Today, for women who want to be aware of their current phase of the menstrual cycle, there are a great many services and applications that will help in calculating the most favorable time for conceiving a child. How accurate such calculations are, and what you need to consider when using online calculators, this article will tell.
What days are favorable for pregnancy?
To fertilize a woman, a man does not need to calculate, guess, he is fertile (that is, capable of fertilization) at any time. Sex cells in men are produced and renewed constantly throughout life. But a woman, in order to become pregnant, must definitely know her phase of the cycle, since it is not fertile all the time, but only during a certain period. This period is called ovulation.
A woman's sex cells are given to her from birth, their supply is formed and limited to a certain amount. This is the ovarian reserve. It is not renewed, not replenished, but only consumed. And in order for it to last for a longer time, nature has provided for a wise mechanism for the cyclicity of female reproductive ability.
In each cycle, only one, maximum two eggs mature... After menstruation, follicles, located on the surface of the sex glands (ovaries), begin to grow in a woman's body under the influence of follicle-stimulating hormone. There are several of them growing, but gradually one begins to prevail in growth rates. It is called dominant. The rest of the follicles slow down growth and persist until the next cycles. By the middle of the cycle, the woman has an increase in the amount of estrogen. This hormone provokes an increase in luteinizing hormone, the peak of which occurs a day before ovulation.
Under the action of LH, the follicle membrane becomes thinner, the bubble bursts, and the egg cell that has matured inside it comes out. This is ovulation. A female cage lives only a day, less often - up to 36 hours... Then she dies if she has not been fertilized, and is excreted with menstrual bleeding after 2 weeks. Then everything is repeated. If conception has occurred, then a new organism is formed from two germ cells.
It is ovulation that is the most favorable time for conception. Moreover, this is the only possible time for this purpose.
But the fertile window in a woman's cycle is not limited to a single day, and it is believed that for conception, it is necessary to have intercourse a few days before and for several days after ovulation. This is due to the natural ability of sperm to live longer than an oocyte (egg). Male cells in the genital tract of a woman can wait for the release of the egg, because they live in the female body for up to 3-4 days (less often up to 6-7 days with high fertility in a particular man, which is quite rare). Thus, fertilization itself will occur in two cases: if the sperm are already in the genital tract and they are viable, or if the male's reproductive cells arrive in the fallopian tubes within 24 hours after the release of the egg, while it is still alive and capable of fusion.
The ability to determine the day of ovulation is a very important female skill. It helps with pregnancy planning, because it gives an idea of which days you should have sexual intercourse with special zeal. And for those who would like to avoid an unplanned pregnancy, this skill makes it possible to plan the most effective contraceptive protection.
How do online calculators work?
All ladies, to one degree or another, are familiar with such a concept as "women's calendar". In fact, any calendar in which a woman marks the days of the onset of the next menstruation, which will suggest the day of ovulation, can become such.
An online ovulation calculator works the same way, only saves a woman from self-counting... For it, a special algorithm program can calculate the days favorable for conception. It is based on the calendar method for determining ovulation. This method has been known for a long time. The essence of the method comes down to the knowledge that ovulation is the middle of the cycle, and it is she who divides it into two phases - follicular and luteal.
It is not at all difficult to calculate the day of ovulation according to the calendar: the number 14 is subtracted from the total duration of the cycle.... This is how long the second half of the female cycle, luteal, usually lasts. It is least prone to individual cycle fluctuations.
The day of ovulation is also counted by the online calculator.
The woman enters the value of the duration of her cycle, the duration of the menstruation itself, and the program gives the results - on what day should the egg be expected to leave the follicle.
In addition to the day of ovulation, the program also calculates the boundaries of the fertile window, which were mentioned above, indicating which days are before the release of the oocyte, and which - after this moment, are suitable for conceiving a child.
The method for determining the boundaries of the fertile window is also quite simple. In order to calculate it yourself, subtract 17 from the duration of the female cycle. It turns out the first day of the favorable period... And 3 is added to the date of ovulation - just in case, taking into account the possibility of a late release of the oocyte.
The woman can print out the data obtained after the online calculation and carry it with her in her purse, so that she can easily check the data at any time. Such calculators work free of charge, the number of calculations is not limited.
There are calculators that additionally indicate on which days the conception of a boy is most likely, and on which - girls. This data is based on the ovulation-based sex scheduling method. It, in turn, is based on the statement that the 2 types of sperm have different characteristics.
- For a girl to be born, you need the fusion of a female reproductive cell with a sperm that carries genetic information in a pair of sex chromosomes XX.
- To conceive a boy, the egg must be fertilized by a sperm with an XY set. The egg itself always has only one set - XX.
