A fertility calculator can help you pinpoint when you’re next going to ovulate. What is a fertility calc, you ask? It’s not a technical gadget that requires a degree to operate… it’s a simple online calculator that lets you plug in a few numbers to work out the best time to conceive.

There’s only a short window of time to conceive in your cycle, so fertility calculators offer a simple way to target your conception efforts to reach your goal of getting pregnant fast.

The variables needed to work out your time of ovulation are usually the same. It doesn’t matter whether you’re using a paper calendar or a high-tech fertility calculator, you still need to use accurate data to get the best results.

You’re most likely to be asked when your last period started, the number of days in your menstrual cycle and sometimes these calculators want to know information about your luteal phase.

Now, the way you get these numbers is quite simple. Get a calendar and write down the first day of your last two periods. Okay, start counting days from the first day of your last period until the day before your most recent period; this is the number of days in your cycle. This number can be anywhere from 20-45 days, with 28 days being the average.

Working out the details on your luteal phase isn’t as easy. This is a term used by doctors to describe the days in your cycle after you ovulate but before your period. It should last 14 days if your cycle is the standard 28 days.

Fortunately it’s quite rare to be asked about the luteal phase, as the majority of programs will only want to know the date your period started and your cycle length.

If you decide to use a calendar to track your ovulation simply add 12-16 days from the first day of your most recent period, and sometime during those five days you should ovulate. For instance, if the first day of your last period was June 20th, you should ovulate between July 1st and July 5th.

The best way to narrow this down is to check your basal body temperature, and pay attention your vaginal secretions they will change during ovulation. If you can narrow this down and find the exact day of ovulation it will make using a fertility calculator to get pregnant a much more reliable source, increasing your chances of conception greatly.

So now you know how to use a fertility calculator to increase your chances of getting pregnant. Keep reading, because in a minute, I’ll share with you a link to a free fertility calculator that won’t require you to enter information on your luteal phase.