While ovulation itself only lasts for 12 to 24 hours, you're most likely to get pregnant in the days before and after ovulation, a window of around six days.
Your menstrual cycle begins on the first day of your period and continues up to the first day of your next period. You're most fertile at the time of ovulation (when an egg is released from your ovaries), which usually occurs 12 to 14 days before your next period starts.
During the average woman's menstrual cycle there are six days when intercourse can result in pregnancy; this “fertile window” comprises the five days before ovulation and the day of ovulation itself.
How many days after ovulation is it possible to get pregnant? Pregnancy is possible 12–24 hours after ovulation. This is because the released egg can only survive 24 hours before the sperm can no longer fertilize it.
Some women may notice symptoms as early as 5 DPO, although they won't know for certain that they are pregnant until much later. Early signs and symptoms include implantation bleeding or cramps, which can occur 5–6 days after the sperm fertilizes the egg. Other early symptoms include breast tenderness and mood changes.
That said, conceiving is highly possible within this 6-day frame. When it comes to actual chances to conceive, there is a 21-35% possibility to get pregnant one day before ovulation, 10-33% on the day of ovulation, and 0-11% one day after ovulation.
As you get close to ovulation, your cervical mucus will become copious, clear and slippery—like egg whites. It stretches between your fingers. Once your discharge becomes scant and sticky again, ovulation is over.
It's possible to get pregnant outside of your predicted fertile window because timing of ovulation may differ each month and sperm lives in the body for several days. Therefore, though more unlikely at some points, pregnancy can result from unprotected sex at any time during your menstrual cycle.
If a woman has sex six or more days before she ovulates, the chance she will get pregnant is virtually zero. Then, the probability of pregnancy rises steadily and is 27-33% in the three days leading up to and including ovulation. From that point, the probability of pregnancy declines rapidly.
Once the sperm enters the reproductive system, it can take about 30-45 minutes to reach the egg. For this, it is important to have a healthy sperm which has the right kind of motility to reach the egg and fertilize it. Once inside the body of a woman, a healthy sperm can live up to 2-5 days.
The conventional belief that women ovulate once a month is wrong, say Canadian researchers who have found that women can potentially ovulate two or even three times a month.
However, there are many possible reasons why you aren't conceiving, including ovulation irregularities, structural problems in the reproductive system, low sperm count, underlying medical problems, or simply not trying enough.
A man can smell when a woman is ovulating - and the proof is in his testosterone, says a new study from Florida State University that had undergraduate men sniffing sweaty T-shirts for course credit.
If you are born with an abnormally high egg or sperm count, have an extremely regular cycle, or have many healthy eggs in older age, you could be “super” fertile.
Indications that implantation has happened can include bleeding and cramping. Implantation bleeding is spotting or light bleeding that takes place about 1–2 weeks after fertilization. It is usually short-lived and lighter than a normal period. The blood is often paler than menstrual blood or can be a rusty brown.
Ovulation and Implantation Timing
The fertilized egg then travels the remaining way to the uterus, a journey that takes several days. Implantation itself usually occurs between six to 12 days after the egg is fertilized.
However, because ovulation usually happens between 4 pm and 7 pm the evening before the next morning's temperature rise, you will need to have sex that morning, (if you haven't already the night before) but even then it may be too late.
There may, however, be some cycles when an egg is not released. This is known as anovulation and often affects young girls who have just started their periods or women who are approaching menopause. It is also possible for healthy women to occasionally have a cycle where they do not ovulate.
Common causes of late ovulation include stress, breastfeeding, and medical conditions, such as PCOS and hypothyroidism. In cases of stress and breastfeeding, changes to menstruation and fertility are typically only temporary.
You can boost your chances of fertilization by tracking your cycle and having sex as close to ovulation as possible. In fact, one study, published in the Fertility and Sterility journal in 2019, found that women were most likely to get pregnant (41%) by having sex the day before they ovulated.
It takes just one sperm to fertilize a woman's egg. Keep in mind, though, for each sperm that reaches the egg, there are millions that don't. On average, each time men ejaculate they release nearly 100 million sperm.