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All you need to know about ovulation

All you need to know about ovulation

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The decision to have a baby is one of the biggest you'll ever make, and after making that step you'll want things to go as smoothly as possible.

Understanding your ovulation cycle is the first thing to get your head round. Use our ovulation calculator to work out when you're ovulating. Then there are 11 things about ovulation every woman needs to know.

Read through our step-by-step guide to getting pregnant, but first take note of our fertility facts.

Fertility facts

The average age for having a first baby in the UK is now 30.
A woman in her early 20s has double the chance of getting pregnant compared to a woman in her 30s.
4 out of 10 healthy couples in their thirties will take more than 12 months to conceive.
The quantity and quality of your eggs decline with age. Women in their 20s generally have good quality eggs, but after 35 years the quality decreases.
Every baby girl is born with all her eggs intact in her ovaries, around 300,000 to 400,000. When she reaches puberty an egg will be released each month.

By Julia Shaw

Ovulation fact 1: What happens when you ovulate? >

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charlotte m 19, posted 1 month ago

very long sorry but may help A woman has a fertile time lasting about two days in the middle of her monthly menstrual cycle. The fertile time starts when the woman ovulates (produces an egg) and ends about two days later. The most likely way to get pregnant is to have sex in this fertile time or up to two days before it. But the problem is accurately identifying this fertile time as it varies from woman to woman and also in individuals. It usually happens about two weeks before the period, but it could be earlier or later. If you want to get pregnant, there are two ways to time sex to coincide with the fertile time. One way is to have sex every day. If you are too tired for this, take your temperature every morning at the same time before you get out of bed and record it carefully. While your temperature will vary slightly from day to day, it will rise sharply by about 0.2 degrees C and stay up at the time of ovulation. That's the time. Enjoy two days of frantic sex. Some women can also feel the time of ovulation by a change in the way they feel inside, or by bleeding slightly. This method is often advocated as a contraceptive-free way of actually avoiding getting pregnant, but it is not reliable enough. There are many other reasons why your temperature might rise, leading to the impression that three days later you are safe. You can't really rely on using this knowledge as a foolproof method of contraception, as it is too hard to tell exactly when ovulation occurs. Interesting to note that the texture of vaginal mucus also changes during the fertile period and many women feel higher libido at this time as well. Oh, and if the woman puts a pillow under her hips during intercourse it increases penetration and hence improves the chance of conception! Which brings us nicely on to the fact that... ... Women Need Orgasms! According to an interesting TV documentary on sex recently, fertility is increased when the woman has an orgasm during or after the man. A man, while ejaculating, deposits a pool of semen at the back of the woman's vagina. When a woman orgasms, her cervix pushes forward - dipping itself into this pool several times. The likelihood of sperm entering the uterus through the cervix is therefore increased greatly when the woman orgasms. So, although you don't need an orgasm to get pregnant, it certainly helps, and it makes things a bit more fun, too. Anyway, there are other ways to get pregnant. Artificial insemination involves the relatively unromantic injection of semen into the woman's vagina. Sometimes this semen was previously frozen by anonymous donors - who typically were paid for their contribution. This allows a single mother (or a lesbian couple) to give birth without the necessity of recognizing a legal father. Occasionally, a man will freeze his own sperm before undergoing a fertility-busting medical treatment like chemotherapy and will re-use it for procreative purposes later. It is also possible for a woman to have fertilized eggs from her own ovaries or from a female donor implanted in her uterus. This involves costly surgery, and so is typically only done when the woman has already exhausted other fertility treatments. In the most extreme cases, a fertilized egg will be forced to divide several times before the multiple eggs are implanted in the potential mother. This extremely expensive method often results in multiple births.

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charlotte m 19, posted 1 month ago

hello girls im charlotte age 19 20 in may i to am having a lot of trubel geting pregnant agen my 1st was a miscarriage at 6weeks god it kild me be for that me and my partner wer trying for a baby it ternd out i had an std witch that stopt me from geting pregnant so we tryd agen got no wer in the end i gave up set my mind on ather things then i got pregnats in april had miscarriage in march at 6weeks now still til this day stil trying so then i thor to my sen its happenin agen im trying so hard geting my sen down every time i get a pg what im tryin to say is keep trying yes do but stop doing it to hard stop thing about it put ya mind somwer els try not to think about it i no thats hard wen u wont somthing so bad but it helpt me sounds sad but it did but i do hop for the best for all ov u and hop u all becom mums in good time all my best xx

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charlene, posted 1 month ago

i had a eptopic how do i no when im ovulating

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Bevelyn, posted 2 months ago

I am trying to get pregnant for the past 8 months but it would not work. My partner is getting fedup with me. I am also worried. I am not familiar with my ovulation. I need your help.

