While some women seem to be able to get pregnant without even trying, for others it might seem like an impossible dream to be able to start their own family.

More women than you might think have been saying “I cant get pregnant” or “Why cant I get pregnant”, luckily the ones who ask why may find the reasons for their perceived infertility and be able to enjoy the miracle of birth and find out how and when to get pregnant!

The first thing a couple needs to know about getting pregnant is a woman’s menstruation cycle. It consists of four different phases:

Lasting from 3-5 days this is where if the egg has not been fertilized the walls of the womb falls away and is passed out the vagina.

This is where a new egg of formed in the ovaries and takes from day 10 to 14 before it is released and the womb has been repaired.

This is the time when the egg is released and travels down the fallopian tube to the womb; this takes about 5 days from days 10-14

At about day 14 after the start of the menses the body starts to release progesterone which is used to keep the embryo alive and can help with continuing pregnancy. This cycle lasts till the 28th day when it starts to break down and the menses period starts again.

From this we can see that in a 28 day cycle (approximately) there are only some fertile points when the egg is ready and waiting to be fertilized. During the Ovulation period is considered the most fertile times and from day 10-18 is considered the peak fertility period and the best time to get pregnant.

Each woman varies somewhat on these times but after 18 days the womb is degrading and cannot support a pregnancy and before that there is no egg to fertilize. It is also important to notice that Sperm can stay alive in a woman’s womb for up to 5 days giving a period of time similar to the woman’s fertile times.

Now this may be common knowledge to many people but it is important to get these times right if you want to give your pregnancy the best chance it can get! Try to keep a menstrual calendar so you can keep on top of when is the most fertile times. On top of this it is also helpful to make love as many times as you can during this fertile period so that there is as many sperm as possible trying to fertilize the egg at any point in time, however try not to make it a chore!

Another tip is to lie down after making love for at least 5 minutes, do not get up and do things or go to the bathroom, let the body settle and it gives the sperm more chance. Also your diet may make a big difference to your chances such as too much coffee, smoking, possibly even prescription drugs you are taking, try to live as healthily as you can.

Hopefully if you keep to this your cries of “Why cant I get pregnant!” can turn into “Hooray it is baby time!!” now that you know when to get pregnant!