Fertility Calculators: Getting Pregnant Fast
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.
So, how do you use a fertility calculator to get pregnant? Whether or not you decide to do it yourself with a calendar or use software available online, you will still need to know some very important dates and numbers. Most fertility calculators online ask you 2-3 questions and these questions are straight forward they must be accurate to calculate ovulation correctly.
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.
If you regularly note down the dates of your period in your journal, this will be an easy exercise for you. Then, all you need to do is count the days in between the dates your period starts.
Figuring out your luteal phase can be a little tricky. Most women have never heard of a luteal phase, let alone know when it occurs. If you don’t know this at first it is okay, a good rule of thumb is 14 days. The luteal phase is the time between ovulation and the beginning of your next period; usually lasting 10-16 days with 14 being the average.
The good news is there are not many sites that ask for this information; most fertility calculators only ask for the first day of your last period and the amount of days in your cycle.
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.
If you want to incorporate the luteal phase in your calculation, then monitor the daily changes in your cervical mucus as well as your BBT. These two basic pieces of information can really help the accuracy of your fertility calculation.
There are tips and tricks to realizing when you are ovulating which I explain on my website and books. Once you become more in-tune with your body using a fertility calculator to get pregnant will be as easy as 123!