The calendar method of conception and contraception is one of the most widespread and popular among women around the world. But he does not give clear answers to many questions and cannot take into account the individual characteristics of a woman's health status. In this regard, often the fair sex is trying to find answers to questions about the probability of conception on different days of the cycle. Can pregnancy occur if intercourse was 5 days before ovulation, this article will tell.
About conception and ovulation
Many women sincerely believe that conception occurs at the same time that intercourse takes place. In fact, a new life can only arise if there are two mature, full-fledged sex cells - male and female. There are usually no questions with male cells - spermatogenesis proceeds constantly, which makes a man fertile throughout his life from youth to old age. But the female reproductive cell is a more valuable material, since you have to wait for it.
In the first half of the female cycle after menstruation, the oocyte matures inside the dominant follicle, closer to the middle of the cycle, the follicle reaches its maximum size and, under the influence of hormones, bursts, freeing the oocyte. From this moment conception is possible. The egg cell lives from 24 to 36 hours, and it is this period of time that limits the possibility of pregnancy.
If fusion with the sperm does not occur after 24–36 hours, the female reproductive cell dies and, together with the excess endometrium, which has increased under the action of progesterone in the second phase of the cycle, is excreted from the body during the next menstruation. The folliculogenesis cycle starts over.
In order to increase female chances of procreation, nature wisely provided for more time for the life of sperm. Therefore, on the day of ovulation, an egg can be fertilized both by sperm that have waited for its release, already in the genital tract, and freshly arrived germ cells. In the first case, sexual intercourse takes place before ovulation, in the second - within a day after it.
It is quite difficult to get pregnant with sex before ovulation in 5 days, but it is still possible, because the average life span of male germ cells is 3-5 days. Only in rare cases, in men with a very high fertility index, spermatozoa are able to live without loss of properties outside the host's body for up to 6 days.
Of course, only the strongest and most enduring cells will survive for five days in the conditions of the female genital tract, and there will be few of them. But much is not required for conception - one hardy sperm is enough.
In medicine, it is believed that 5 days before ovulation is the estimated beginning of the fertile window, that is, the period when the likelihood of conception rapidly increases as you approach the day of ovulation. Most calendars and recommendations relate to a different method of calculation, in which the beginning of the fertile window is considered to be the mark of 4 days before ovulation, and in this case, the fifth day is still borderline.
Probability and odds - what influences?
Highest chance For conception, reproductologists allocate on the day of ovulation - in young healthy couples, it is about 33%. The day before ovulation, sex will lead to pregnancy with a 29% probability, and four days before the release of the egg, unprotected intercourse can lead to conception in 16% of cases. In this way, with sex 5 days before ovulation, the probability that pregnancy will take place does not exceed 7-10%.
Be sure to take into account the age of the partners. Over the years, the quality of the sex cells of men and women and their viability become lower, and the probability that the sperm of a 25-year-old man will wait for the oocyte to emerge within five days is an order of magnitude higher than the probability that the sex cells of a man in aged 45-50 years.
Female age is also important, because the number of natural anovulations in women increases over the years: at 20, a girl may have cycles without ovulation, but not more often than 1-2 times a year, and after 35 years - up to 6 times a year, and this will also be considered normal, but it naturally becomes more difficult to get pregnant. therefore the probability of conceiving a child if 5 days have passed before ovulation in couples over the age of 40 is significantly less than 1%.
The more sperm cells enter a woman's genital tract in advance of ovulation, the higher the chances of conception, after all, out of tens of millions of germ cells, there is a chance that at least a few will survive to the release of the egg. therefore full ejaculation increases the chances, and interrupted intercourse decreases. Although it is also possible for sperm to enter the female genital tract with lubrication, the number of cells will be small.
In women with existing inflammatory gynecological diseases, infections, the chances of conception, if the act was in 5 days, are almost minimal, since the acidity level of the vagina is usually high, and few male reproductive cells will survive on the way to the fallopian tube.
If the acidity level is normal, the woman is healthy, then there are chances of conception, albeit small.
If the oocyte release is early
If a woman ovulates early, the chances of pregnancy will not increase as it might seem. With a premature rupture of the oocyte follicle, as a rule, they have signs of immaturity, they are incapable of fertilization or the fusion occurs with abnormalities and defects... The chances that sperm will survive to such an egg, of course, increase, but it is difficult to count on a full-fledged pregnancy without threats and complications.
Premature ovulation usually occurs with hormonal imbalance, with chronic stress, diseases of the endocrine system, dysfunction of the ovaries, pituitary gland or hypothalamus.
The reason may be the abolition of oral contraceptives, a recent abortion, the postpartum period (the establishment of a cycle can take up to a year). Previously, the oocyte can be released due to influenza and SARS, due to travel with a change in climate and irregular sex.
