Useful Info - Timing Intercouse & Ovulation

Rachael

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Hiya Girls

A few questions and answers you may find useful if trying to conceive naturally:-

Timing of Intercourse, Ovulation and Conception
Frederick R. Jelovsek MD, MS[/b]


"When is the best time to check a pregnancy test if you have regular cycles and are trying to get pregnant? Is it true the earlier the test turns positive the less likely it is to have a miscarriage? "
Many women who are trying to conceive want to learn when ovulation and implantation occur and what are usual miscarriage or pregnancy loss rates. Quite often the numbers women are given are based on averages, theoretical numbers and sometimes just plain guesses because it is such a difficult topic to scientifically investigate. New data comes available periodically but it is not always promptly and widely disseminated even on the Net.

When does implantation take place?
One such relatively recent study tells us that implantation does not always take place on day 7 after ovulation. In fact it very rarely does. This study by AJ Wilcox (1) accurately determined the day of implantation by very sensitive pregnancy test (HCG) measurement compared to ovulation.
HCG hormone starts being produced when the pregnancy implants into the uterine lining. The findings in normal women trying to conceive included:
 first appearance of HCG (implantation) occurred 6-12 days after ovulation
 84% of the pregnancies implanted on days 8-10 after ovulation
 early pregnancy loss increased with later implantation -
implantation early pregnancy loss rate
 13% by day 9
 26% on day 10
 52% on day 11
 86% on day 12 or more
Overall the total pregnancy loss up to 6 weeks was 25%. Now that seems very high to most people but keep in mind many of these pregnancy losses occurred so early that women often were not aware they were even pregnant. The normal early pregnancy loss rate that most women know about is 15-18% of clinically recognized pregnancies so almost 40% of all pregnancy loss is unrecognized.

When is the best time to have intercourse in order to get pregnant?
Wilcox had also performed previous work in 1995 (2) which demonstrated that pregnancy only occurs if intercourse occurs within the 6 days prior to and including ovulation. Intercourse after the day of ovulation does not result in pregnancy. The probability of conception ranged from 10% when intercourse occurred five days before ovulation to 33% when it occurred on the day of ovulation itself.
This is the data that suggests the best timing of intercourse in order to conceive is day 10, 12, 14 and 16 (in case of late ovulation) of a 28 day cycle or days -4, -2, 0, +2 in relation to expected ovulation in the case of cycles different than 28 days.

When should I begin testing with home urine tests?
Most home pregnancy tests that check urine beta-HCG are sensitive to 20-25 mIU/ml of HCG. The general rule-of thumb is to test at the time when you are a day late for your menses or about 15 days after ovulation. The test can be positive anywhere from about 2-3 days prior to a missed menses to 4-5 days after.
Testing really does depend upon how regular your menses are or in other words how regular ovulation occurs. If you tend to be late (longer than 28 days) with your periods or the timing of menses varies by several days each cycle, then it is better not to waste pregnancy tests by testing at day 28-29 after the last period starts.

Are ovulation prediction tests worth doing?
Pelvic ultrasound looking at the ovaries is considered the gold standard in ovulation prediction in a research setting but obviously in a practical application of a woman trying to conceive, ultrasound is not used. Urinary LH testing has been shown to have a 100% correlation with ultrasound as far as predicting the timing of ovulation (3). In that same study, they looked at cervical mucous changes, basal body temperature (BBT) charts and salivary ferning. Cervical mucous changes only had a correlation of 48%, salivary ferning correlated 37% and BBT has a 30% correlation.
For the home tests that measure LH surge that immediately precedes ovulation, detection of LH occurs at above 30 mIU/ml. This means that women with polycystic ovarian syndrome who have slightly higher resting LH values are still not falsely detected as ovulating. The urinary LH spike occurs about 24-36 hours prior to ovulation so it is very useful for women trying to conceive because it gives them a window of warning. The test will show positive for one or two days and rarely 3 days if you catch a spike right at the beginning and it is a large release of LH.
 
Thanks Rachael, this information is very useful! Do you have any personal hints and tips that you used when ttc? Obviously you have been successful...I know it is very personal but can you remember when and how often you BD?
 
Hiya Julia

To be honest Julia, it was really diffulcult for us as my husband is in the forces, so for us it was a case of just getting down to it when we could. Plus I never told my hubby that I knew I was ovulating because I didn't want him to feel under pressure....so for me, as soon as I knew I just tried to tempt him by strutting around nearly naked lol!

The month I conceived I was charting my BBT, so I knew I was approaching ovulation by my dip in temps and CM. My hubby was away until the Thursday, the day I thought was my most fertile day...We had sex Thursday PM, Friday AM and Saturday PM and that month I conceived. Because I was charting, it was was charts that told me I was pregnant because my temps kept rising beyond my usual 14 day Leutal phase.

I suppose my tips would be to start charting as you get a really good idea of whats happening in your cycle and when...It's not half as much hard work as I originally anticipated. Oh, and morning sex :lol: ....I'm convinced each time I have concieved (four times in total) it was in the morning! lol

Best of luck!
 
I totally agree with Rachael. Charting in the best way to know when to have sex to achieve pregnancy.

I had been charting a full year before attempting to conceive, in order to get the contraceptive pill out of my system completely before even trying. It took about eight months for my body to recover from the pill and I wouldn't have known this without charting my temperatures and other signs.

It took ages for my luteal phase to get to above 10 days. (number of high temperature days in a row). Luckily it all settled down just in time for my wedding and my honeymoon!

Charting is the way to go. It empowers you and gives you vital knowledge on what the body is getting up to.
 
Bumping for girls TTC.

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girls
 
thanks rachael this information is really useful xxxxxx
 
great information thanks rachael :clap: :clap:

i agree charting my temp and cm has really made me more aware of my body. hope i cracked it this month :pray: :pray: :pray: :pray: :pray: :pray:
 

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