Getting the timing right is tricky when you are trying to conceive.

If you're hoping to get pregnant soon, you might be wondering how you can make it happen more quickly. The good news is, there are a few things you can do to help increase your chances of conceiving. One of the most important is to understand your fertile window—or, the time during your menstrual cycle when you're most likely to get pregnant. Here's everything you need to know about your fertile window and how to use it to your advantage.

What Is the Fertile Window?

Your fertile window is the period of time each month during which you're most likely to conceive. For most women, this window occurs during the five days leading up to and including ovulation. Ovulation is when an egg is released from one of your ovaries, typically about 14 days after the start of your last period. Once released, the egg travels down the fallopian tube toward your uterus, where it may or may not be fertilized by sperm. If it's not fertilized within 24 hours or so, it dissolves and you'll eventually shed it (along with some uterine lining) during your next period. 

Why Tracking Is Important: An alternative to apps that gives you the choice to track your own cycle and listen to your body.

What it is: BBT stands for your Basal Body Temperature. This temperature represents the lowest resting body temperature usually achieved during sleep. By tracking this temperature daily, one can monitor the most fertile times in your menstrual cycle. Each chart begins with day one of your cycle, which is the first day of real flow of your period. Basal body temperature is similar to showing up for yourself at the same time every day. Waking up to take your daily temperature consistently, you regulate your circadian rhythm and your hormones.

Creating this chart and tracking these temperature changes provides you with a dashboard of your reproductive health. Tracking your menstrual cycle can provide clues about other aspects of your health that you can improve, give you a hint about your peak fertility time, and increase your chances of getting pregnant.

Recording your Basal Body Temperature over time serves as an indicator of overall health. The menstrual cycle is commonly considered another vital sign. Hormonal patterns, symptoms, cycle length, and the quality of the period serve as a health barometer. The BBT chart serves as a gauge for infertile and fertile periods, ovarian response, and potential dysfunction (Vigil et al., 2012). 

In a normal cycle, BBT tracking over several months serves as a key indicator to predict your fertile window. The fertile window reveals the best time to have sex for optimal conception as this is the time where the egg or follicle and the sperm are the most viable.

Remember, understanding your fertile window is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to getting pregnant. There are other factors that can affect fertility, such as age, weight, stress levels, smoking habits, and overall health. That's why it's important to talk to a fertility expert about any concerns you have about fertility before trying to conceive. These experts can help identify any potential obstacles and create a plan for how to overcome them. With their help—and by paying close attention to your body and cycles—you'll be well on your way to starting (or growing) your family in no time!