Shorten the time to Conception with Fertility Awareness
Knowing when you and your partner are fertile can help you to get pregnant faster. How? Well it all comes down to having an understanding of your personal fertility:
- When your fertility starts each cycle
- When you ovulate
- When fertility ends
- The time from ovulation until the end of your cycle
Once you know how to identify the start and end of your fertility, there is no more guesswork! No more hard to decipher LH strips, and no more dollars spent on pregnancy tests taken too early.
After you have a few cycles worth of records, you may be able to identify an issue that could be preventing you from getting pregnant, which could mean that you get the help you need sooner.
Combined Fertility – it takes 2
Females are not fertile for their entire cycle, ‘Combined Fertility’ is what we call the time in the menstrual cycle where sexual intercourse can result in a pregnancy. Combined because it takes 2 to make a baby, and we support couples to both learn and apply this understanding to their fertility journey. This turns it into a joint process, which can help to alleviate stress.
Fertility Awareness to know when you are fertile
The perfect 28 day cycle, with ovulation at day 14 is not that common, so if you are focusing your baby making sex around this time – you could be missing the egg entirely. Fertility Awareness will help you to recognise when your fertility starts, and how to identify your peak fertile days.
The second half of your menstrual cycle (the luteal phase) is usually the same length every cycle, a normal luteal length is around 12 – 16 days. If your luteal length is shorter, and you are not breastfeeding, then you may need some extra support. If you are practicing fertility awareness, and your luteal length is 18 days or longer, this technically confirms that you are pregnant – this is the best time to go get that pregnancy test!
Get Fertility Fit
Getting healthy for pregnancy is sometimes an afterthought, or something that happens once you have found out that you’re pregnant. However there is plenty of research to show that if both partners are in good health before they start trying, falling pregnant is easier, the pregnancy has less complications, and baby is healthy and happy.
Learning Fertility Awareness also goes hand in hand with embarking on a preconception plan that can get you both in tip top shape for a healthy pregnancy and baby.
If you’ve just found out that you are pregnant and have not been taking folic acid, schedule an appt with your GP and / or pop into your local healthshop or pharmacy to get some to get you started.
If you’re not sure where to start, download our Fertility Checklist.
When its taking too long to get pregnant
It can take the average couple up to a year to conceive, which is sometimes a surprise for many to find out – however:
- If you are under 35 and you haven’t conceived after 1 year of trying (or not preventing), then its time to see your GP for some extra tests.
- If you are over 35, then its best to seek out help sooner, so make an appointment if you dont conceive in the first 6 months.
This is where fertility awareness can really support you on your fertility journey, as both you and your educator will be able to see if there is something not quite right earlier, and can make the appropriate referral. To understand the process a little better, we have outlined the basic process here.
If you are ready to take the next step, reach out to one of our Fertility Educators.