When Is The Best Time To Get Pregnant For Americans
BU researchers say the seasons could impact the odds of conceiving, especially for couples living in southern US states
North Americans hoping to conceive a child this year may soon be in luck. Boston University public health researchers say that although many factors likely go into the popularity of birthday months , seasons themselves may play a role in how easy it is to conceive.
A first-of-its-kind study, published earlier this year in Human Reproduction, found that couples in North America are most likely to start trying to conceive in September, but that they are most likely to succeed in getting pregnant in late November and early December, especially if they live in southern US states.
There are a lot of studies out there that look at seasonal patterns in births, but these studies dont take into account when couples start trying, how long they take to conceive, or how long their pregnancies last, says the studys lead author Amelia Wesselink, a BU School of Public Health postdoctoral associate in epidemiology.
In their paper, Wesselink and her collaborators suggest that couples may time their pregnancy attempts for a variety of reasons, including employment schedules , comfort , or personal choice .
These studies follow women with detailed surveys every two months until they either conceive or have tried to conceive for 12 menstrual cycles, gathering data from intercourse frequency and menstruation to smoking and diet to education and income.
When To See A Fertility Doctor
If youre having intercourse twice a week for a year and you arent getting pregnant, its unlikely that timing is to blame. Something else could be at play and you should see your doctor to tackle the challenge together. If you are 35 or older, see a fertility specialist after 6 months of trying to get pregnant.
You should also seek care if you know you have polycystic ovary syndrome or irregular periods. For example, if youve been taking birth control for years and dont get your period within three months after you stop taking it, make an appointment. Otherwise, you could waste time collecting data with an ovulation kit and be nowhere closer to conceiving.
Top Doctor Urges Northerners To Get Their Flu Shots
Northerners shy of flu shots compared to rest of B.C.
Northern B.C.s top doctor is urging residents to take advantage of free flu shots as we enter that time of year when the number of people affected by the respiratory illness tends to increase.
Northern Healths chief medical officer, Dr. Jong Kim, singled out children under the age of five, adults over 65, pregnant women, and people with asthma and heart conditions as being particularly vulnerable to the illness.
It is important for people to be aware for themselves, their families, the community and the health care system.
Kims comments follow flu shot statistics showing the north is behind the rest of the province in every age category as of Nov. 27. Just under 17 per cent of all northern residents have had a flu shot against of 25.46 per cent of the provinces entire population as of that date.
Within the northern figure, only 6.63 per cent of children from six to four years have had a flu shot compared to the provincial total of 15.15 per cent for that age group.
For northern children from five years to 17 years, the figure is 6.58 per cent, less than half the 15.2 per cent rate for that age group in all of B.C.
The statistic for seniors over the age of 65 is a little better with 43.46 per cent of northern residents in that age group having had a flu shot compared to 51.38 per cent within the province.
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Obstetric Services In Sarasota Fl
If youre planning on becoming pregnant, its important to have a medical professional to turn to for all of your obstetrical needs. At OB-GYN Womens Centre of Lakewood Ranch, our physicians provide comprehensive and compassionate care throughout every stage of your pregnancy. From prenatal to postpartum care, our team is here for you. Contact us today to learn more about our services, or schedule an appointment.
Redness Pain Or Swelling At The Injection Site
This is another good sign that your immune system is raring to go and responding to the vaccine properly, Dr. Kemmerly says. Plus, any time something breaks the skin barrier , it may get red and swollen as your body reacts to it as a foreign object. This side effects is common and should only last a few days.
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Your Cervical Mucus Has An Egg White
When is the last time you checked your underwear? Or, ahem, felt your down-there discharge? It may sound odd, but your cervical mucus can provide a tip-off to when sex will be most fruitful. Youre looking for discharge that feels like egg whites, which indicates your bodys in ovulation mode.
Once you start monitoring your CM all month, youll see a pattern: Youll likely be dry for several days to a week after your period. Next, your CM may get sticky for a day or two. Then, on around day eight, it will amp up and turn creamy it could be white or pale yellow.
The next stage is the biggie: ovulation mucus. Your discharge will not only be plentiful but slippery and stretchy . This egg-white stage is a clue that youre ovulating and you and your partner may want to skip dinner and a movie and get busy being intimate.
