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It can be confusing to understand how to achieve pregnancy quickly. It seems that there are not that many straight forward guides out there telling when the best time is to attempt conceiving.
Today you will get this guide. You will learn all the steps you need to take in order to achieve pregnancy quickly, and the signs to look out for, if you are struggling to conceive, and what to do next.
You will also learn the signs that your body uses to tell you that it is in its fertile window.
We will start with the basics first.
Understanding Anatomy to Achieve Pregnancy Quickly
To understand how to achieve pregnancy quickly, first it is important to understand the reproductive process. In order for pregnancy to occur, ovulation has to occur.
What is Ovulation?
Ovulation occurs when an ovary is released from the ovary and into the fallopian tube. This egg can live between 12 to 24 hours while it awaits fertilization from sperm traveling up to meet it. process. In order for pregnancy to occur, ovulation has to occur.
Ovulation occurs through a beautiful cocktail of hormones inside the brain and reproductive system. First, the brain releases the hormone FSH. This stimulates follicles living inside of the ovaries to produce estrogen. As the estrogen increases to a certain threshold, it signals the brain to release the hormone LH.
When LH is released, it signals the follicle to release the egg. After this, the follicle (now it is called the corpus luteum) produces progesterone. Progesterone maintains the uterine lining and creates nutrients for an optimal environment when a fertilized egg implants.
Birds and Bees
After ovulation, sperm will find this egg in the upper third of the fallopian tube as it travels upwards in the perfect conditions to meet it.
Sperm can take these conditions which involve high estrogen levels producing cervical mucus to transport sperm easily through the female reproductive tract.
Once the egg is fertilized, it travels down to the uterus. This journey can take between 6 to 10 days. Upon reaching the uterus, the fertilized egg implants on the uterine wall, achieving pregnancy.
How to Achieve Pregnancy Quickly
Now that there is understanding of the hormones at play that work together for a woman to become pregnant, let’s begin looking into how to achieve pregnancy quickly, so that there is no confusion about when you are or are not fertile.
Understanding the Fertile Window to Achieve Pregnancy Quickly
What is the fertile window, you may ask? I am here to clear up any confusion. Did you know that the body cannot get pregnant all cycle long? This is a big myth. This is why I chose to not use hormonal birth control.
In fact, it is only possible for the body to become pregnant one day a cycle. You heard that right. From the time ovulation occurs, sperm only has 12 to 24 hours to reach the egg before the egg dissipates.
However, a woman is fertile more than this one day. In fact, research shows that she has a fertility window that lasts about 6 days of each cycle.
Why is this if an egg can only last for 24 hours without becoming fertilized?
A woman is fertile for 6 days because sperm can live for 5 days inside of a woman’s reproductive system if the conditions are right. When a woman’s body creates these conditions for sperm to thrive, she is in her fertile window.
This means that if she has intercourse 5 days before ovulation, and her body is creating the proper conditions, the sperm from this encounter can survive till 5 days later when ovulation occurs and then fertilize the egg.
Pretty amazing, right? Even more amazing is the fact that the body provides biomarkers that can tell a woman when this fertile window is, as well as what day she has the highest chance of becoming pregnant. Learning how to identify these biomarkers can help you to achieve pregnancy quickly. Let’s look at what these biomarkers are.
What is a Biomarker and How It Can Help You Achieve Pregnancy Quickly
A biomarker can be defined as a physical trait that indicates the state of the body. So biomarkers of fertility can be defined as the different physical traits which define when the body is in its fertile window.
Recognizing these biomarkers can help you to achieve pregnancy quickly because they will allow you to time intercourse for when your body is in the optimal conditions for conception.
What Biomarkers Can Help You Achieve Pregnancy Quickly
Cervical Fluid
Also known as cervical mucus, this substance is closely tied to ovulation. Cervical fluid occurs when small pockets within the cervix, called cervical crypts, respond to high levels of progesterone by creating a thick substance. This thick substance limits sperm motility.
