Note: Information provided on this page is for general education only, please seek medical assistance when in doubt
Fertility period or fertile window is a time in woman’s menstrual cycle with highest likelihood of pregnancy resulting from sexual intercourse, this time usually begins 5 days before ovulation and generally last 1 to 2 days after ovulation. For a woman having regular 28 days cycle this period starts on eighth day after first day of last menstrual cycle and may last till 17th day after first day of last menstrual cycle.
Male sperm generally survive inside woman uterus for about 5 days and sometime up to a week, fertilization occurs when male sperm fuses into woman’s egg released from either of her ovary, egg cell however cannot survive more than 2 days without being fertilized and this gives rise to a limited time frame called as fertile period or fertile window
For most women with regular 28 days cycle, Ovulation generally occurs on 14th day from the first day of last menstrual cycle, however ovulation may occur little earlier or could be delayed by couple of days and hence fertile period or fertile window may move towards or away from first day of last menstrual cycle.
A variety of methods have been developed to help individual women estimate the relatively fertile and the relatively infertile days in the cycle; these systems are called as fertility awareness.
Fertility awareness methods that solely rely on cycle length alone are called calendar-based methods and method that requires observation of one or more of the three primary fertility signs viz. basal body temperature, cervical mucus, and cervical position are known as symptoms-based methods.
Urine test kits known as ovulation predictor kits or OPKs are available that detects the LH surge that occurs 24 to 36 hours before ovulation. Many computerized devices that interpret basal body temperatures, urinary test results, or changes in saliva, called fertility monitors are also available, however they are mostly used medically for infertility treatments.