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.
Many women have used fertility calculators when finding it difficult to conceive and have been successful! Believe it or not, a woman can only conceive 12-24 hours out of the month and usually the problem is simply bad timing.
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.
The ultra low tech way to get your fertile dates is to use your diary or pda, and enter your cycle start dates as a diary entry. Then, all you need to do is subtract 14 from the predicted date of your next period, and voila - you have an ovulation date. Of course, this is not accurate, so assume you might be fertile + or - a couple of days of that date.
To get best results, combine the use of a fertility calculations with charting your basal body temperature and identifying when this rises, keeping notes of changes in the way you feel mid-cycle, and checking your cervical mucus every day.
This is just the tip of the iceberg in increasing your chances to conceive. There’s so much information I want to share with you, but there isn’t enough space on this article! You can combine the use of your fertility calculator with other natural fertility techniques, so you can get pregnant in the shortest time possible.