Cervical crypts respond to estrogen by creating a stretchy, egg-white substance that is lubricating and nourishing to sperm. This stretchy, liquid substance allows sperm to migrate freely up to the fallopian tubes, and survive for up to five days in a safe environment.
When a woman is in her fertile window, she will notice cervical fluid appear and become more stretchy and like egg whites as she approaches ovulation.
After ovulation, cervical fluid will dry up completely, or appear as a dryer substance than during the fertile window.
Cervical fluid can be observed through sight, touch, consistency, and observing a feeling of wetness or dryness throughout the day.
I would argue that this is the most reliable biomarker to follow in the fertility awareness method, as it will align well with ovulation, and can also be a key biomarker in showing any hormonal issues that may exist.
How to Use Cervical Fluid in Order to Achieve Pregnancy Quickly
Having an understanding of how increasingly wet cervical fluid correlates with ovulation can be extremely helpful in trying to conceive. The peak day of fertility will be on the day that cervical mucus is the most like egg whites. Other ways of describing it would be clear, slippery, wet, and stretchy.
Timing intercourse with this sign that the body gives can optimize the chances of conception. Try to time intercourse with this day as it is the day women are most likely to ovulate.
However, timing intercourse during any point in the fertile period of time can optimize chances of conceiving, since sperm can live up to five days in the female reproductive tract when there is cervical fluid to nourish it.
Tracking this is the best way to optimize your chances of conception. It can be the key to helping you achieve pregnant quickly, if your hormones are relatively regulated.
If you want to learn how to track cervical fluid in your cycle through charting, please contact me here, and read this blog post.
LH Testing
I absolutely love LH testing. I would not solely rely on this method, but it is very helpful in hinting at how soon ovulation will be, and leads to higher success in achieving pregnancy when paired with tracking cervical fluid.
The luteinizing hormone will have a surge 24 to 36 hours before ovulation. It is the hormone that triggers ovulation to occur. This means that when a woman has a positive LH test strip, she will likely ovulate in the next 2 days.
How to Use LH Testing in Order to Achieve Pregnancy Quickly
LH testing in order to achieve pregnancy quickly involves coinciding this testing with cervical mucus. This would make sense since the appearance of cervical fluid is the number one indicator that a woman is in her fertile window.
So, to use LH testing in order to achieve pregnancy quickly, simply begin testing on the same day that you see your first sign of fertile cervical mucus. Testing should be done in the morning, during the second urination of the day for proper concentration levels.
An LH test is positive when the second line is as dark or darker than the control line. If the second line is lighter than the control line, it is negative.
Continue testing until you get a positive result, and then discontinue testing.
Time intercourse within 24 hours of your positive LH test since an LH surge indicates that ovulation will occur in the next 24-36 hours. This may help you to achieve pregnancy quickly, over the span of a couple cycles, if hormone levels are sufficient.
Timing intercourse with a positive LH reading and good cervical mucus conditions is a great way to optimize chances of conception and achieve pregnancy quickly.
Here are the LH Test strips that I use:
Recap on How to Achieve Pregnancy Quickly with the Fertility Awareness Method
The fertility awareness method is an excellent tool to have at your disposal when the desire is to achieve pregnancy.
It can help you to achieve pregnancy quickly, but do not despair if it takes longer than you hoped. Using the Fertility Awareness Method involves a learning curve, and can often be more successful when used alongside a coach and with a few cycles of practice.
The amazing thing about the fertility awareness method is that it can also reveal to you if there are any hormonal imbalances that need to be taken care of in order to have more success in achieving pregnancy quickly. If you would like to learn more about this you can contact me here.
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This is so helpful! I’m hoping to try to get pregnant in the next year or two and I’ll definitely try using the LH test and will make sure to tell my friends as well. It’s so helpful to know how impactful this timing really is.
So glad this was helpful for you! If you have any questions about optimizing fertility do not hesitate to reach out. Good luck to you on your upcoming journey.