Enhancing Fertility: What Works?
(continued)
Techniques To Help Identify Your Most Fertile Days:
The most important way to enhance your fertility is to identify which days are your most fertile, and then to be certain to have intercourse on those days. A woman's most fertile time is the 24-hr period surrounding ovulation; when the ovary releases an egg. If we consider the day you start your period as "Day 1", most women ovulate around Day 14. The released egg is able to become fertilized for about 24 hours; this is your most fertile time. However, not all women ovulate on Day 14. Some ovulate a little earlier and some later; some women ovulate irregularly. Some don't ovulate at all and don't know it. You can get your period even if you didn't ovulate, but generally your period comes 14 days after ovulation. Even women who have their period the same days each month may not ovulate the same day each month, however.
Sperm can live inside a woman for about 2 to 3 days. It is crucial for
sperm to meet the egg in the fallopian tube in order to conceive. This is one
reason we recommend that couples trying to conceive have intercourse every other
day around the time of ovulation.
Some women can identify when they ovulate- some feel twinges in their lower abdomen and others may notice clear, stretchy vaginal discharge at that time. In most women, however, these signs aren’t reliable indicators. There are also three general techniques that have been shown to help women identify
their most fertile days. Each of these methods is noninvasive, relatively easy
to use, and relatively easy to practice. They vary in cost, convenience, and
reliability. They are useful for couples who want to conceive sooner rather
than later; for couples trying to achieve certain spacing between their children;
and for couples who want to time a pregnancy to come at or around a certain
season or around other work or family life events. THESE ARE METHODS TO
ENHANCE PREGNANCY, NOT TO BE USED AS RELIABLE MEANS TO PREVENT PREGNANCY.
1. Basal Body Temperature: The time-tested, inexpensive way of finding out
the approximate time when you ovulate is to take your basal temperature
first thing every morning, before even getting out of bed, and record it on
a chart. A slight rise in temperature indicates ovulation, or the time you are
most likely to conceive. You can buy a special Basal Body Thermometer at your
drug store. Save all your charts so you can review them with your doctor. Three
or four months of charting should be adequate.
2. Ovulation Tests: There are several commercial home ovulation
kits designed to identify when a woman is ovulating. By measuring the amount
of luteinizing hormone (LH) in the urine, these kits can predict that ovulation
will occur within 24-36 hours, thus identifying a woman’s two most fertile days.
3. Clearblue Easy Fertility Monitor™: More than the other two techniques, this product removes the guesswork about when your most fertile days are, thus reducing a significant amount of stress. It is a noninvasive, palm-sized monitoring system designed to identify a woman's most fertile days by testing her urine for estrogen and luteinizing hormone (the two hormones that control fertility) approximately ten days per month. The monitor cues the patient when to test her urine and lets her know her days of low fertility, high fertility and peak fertility. This allows some advance planning. This product is not recommended for women whose monthly cycle is normally shorter than 21 days or longer than 42 days, however. This product costs is available at most e-retailers for apr. $200 without a prescription. Additional urine testing dipsticks are sold separately.