The Truth About Your 5 Day Fertile Window
Written By: Dr. Kristen Burris, DAcCHM Doctor Babymaker
The five-day fertile window is known to just about every woman wanting to conceive. However, there is a lot of confusion about what that actually means. Here are some common misconceptions about our 5-day fertile window:
I am ovulating for 5 days – False
I can get pregnant all 5 days- False
I must have intercourse all 5 days- False
I can get pregnant after I ovulate- False
So, then why do we have patients have intercourse the day after their peak ovulation? It is complicated, but we can break it down in simple terms so everyone can find their optimal time to get pregnant each month. Thankfully, we have come a long way from having to check our temperature every single morning and chart it on a graph at home while simultaneously checking our cervical mucus. Those days are behind us, if we choose.
As a fertility doctor of TCM, I strongly suggest using the app and your own urine using Inito (upload the app and use our custom code Eagle15 for 15% OFF). This is such a gamechanger in understanding your fertile window. As of today, Inito is the only fertility monitor that tests all these hormones in one strip, that you insert into an adaptor to your ipone: LH, Estrogen, PdG (the urine metabolite of progesterone and FSH. How cool is that?! Testing this unique combination of hormones helps couples pinpoint their wives or female partners fertile window and additionally confirms whether ovulation actually happened. As you learn the ratios of hormones and the app learns your body, it can predict your most fertile days and also simultaneously test your actual hormones so you know when to have intercourse.
The most important thing to remember is that once your LH hormone starts to rise, you typically have 24-36 hours to conceive. But wait, that math is not adding up. 24 hours is one day, 36 hours is one and a half days, yet everyone always says our fertile window is up to 5 days long? This is where sperm comes in. The longest number of days that sperm lives inside a woman’s body is up to 5 days maximum. So, if you were to ovulate on Day 14, you could technically have intercourse on Day 9 and still potentially get pregnant. We don’t advise that as a proper way to enhance your chances of conception as many factors can play a role to get in the way of fertilizing your egg.
Instead, we suggest getting to know your body and track with the app. If you typically ovulate on Day 14 then plan on having intercourse on Day 9. You may continue having intercourse either daily or every other day.
If you choose intercourse every day during your fertile window, this is what it would look like: Day 9 intercourse, Day 10 intercourse, Day 11 intercourse, Day 12 intercourse, Day 13 intercourse, Day 14 intercourse and just in case you ovulate late on day 14 into Day 15… have intercourse on Day 15 as well. For many couples this can be an emotional rollercoaster and an exhausting plan.
Statistically, another method that has shown to be just as effective, would be to have intercourse every other day. This plan would look like this: If you typically have peak ovulation on Day 14, then have intercourse on Day 9, Rest Day 10, intercourse Day 11, Rest Day 12, Intercourse Day 13 and then if you get a peak ovulation on Day 14 Intercourse again and if you have the energy, just in case…have sex once again on Day 15. You can shorten this routine also. If your typical peak ovulation day is Day 14 have intercourse Day 12, intercourse Day 14 and then again on Day 15..it may be too late but we don’t want to miss that peak window that can last up to 36 hours. Now, If your typical peak ovulation is on day 12 then adjust the schedule accordingly by 2 days moving forward starting intercourse on Day 7 and moving forward with every other day. Or if your typical day of peak ovulation is Day 16 start having intercourse on Day 11 and choose if you have intercourse daily or every other day.
It can get more complicated especially if you have PCOS or irregular cycles or anovulatory cycles every other month. Monitoring can still be helpful. We typically advise these couples to either find the most likely fertile window and have sex three times that week. For those really, really irregular cycles, we advise intercourse all month long, two to three days a week.
The biggest mistakes I see in couples are as follows:
They don’t know what day one of their cycle is (hint: this is the first day of full blood so if you spot a few days wait until you have a flow) If this still confuses you, make an appointment with us and we will walk you through how to figure out Day 1 of your cycle.
They don’t use any of her actual body fluids (urine, blood or even temperature) they simply use an app that basically just uses mathematical probability for peak ovulation timing. This is not advisable but don’t by a lot of unsuspecting people because the app they use gives them hopeful language like “this is your most fertile day” when really the app is just using an average of other women’s hormones, not your actual hormones.
They measure urine first thing in the morning, LH starts to rise but doesn’t peak until the next day and they have intercourse after the peak (this is most likely too late for intercourse or an IUI procedure) It is known that as soon as LH STARTS to peak, a woman typically has 24 to 36 hours to capture her optimal ovulation time.
They get tired of tracking and just guess
It is always better before than after. If you just can’t stand it any more be sure to have some intercourse after your period finishes and before the second half of your cycle. If you need a break from tracking, that is okay and normal. But, if you still want to get pregnant I usually suggest being aware of your typical ovulation days of the month and be sure to have intercourse a day or two before you suspect you will peak. If you have the energy, have intercourse twice during that typical fertile window. It is okay to take a month off from trying here and there. We all need a break from the disappointment each month. Talk with your natural fertility doctor about these concerns. If you aren’t getting the care you need, make an appointment with our doctor whom everyone calls “The Babymaker”.