It is argued that sperm with a set of XX genetic information live longer than their congeners, which have a set of XY. They are less mobile, but they can easily wait for the moment of ovulation in the genital tract. Therefore, for the conception of a girl, it is considered favorable to have sexual intercourse in the first part of the fertile window - before ovulation. Sperm with the XY genetic set, according to the method, are faster, nimble and mobile, they have more chances to get to the ovum earlier than others, but they live shorter, and the day of ovulation itself and the time after it are recommended for the conception of the heir. Actually, this is shown by online calculators with an additional function of predicting the sex of the child.
Example. A woman's menstrual cycle lasts 28 days. The menstruation itself lasts 5 days. We count according to the calendar and get 28-14 = 14. That is, the day of ovulation will be the 14th day of the cycle. The fertile window begins according to the formula (28-17 = 11), from the 11th day of the menstrual cycle. The fertile window ends on the 17th day of the menstrual cycle.
Check the calculator by entering the duration (28 days) and duration of your period (5 days). We get that ovulation should be expected on day 14 of the cycle, and the fertile window begins on day 11.
This fully confirms the independent calculations, but significantly saves time.
How accurate is this?
A reasonable question is how accurate such calculations are. The calendar method for determining ovulation in itself is not considered accurate - the probability of an error is about 20%. This is due to the fact that such calculators and the method as a whole do not take into account very important individual factors, under the influence of which ovulation may shift and occur earlier or later than the expected date. In this case, the boundaries of the fertile window are also shifted. Calculating a day favorable for conceiving a baby using a calculator is one thing, but "getting" on such a day in reality is sometimes quite another.
Calculators can, with some stretch, be called acceptable in planning pregnancy for women with a regular cycle.
If from month to month menstrual bleeding is repeated at the same time, observing the same time interval between them, there are no delays and early menstruation, then it is possible to calculate the day of ovulation, but again with an error.
To a lesser extent, calculators are suitable for women with irregular cycles. They simply cannot accurately indicate the length of their cycle. Experts, of course, recommend calculating the average duration (take data on the duration of the last 4-6 cycles, summarize and divide by the exact number of cycles taken) and indicate the resulting number.
What will we have in this case: let's say a woman had one cycle lasted 28 days, another 30, the third 35, and the fourth 29. (28 + 30 + 35 + 29) / 4 = 30.5. A woman enters the resulting value 30 into the window with a cycle duration and receives a calculation for a cycle of 30 days. At the same time, the onset of her cycle may well be 35 or 28 days - in this case, the error with the onset of ovulation can be within almost a week. Accordingly, there are no clear boundaries of the fertile window. In this way, the most accurate day for conception cannot be established without errorsand the likelihood of unsuccessful planning will be too high.
Even women with a regular cycle cannot rely only on the results of an online calculator.... This is due to the fact that the ovulation process is regulated by hormones, the ratio and balance of which in the female body is not constant.
Hormonal fluctuations occur constantly, and this can affect the ovulatory process. Ovulation can happen earlier.
Premature release of the egg from the follicle is unfavorable for conception, since the oocyte is immature, and at best, conception will not happen, at worst, it will happen, which is fraught with genetic and other problems for the child, miscarriage, miscarriage and so on. Early ovulation occurs with insufficient FSH levels, with ovarian dysfunction, with estrogen deficiency, disruption of the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, with some gynecological and endocrine diseases. Even the usual lack of sleep, fatigue, a flight with a change in climate, time zones, nervous shock, stress, excessive physical activity, drastic weight loss or weight gain can cause the oocyte to leave the follicle prematurely.
With late ovulation, which happens for the same reasons, the likelihood of conception is higherthan with early, but the very probability of a late release of the egg from the follicle is also not taken into account by the online calculator.
The calculator cannot determine the likelihood of anovulatory cycle in which ovulation does not occur, in general, and such cycles occur from time to time in every healthy woman. And the older a woman becomes, the more such cycles she registers (1-2 anovulatory cycles per year are normal for a woman aged 20-30 years, and after 35 years, their number can be up to 5-6 per year).
Considering all this, it should be understood that the calculation you get is very, very approximate. Calculator cannot calculate exactly the best day for conception.
Separately, it must be said about predicting the sex of the child, which some calculators also provide in the results. Reproductive scientists, based on laboratory studies of the sperm quality of millions of men, have come to the conclusion that there is no functional difference between sperm with a genetic set XX and XY.... Both those and other sex cells have the same characteristics in terms of viability, speed of movement, and therefore the probability of conceiving boys and girls in no way depends on the day of the woman's menstrual cycle. therefore it is also not worth focusing on the predictions that the calculator gives... Humanity does not know how to correctly calculate the sex of the unborn child - the probability is 50/50.
