Learn about fertility and the menstrual cycle to identify your fertile days, understand ovulation, and increase your chances of getting pregnant. Fertility and the menstrual cycle: the hormonal changes that prepare a woman’s body to conceive create the menstrual cycle. Knowing how the normal menstrual cycle works, its average length, and the fertile window can help you better understand your natural fertility.
What Is the Menstrual Cycle?
Your menstrual cycle is the way your ovaries prepare and release an egg, and the way your uterus develops its lining for a pregnancy. The first day of bleeding is ‘day 1’ of the cycle. The cycle then goes on until the first day of the next period.
Most women are told a menstrual cycle is “28 days long”, but in reality the average menstrual cycle length can vary from around 21 to 35 days in the adult female. Every woman is different and the length of the menstrual cycle can be different from one month to the next. Having a regular period can help you to guess when ovulation may happen, but it does not guarantee that ovulation occurs on the same day every cycle.
By understanding this woman’s menstrual cycle, you can note the woman’s most fertile period and anticipate when she is most likely to conceive.
The Four Phases of the Menstrual Cycle
Stages of the menstrual cycle the menstrual cycle comprises different stages, i.e. menses, follicular phase, ovulation, and luteal phase. These all contribute to natural fertility and help the body to prepare for pregnancy.
1. Menstruation: When Your Period Starts
The start of the menstrual cycle is marked by the beginning of the period. When there is no pregnancy, hormone production decreases, and the uterus is emptied of its endometrial lining, resulting in bleeding that is referred to as a period. This period of time normally lasts about two to seven days.
Some women suffer from symptoms that include cramping in the lower abdomen, tiredness, headaches, and breast tenderness. Some variation in these symptoms can be normal, but heavy bleeding, ongoing irregular bleeding, and severe cramps can be a cause for concern.
The next phase of the menstrual cycle begins once bleeding ceases and the body gets ready to ovulate.
2. Follicular Phase: Developing a Mature Egg
Hormonal causes: Beginning at the start of the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle, follicle-stimulating hormone encourages the development and maturation of the ovarian follicles. One of the follicles then usually becomes dominant and is the one that holds a mature egg, to be released at the later stages of a cycle.
Estrogen levels increase at this stage, promoting the thickening of the uterine wall and uterine lining, which may occur in readiness for pregnancy. The length of the follicular phase may affect your average length of the menstrual cycle.
This is why, even when it comes to a 28-day menstrual cycle, the precise date of ovulation may vary.
3. Ovulation: When the Egg Is Released
When does ovulation happen? Ovulation is the process whereby a mature egg is released from one of the ovaries. It is prompted by an increase in luteinising hormone. Once the egg has been released from the follicle of the ovary, it then enters the fallopian tube.
The egg then moves into the fallopian tube, where it usually survives for 12-24 hours. If a sperm fertilises the egg, it will create a baby embryo, which moves into the womb ready to implant.
The fertile period is the five days before ovulation and the day of ovulation. Given sperm can survive within the reproductive system for five days in the right conditions, this means if you have sex before ovulation, this can also result in pregnancy.
For women who are trying to get pregnant, tracking ovulation can be important for their most fertile days.
4. Luteal Phase: Preparing the Uterus for Pregnancy
The luteal phase occurs after ovulation. The remaining ovarian follicle produces the hormone progesterone, which helps maintain the uterine lining for a possible pregnancy.
When a fertilized egg attaches to the lining of the endometrium, pregnancy may occur. If the eggs don’t get fertilised, or if there’s no implantation, the levels of progesterone decrease and the uterine lining is shed the next period.
Length of the luteal phase: The luteal phase length is usually approximately 12 to 14 days, but can vary from person to person. Knowing the luteal phase can be helpful when trying to identify menstrual cycles and natural fertility.
How to Identify Your Fertile Window
The window of fertility is a period of time when it is most likely to have sex and conceive. For a woman who has a 28-day cycle, ovulation can be around day 14, but it’s just an educated guess. The typical cycle and ovulation day can be variable, even for a woman with regular periods.
A calculator can give you an approximation of your fertile days based on your last period date and typical cycle duration. With an ovulation calculator yet, it’s not possible to identify the specific day of the cycle when you ovulate, mostly when your cycle fluctuates or is irregular.
Those trying to conceive may want to try frequent intercourse (one to two days apart) within the fertile window to increase their chances of conception.
Signs of Ovulation and How to Track Ovulation
Knowing what ovulation signs are can assist women in becoming more familiar with their fertility.
- Cervical mucus: Cervical mucus (sometimes called vaginal mucus) can turn clear, watery, and stretchy, like raw egg white mucus or raw egg white as you get closer to ovulation.
- Basal body temperature: There is often a small increase in temperature after ovulation because of an increase in progesterone.
- Abdominal pain or discomfort. Some women notice a slight cramping or uncomfortable feeling in the lower abdomen around the time that the egg is being released.
- Breast tenderness: changes in hormones during the ovulation and luteal phase can cause breast tenderness.
- Variations in sexual desire: several women experience a heightened interest in sex while they are fertile.
The basal body temperature method needs you to take your body temperature right after waking and before getting out of bed. You may want to use a basal body thermometer to detect slight variations over a series of cycles. The temperature will still typically rise after ovulation, making this method more reliable for detecting ovulation rather than predicting it.
Ovulation predictor kits look for an increase in luteinizing hormone, which can also help you estimate when you might ovulate.
Can You Get Pregnant With Irregular Cycles?
Even if you don’t have a regular cycle, you can become pregnant. Though it might be trickier to know when you are fertile. The length of your cycle may be different from the expected cycle, and some cycles may be anovulatory.
Polycystic ovary syndrome, thyroid problems, and other hormonal issues can also lead to irregular periods or ovulation problems. Birth control that stops ovulation for the length of the cycle will also affect cycle patterns.
If your periods are irregular, then tracking cervical mucus, menstrual bleeding, and other symptoms may give you a clue. If irregular periods don’t go away, a doctor may be able to help.
