Fertility and Pregnancy

The average menstrual cycle is 28-35 days. Ovulation usually happens between days 11 and 21 of your cycle. A hormone called luteinizing hormone (LH) surges, triggering the release of the egg that's most ripe. At the same time, your cervical mucus becomes more slippery to help sperm make their way to the egg.

Women are born with about 1 million to 2 million eggs but release only 300 to 400 through ovulation during their lifetimes. Usually, you release just one each month. The egg travels along with one of the two fallopian tubes that connect your ovaries to your uterus. If the timing is right, sperm may fertilize it on its way to the uterus. If fertilization doesn't happen within 24 hours of the egg leaving the ovary, the egg dissolves. Sperm can live for about 3 to 5 days, so knowing when you are ovulating can help you and your partner plan sex for when you're most likely to conceive.

Generally, the best chance of pregnancy is when sex happens 1-2 days before ovulation. If you have a regular 28-day cycle, count back 14 days from when you expect your next period to start. Plan on having sex every other day around that time -- say, days 12 and 14.  Keep in mind that having sex every day may lower a man's sperm count. Your cycle may be longer or shorter, so an online ovulation calculator may help you figure out the likely day.

After your body releases an egg, the hormone progesterone kicks in to build and maintain the lining of the uterus. It makes your body temperature go up slightly. So taking your temperature with a basal thermometer every morning before you get out of bed can help you figure out if you ovulated. You can buy these thermometers at the drugstore. They're inexpensive, but they aren't as accurate as other ways of tracking ovulation.

How Home Pregnancy Tests Work

Home pregnancy tests check your urine for the "pregnancy hormone," called hCG, that your body makes once a fertilized egg implants in your uterus. Some of these tests may be able to tell if you're pregnant as early as 5 days before your first missed period.

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