There is only one way to "order" the desired sex - IVF with genetic preimplantation diagnostics.
The sex cells of a man and a woman fuse in a laboratory in a Petri dish, and after a few days the geneticist-embryologist already knows which of the embryos are boys and which are girls. In some cases, only sex-specific embryos can be transferred to a woman's uterus. Discrimination of the embryo on the basis of gender is recognized worldwide as unethical, it is prohibited. And only for those who have a high risk of giving birth to a child with genetic diseases linked to the sex chromosome, the method can be applied. Such ailments, for example, include hemophilia. Its carriers are women, and only men suffer from it. therefore for a couple at risk of hemophilia, genetics will provide IVF with genetic examination and selection of only female embryos.
How can I get more accurate data?
Additional diagnostic and self-diagnosis methods will help to make the data obtained during online calculation more accurate. It is advisable to check not only the calendar, but also the results of other methods.
Basal temperature measurement
Carried out daily with a mercury thermometer. It is better to measure the basal temperature at the same time immediately after waking up, before the woman gets out of bed.... The measurement is carried out in the vagina or rectum, immersing the thermometer 2-3 centimeters. Measurement time is 5-7 minutes. The results are plotted.
Before ovulation, a healthy woman's temperature drops, and then rises sharply, and remains high in the second phase of the cycle. The exception is the so-called implantation sinking (during embryo implantation, if conception has taken place, about a week after ovulation, a single drop in temperature is observed).
Keeping a schedule will help not only with determining the best time for conception, but also with decoding a possible pregnancy even before conception., as well as with the diagnosis of hormonal disorders and gynecological problems (this will be helped by a doctor to whom you show your schedule).
And also BT graphs easily show anovulatory cycles, and a woman has fewer questions as to why there is no pregnancy if she had sex on a good day.
Method for assessing cervical mucus
This method is part of the symptothermal fertility recognition method. It is based on the fact that under the influence of hormones before ovulation, the amount of cervical mucus increases, it becomes viscous, viscous, and there is more of it. This is necessary to facilitate the transport of sperm through the genital tract, as well as to reduce the acidity of the vagina (cervical mucus is alkaline), so that more male germ cells can survive.
After ovulation, the discharge decreases, and the so-called "dry period" begins, when under the influence of progesterone there is almost no discharge.
It is good if the woman confirms the observation of the discharge with both calendar data and basal temperature measurements. This in combination makes it possible to see not only the optimal day for conception, but also to determine whether ovulation has come, in general, in this cycle.
Additionally, many women note that there are other symptoms during ovulation - increased sexual desire, a slight increase in the mammary glands, as well as heightened sensitivity of the nipples.
With the woman's symptothermal method, all data (temperature, symptoms, the nature of mucus and the position of the cervix) are entered in a table, which is very informative for specialists.
Tests
Many women choose to check their counts online using a pharmacy ovulation test. These are either disposable strips, cassette or plate tests, or electronic systems that detect the quantitative content of the hormone LH, the peak of which always precedes ovulation. Two stripes appear 1-2 days before the best day for conception.
There are reusable tests that determine fertile days based on saliva or vaginal discharge. This is a mini-microscope, in the eyepiece of which a woman sees a certain pattern of dried liquid. The action is based on the features of the effect of estrogen on body fluids. When ovulating, the pattern becomes reminiscent of fern branches or a frosty pattern on glass.
The tests also have an error, but in a combination of two or more methods, the probability of determining ovulation increases.
Ultrasound and blood tests
Folliculometry, coupled with a laboratory blood test for hormones, is the most accurate of all existing methods for determining favorable days for conception. After menstruation, a woman is advised to visit a doctor to do an ultrasound of the ovaries and donate blood for FSH. In the first half of the cycle, several more ultrasound observations are performed to assess the size of the follicle. After 11-12 days on a standard cycle, an LH blood test may be done.
Such methods are used in the planning of IVF, insemination, in the preparation of stimulation of ovulation with medications, with suspected ovarian dysfunction.
Useful tips for those planning to conceive
If you want to conceive a child faster, then follow these simple guidelines:
- watch your cycle, use several methods for determining the fetal period, then this will help to more accurately establish the duration of pregnancy, especially with late ovulation, because doctors in particular will not go into it, they usually count pregnancy by the date of the last menstruation;
- do not have sexual intercourse every day, but every other day after the beginning of the fertile window, on the day of ovulation, make sure to have sex;
- do not use lubricants, do not get carried away with douching if you want to get pregnant;
- online calculator calculations should be a guideline, not a guide to action, and if you have not succeeded in conceiving a baby for more than a year, contact your doctor.
