancy.

Peak Day and trying to conceive

If you are trying to conceive you will want to start having intercourse before your peak day. After your period ends you will notice an increase in cervical mucous. The typical pattern is tacky cervical mucous, that turns to creamy, that changes to clear stretchy egg white looking cervical mucous. While it is true that you are looking for egg white slippery cervical mucous to indicate ovulation, it is a good idea to start having intercourse before you see this. The reason behind this is that sperm can last up to five days and your egg can only last 24 hours. If you wait until the day you see slippery egg white mucous, you only give yourself a one day opportunity to get pregnant. If you have sex prior to ovulating as well you will increase your chances of getting pregnant.