Ovulation facts 6-7: Sex and conception
6. How long do the egg and sperm live for?
An egg lives for about 12-24 hours after you ovulate, and sperm can live for five to seven days. Ideally, you need a lot of sperm on stand-by to pounce on that egg when it's released, so have sex in the days leading up to when you ovulate and a day after. You only release the one egg, but a single ejaculation from your partner will supply millions of sperm, so keep the supply up by having lots of sex.
7. Can you only conceive if you have sex on the day you ovulate?
No, that's a myth. Because sperm can live for up to a week after ejaculation, they may still be in your fallopian tube when you ovulate, and so able to fertilise an egg. Research shows that even if you have sex six days prior to ovulation you stand a good chance of conceiving. If you wait to have sex only on the day you ovulate you may miss your chance of pregnancy altogether.
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kathy, about 1 month [Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment.]
Hi me and my husband been trying to have a baby for a year and half now and still have not gotten pregnant ,should he go and get checked bye a docotor or is there any suggestions someone could give me.. because I have 3 children bye my ex ..I don't know what to do its so fustrating and we want a baby together so bad! thanks