For young people sex education is mostly about how to practice safe sex and how not to fall pregnant when having sex. This leaves many with the impression that falling pregnant is as easy as opening a can of softdrink. You couldn't be more wrong! Exactly how are the odds of getting pregnant?

 

Falling pregnant on the first attempt is only to happen to a small minority of those trying to conceive. It can take an average healthy couple up to 12 months for a positive pregnancy test.  

The information we get taught about getting pregnant is very basic, you have sex, you ovulate, pregnant or period, and the cycle repeats itself, a cycle spans 28 days and you ovulate 14 days after your last period. This is what we get taught and it's not adequate and only causes worries for the trying to conceive couple when the mechanics fail to work at first time. We are no machines, every body ticks in a different way and each month the odds differ.

In fact the first often made mistake concerning ovulation is that an average cycle is not 28, but 32 days and that a woman doesn't ovulate 14 days after her last period but 14 days prior to her period. A one week difference in the fertile time slot, the difference between failing or success.

Important information about conceiving that you should know.

There are a number of hormones that play a leading role in conceiving. First there is FSH, the hormone that stimulates the follicles (small bubbles on your ovaries that contain your maturing eggs). this hormone FSH stimulates your follicles to mature an egg. Then the second hormone Oestrogen is being released to make the lining of your uterus ready for implanting a possible embryo.

The third main hormone is called the Luteinizing hormone, this hormone sends a signal to the follicles that an egg should be released. It takes about 36 hours for an egg to be released, this is the time when you should have intercourse as it's the most fertile period during your cycle.

Once the egg has been released and travels down the fallopian tube, it has to be met by a welcoming committee of sperm, this has to happen within the 12 to 24 hour lifespan of the egg. Sperm has an average lifespan of 48 hours so intercourse up to 2 days before can lead to fertilisation as well.
If the egg isn't fertilised then 10 to 16 days later you will have a period and the cycle starts all over again.

If you look at this whole complicated process it's absolutely amazing that we manage to conceive at all as so much can go wrong. For example: on average only one in four eggs is healthy, you must have sex at the right time, then the soldiers need to reach the egg and fertilise it, and finally it has to find the right spot to implant itself and this all has to happen in more or less 2 days. Amazing isn't it! The creation of life is a true miracle.

So don't despair if the first couple of attempts to fall pregnant fail. Especially if you were on hormonal contraception like the pil, then in most cases the body needs to reset and readjust itself and this can take some time. There are only very few women who fall pregnant at the first attempt, it is completely normal to take up to 12 months before you finally get pregnant. Just keep on doing the good work and have pleasure in making love. Don't let the lovemaking become a baby making chore, as this causes stress, keep the romance in your relationship and make love and a baby.

For women wanting to know when ovulation occurs, there's great and easy to apply home ovulation tests on the market. It uses urine strips and measures the amount of Luteinizing hormone in your urine, when the Luteinizing hormone peaks then ovulation is about to take place. Another good method is the have sex every two days method, as sperms average lifespan is 48 hours, it means that there's always soldiers where they need to be.

Also start taking folate three months before trying to conceive as it reduces the possibility of spina bifida and defects to the neural system of the baby. Stop smoking, stop drinking alcohol, reduce stress and adjust to a healthy life style. And to all the men reading this, it applies to you as well, healthy living means healthy soldiers!  Al this will help you to conceive and to have a happy and fit pregnancy, hopefully resulting in a healthy baby.

Please keep visiting Womans Index.com for lots of pregnancy related information and the best pregnancy week by week section on the internet. Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter!

Trying to Conceive