Thursday, September 4, 2008

How to use a fertility calculator

By Shola Oslo


As a kinesiologist who uses natural remedies to help women get pregnant, I always recommend you use some form of fertility calculator to short-cut the time it takes you to get pregnant. They're actually not very difficult to use and at the end of this article, I'll show you a way to calculate your most fertile days for free.

These devices can be a life-saver if you don't have months to wait to conceive. It's a little known fact that you're only fertile for about one day in the month (sometimes it can be a few hours), so it's quite easy to miss your chance to conceive.

So, how do you use a fertility calculator to get pregnant? Whether or not you decide to do it yourself with a calendar or use software available online, you will still need to know some very important dates and numbers. Most fertility calculators online ask you 2-3 questions and these questions are straight forward they must be accurate to calculate ovulation correctly.

You're most likely to be asked when your last period started, the number of days in your menstrual cycle and sometimes these calculators want to know information about your luteal phase.

Now, the way you get these numbers is quite simple. Get a calendar and write down the first day of your last two periods. Okay, start counting days from the first day of your last period until the day before your most recent period; this is the number of days in your cycle. This number can be anywhere from 20-45 days, with 28 days being the average.

Working out the details on your luteal phase isn't as easy. This is a term used by doctors to describe the days in your cycle after you ovulate but before your period. It should last 14 days if your cycle is the standard 28 days.

Don't worry if it sounds too difficult! The majority of online calculators require only the most basic of information, so if you find one that wants information you can't give, just move on to the next calculator.

Some people prefer to use a pen and paper to work out when they're ovulating. If this is you, and you're looking at your journal dates, you can count backward 14 days from the time your next period is going to start, and this will be your approximate ovulation date. This is not an exact science, so assume you might be fertile 2 days before and 2 days after that approximate ovulation date.

To get best results, combine the use of a fertility calculations with charting your basal body temperature and identifying when this rises, keeping notes of changes in the way you feel mid-cycle, and checking your cervical mucus every day.

So now you know how to use a fertility calculator to increase your chances of getting pregnant. Keep reading, because in a minute, I'll share with you a link to a free fertility calculator that won't require you to enter information on your luteal phase.

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