If you’re trying to conceive you’re probably becoming more attuned to the timing of your ovulation. Have you heard that it’s always 14 days before your next period? Wrong! Well, it might be true for you, or it might not. The point is we’re all individual and not every woman has a 28 day cycle. So you could be ovulating anywhere between 10 and 16 days before your next period.

There are loads of ways to find out when you ovulate, and having a clear picture of when that happens could make things a lot easier for you and your partner.

For example you might keep a temperature chart, check changes in your mucus, or test fluctuations in your LH (luteinising hormone). You might also observe subtle changes in your body. Do you feel increased libido or that low deep ache that indicates ovulation (sometimes known as Mittelschmerz)?

The other common misconception (pun intended) is that the best time to conceive is after ovulation. But did you know that sperm lives for up to six days in fertile conditions, whereas the egg released at ovulation lives for 24 hours and can only be fertilised for 12 hours?

So you can see that once you know when you ovulate, intercourse has to happen before ovulation to boost your chances of becoming pregnant.

This is a massive subject area, and we’re going to write more posts in the coming weeks and months about the different ways you can find out when you ovulate. In the meantime, why not leave us a comment here? We’d love to hear from you and if you have any questions, we’d be happy to help.