Wanting to have a child or, on the contrary, to avoid conception, a woman needs to take a closer look at her own body. The menstrual cycle will allow you to calculate the best days for pregnancy and for safe sex.
What days it is impossible to conceive a baby: medical advice
With regular sex with one partner, many couples refuse to use any type of contraceptive. However, pregnancy is still not always desirable. And in order to have sex and not get pregnant, you need to know what days of the cycle this can be done without fear.
The safest days are those in which there is no living egg in the woman’s body. This is from 10 to 15 days, of which only 5-9 are considered the safest.
- First of all, these are the days of menstruation. Despite the fact that many couples are against sexual intercourse in menstruation (which, as a rule, is associated only with the aesthetic side of the issue), sex during menstruation is considered one of the safest. Since the egg cell had already died by that time, and the corpus luteum no longer maintains the level of hormones important for conception in the blood;
- The first 3-5 days after menstruation, when the follicle is still about a week before full maturity. Spermatozoa that have entered the body of a woman during this period are likely to die long before the release of the egg into the uterus.
But if a completely healthy woman leads an irregular sex life, the risk of pregnancy for her is great on any day of the cycle. Because in such cases, very often the body reacts to sex with unplanned ovulation.
Menstrual periods and the possibility of conception
The woman's menstrual cycle includes several phases:
- The phase of maturation of the follicle. During this period, which begins the day after the last day of the month, the dominant follicle begins to mature. It grows and increases in size from 2 mm to 24 mm in 11-15 days. On day 5 of growth, it already has about 6 mm in diameter, and by 10 times it is twice as large and can already be seen on ultrasound. After another couple of days, the fully grown follicle breaks and the next phase begins;
- The ovulation period begins with the release of the egg from the follicle. At the same time, the egg cell enters the uterus through the fallopian tubes and for some time is located inside it, where it dies after a few days;
- The phase of the corpus luteum (also known as luteal) begins almost at the same time as ovulation. During this period, the corpus luteum, formed on the site of the released egg, by its existence supports in the woman's body the production of hormones important for conception. The period lasts up to 14 days;
- If the egg has not been fertilized, then after the end of the luteal phase, menstruation begins, which last from 3 to 6 days.
The average duration of each period varies depending on the duration of the entire cycle. Usually the cycle is from 21 to 35 days. If his period lasts longer or less - this is the reason to immediately consult a doctor.
The maximum risk of pregnancy falls on ovulation. However, this does not mean that it is impossible to conceive a child on any other day. But still having regular sex at certain periods of pregnancy can be successfully avoided.
On which days of the cycle you can get pregnant: table
If you know the average length of the menstrual cycle in a woman, you can always determine the most favorable days for conception.
| Total cycle time | Cycle days favorable for conception |
| 24 | 5-15 |
| 26 | 6-16 |
| 28 | 7-17 |
| 30 | 8-18 |
| 32 | 9-19 |
How to calculate without errors, on what days you can get pregnant
Today there are four ways to determine the fertile phase of the female cycle. There are only seven of them - five days before the egg leaves the follicle and one or two days after, when the egg is still viable and can be fertilized with a sperm cell.
Calendar calculations
The easiest way to calculate this is to compare with the dates on the calendar. But for accurate calculation you need to keep such a calendar in advance. It is better if the girl celebrates the days of menstruation and their character for at least six months. Then she sees with what interruptions menstruation happens, how long it lasts and how much everything changes from nervous tension or climate change.
- It is necessary to calculate the periods of the shortest and longest menstrual cycles.
- Take away from the start date of the shortest 18 days. The resulting day will be the day the fertile phase begins.
- And then from the start date of the longest cycle, take 11 days. Get the day the end of the phase of ovulation.
That is, with the shortest cycle of 27 days, subtracting the number 18, we get the 9th day - the beginning of the phase. Taking away the number 11 from the longest in 30 days, we get 19 day - the end of ovulation. Hence, the most favorable period for conception is from 9 to 19 days of the cycle.
With irregular cycles, this method does not work and you should consult a doctor to determine ovulation.
Basal Temperature Measurement
For a more accurate identification of the day of ovulation, you can use the method in which a woman measures her basal temperature every morning, immediately after waking up. And she does this for at least three months.
According to this method, a woman should be in the morning after sleeping, not yet getting out of bed and not making abrupt body movements, to carefully measure the temperature in her rectum. And it should be done daily and using the same thermometer. This will reduce the risk of error.
The result should be recorded in a special schedule. In the first days after menstruation, the temperature normally ranges from 37 to 36.6 degrees. And the lowest peak is one day before ovulation. And after - the temperature rises sharply by a degree to 37.6 and gradually decreases to 37 throughout the corpus luteum and menstruation.
The method itself is not accurate, as due to poor sleep, drunk on the eve of alcohol or an antibiotic, as well as because of sexual intercourse, which took less than 6 hours, the basal temperature will be higher.
And in women with polycystic ovaries and other diseases that cause deviations in the hormonal background, the temperature after ovulation changes very little. Therefore, it is impossible to determine their optimal day for conception.
Use of tests
The most modern and convenient way to determine the days of ovulation are special daily tests that operate on the principle of pregnancy tests. The whole difference between these tests is the substance to which the indicator reacts.
With ovulation, the luteinizing hormone is the key to determining. The increase in its content in the urine occurs only a day or two before the release of the egg. Then the test affirmatively shows two bars.
Ultrasound diagnostics
This is the most expensive way to measure the days of the fertile phase. Usually it is prescribed to women with suspected infertility.
Starting from the tenth day after the end of menstruation, a woman should be examined daily. At the same time, doctors monitor the dominant follicle, which during this period can be distinguished from others, due to the changed diameter - on day 10 it reaches up to 15 mm, and in ovulation the size is about 24 mm.
After which the follicle bursts and the egg ready for fertilization begins its way into the uterus. An ultrasound scan shows the presence of a yellow body without a follicle.
Cycle day and child sex
Many couples want to know in advance the gender of the future baby. This is especially true for those families that already have one child and young parents are planning the second opposite sex. Here, too, accurate knowledge of the cycle of a woman can also help them.
It has been scientifically proven that spermatozoa that have a male chromosome set move much more actively than with a female set. But they also live less.
Therefore, to conceive a child of the desired sex, a couple needs to have sex at the correct time of the cycle. To have a boy, sexual intercourse must take place in a day or on the day of ovulation. The chances of getting pregnant by a girl increase if the intercourse took place 2-3 days before.
Of course, this scheme is designed for ideal conditions - if both parents are completely healthy. If a woman has a change in secretion or a violation of the acid-base balance in the genital tract, the sperm will die much earlier. Also, their survival rate is greatly reduced, if a man has severe fatigue or even exhaustion.
What days is the highest chance of getting pregnant
So, what days is it easiest for a woman to get pregnant? Most often, it is from 14 to 17 day of the cycle.
But, most importantly, during this period, the entire female body is preparing for a possible conception. Even the composition of the female secret is changing. It becomes more viscous and slippery. In addition, its acidity is reduced. Therefore, on the days of ovulation, the spermatozoa that have entered the body of a woman live longer and reach the egg cell much faster.
And in conclusion - informative video on the topic of the article.