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lin martin, posted 5 months ago

i was on depo shot in october 2004 came of it in 2007 november and been on pregnacareplus since then and been having irregular periods. i became pregnant in january 2009 and had miscarriage in march 2009 since then am trying to get pregnant but is not happening i have one son from previouse relationship and he is 5yrs now. am about to get married very soon and i have been with my boy friend almost 4yrs now. i have been to see my doctor and he conduct series of test but everything is normal. pls help me as am really worried.

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farah, posted 5 months ago

hi I would like to know if there is any way i can get ababy boy i have 2 beatiful girls so i would love to have abrother for my girls.

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Arianne about 2 months, posted 8 months ago

i gave birth two months ago..i had ovulate last two weeks and i had sex last time without any protection. could i be get pregnant?

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sian-louise newton, posted 8 months ago

my daughter has just gne 2 in may. my periods are irregular and i lost a baby april last year how do i know if i can get pregnant after my loss as ive been trying for a month ans still havnt concieved??

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Deanna, posted 9 months ago

I am just wondering i am trying for a baby at the moment and it just isnt happening i have no idea when i ovulate so should i just do it every 2nd day of the month and see what happens.......i have a 5 year old son but would love a bubby girl...please help

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AMELIA JOHN, posted 9 months ago

I delievered a baby boy last year in august, but the baby died and i have been trying to get pregnant again for the past eight months.and again i have been having pains in stomach anytime it is getting close to m y period with heavy flow pls can u tell me what is wrong with me

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lindsey, posted 10 months ago

i have been trying for a baby for 14 months now,me and partner are healthy,ive recently taken two test which say negative as i am 2 months late with my period,im at a loose end and dont know what todo next,help!

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claire, posted 11 months ago

i have realy irregular periods i can go for 3 moths with out onw. we have been tryin for a baby for 4 years now and nothing is happening. i have had test and they come back normal and yes he is fine i know that its me as pass partners have kids and i never got pregnat with them. im realy at a lose end now can any one please help me?

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stacay worral, posted 1 year ago

Hi i was wonderin if you can help me i'm 19 nearly 20 and me and my partner have been trying for a baby for three years now but still no luck cn you help me please i am worried somethink might be wrong with me and i went to the doctors and i explained to them but they won't help me and they said that i'm to young to be worrying about that please say that you can help me thanks

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Reagan, posted 1 year ago

hi iv bin trying for a baby for at least over a year im only 20 do you think ther is something worng my periods are regular but nothing has happend

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Diane sinclair, posted 1 year ago

i already have 2 children but really want another one. my periods are regular, they come between the 3rd and 4th week from the start of my last one, but only last a day or 2. can this affect my chances of conceiving? also my husband did quite a lot of drugs in his youth, will that cause problems too?

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carmen, posted 1 year ago

hello, i try to know when am ovulating but i can't,am looking for baby boy i need help to knowhow i work for that .

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chantell pasher, posted 1 year ago

i am trying to have a babie and i am having truble with my ovulation i can not get it to come out right for me i would like to find out how to make it work for me will u please help me ...thank you

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MASOOD, posted 1 year ago

HI I WANT ARTICLE ABOUT OVULATION TO IMPLANTATION OCCURES FOR LECTURE IN UNIVERSITY.THANKS

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michelle, posted 1 year ago

hi im 32 and trying to conceive my 3rd child after having the contraceptive injection having not had the injection since july and still not having regular periods im wondering how long it is all going to take

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gloria, posted 1 year ago

how do i read my cycle is it from the first day of mensration or the last day

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joanne richardson, posted 1 year ago

i start with pain in my right lower abdomen from about the 12,13,14,15, day of my circle and get constipated could this be normal,need some advice

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maria, posted 1 year ago

i a have dificiltys to get pregnant , for 12 yaers the doctors say that everyting its o.k i had 2 ectopik pregnancys . what do you think i should ?

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nat, posted 1 year ago

my periods r at difrent dates ow do i no im ovulating????????????????

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jacqueline herron, posted 1 year ago

been trying for a baby for 4 yrs i had 2 misscarries i had to give birth this year afr easter found out it was a little girl we would like to try for another baby my son whos 8 its very hard don kow why things happen

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tammy, posted 1 year ago

i have 2 children and have been trying to get pregnant since jan o7 my periods are short and painful can you give me any advise.

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paula, posted 2 years ago

hi im 33 have pcos and long for another child. i found out i have pcos 5 years ago when trying for my son. i was told i wasnt ovulating. and was given clomid to start. with luck i didnt need to take then as i fell with out at that time i didnt have ant signs of ovulating.. and now im trying again i still dont have ant signs. could i still become pregnant with out these signs. many thanks p baldwin

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Paul Jackson, posted 2 years ago

Does a whoman ovulate every month?

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tesfre, posted 2 years ago

i gave you thanks for your news letter.I got so many interestig advises so keet it over thanks

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carol, posted 2 years ago

sometimes my periods are irregular when do i kno when im ovulating?

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