Incidentally, that CM texture is natures way of ensuring sperm make their way to the egg. Finally, after ovulation day, you may become drier down there.
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Will The Side Effects Be Worse If You Get Both Shots At Once
Despite what you may think, most people who get both vaccines at once arent likely to get more severe side effects than if they only got one. Abdul-Mutakabbir recommends preparing to feel under the weather for a few days after getting the shots. It doesnt mean the vaccines are making you sick, she says. Thats just your body creating a healthy immune response to gear up to fight against future infection.
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How Hormone Tracking Tells You When You Are Most Likely To Get Pregnant
Tracking hormones is an accurate way to identify your fertile days and help you get pregnant.
An increase in the level of estrogen occurs before ovulation and identifying this rise indicates you have an increased chance of getting pregnant. Estrogen causes the lining of your uterus to change to support a fertilized egg should you become pregnant. It also changes the consistency of your cervical mucus to make it more sperm-friendly.
The rise in estrogen triggers the release of another hormone, luteinizing hormone . This surge of LH typically occurs 24 to 36 hours before ovulation the process when an egg is released from an ovary. Identifying the LH surge indicates the onset of the 2 most fertile days, when you are most likely to get pregnant.
Most ovulation tests detect the LH surge identifying your 2 most fertile days. You can also get ovulation tests that detect the rise in estrogen so you can identify a wider fertility window prior to ovulation.
Best Time To Get Pregnant After Your Period
The first phase of your cycle is the follicular phase. It starts on the day that your period begins. During your period, your estrogen and progesterone levels are typically low.
Once your period is over, your pituitary gland will release follicle-stimulating hormone. This is a hormone that sends signals to your ovaries to start to prepare an egg for release . Your estrogen levels also begin to rise.
While its not impossible, your chances of getting pregnant during this time are pretty low.
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When Are You Most Likely To Get Pregnant
It is 5 days before ovulation because sperm can survive up to 5 days in the reproductive tract and still fertilise the egg. It is 1 day after ovulation because the egg can only survive for 1 day if fertilisation does not occur.
As if this wasnt a short enough time frame, most pregnancies actually result from sex on the 2 days before ovulation and the day of ovulation itself, reducing the peak times of the fertile window to 3 days only.
This short time frame means that couples who focus sex during their fertile window have significantly higher pregnancy success rates. They are also more likely to get pregnant quicker than couples who do not time sex in this way. This therefore leads to the question how do I know when my fertile window is?
When Are You Most Fertile If Your Cycle Is Irregular
Its a little more difficult to predict, but according to Paulson, women typically ovulate 14 days before the start of their next period. So if your cycle is 35 days, youre most likely ovulating on the 21st day since the start of your last period.
Lots of menstruation apps offer calendars and reminders for easy pregnancy planning, which can be particularly helpful since different months have different numbers of days and it can be hard to keep track. Visualizing your cycle with a calendar app will help you determine your window, especially if your period is less reliable from a timing perspective.
Other methods of tracking ovulation if your flow is inconsistent can include monitoring your cervical mucus and basal body temperature. According to ACOG, the amount of discharge you experience increases just before ovulation and becomes thin and slippery. Recognizing those changes can be an indicator that youre within the fertile window.
Your basal body temperature your temperature when youre at rest, and according to ACOG, it rises slightly during ovulation . If youre looking to plan a pregnancy, it may not be the most effective way to conceive, simply because the temperature only changes once youve already ovulated, but paired with other tracking methods it can be a useful piece of insight into whats happening in your body.
Thats the basics of fertility but like I said, everyones body is different.
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Your Chances Of Getting Pregnant After Ovulation
Also known as the luteal phase, this final portion of your cycle begins after ovulation and ends at the start of your next period. During this phase, progesterone starts to rise. Your cervical mucus will dry up, which makes the vaginal tract less friendly to sperm.
It takes about six days for any fertilized eggs to travel to your uterus. If one implants in your endometrium, you’ll start to see the rise in human chorionic gonadotropin , the hormone measured by home pregnancy tests, about one week after implantation.
Your chances of conceiving: Low. Once the egg has been released, there is a short window of 12 to 24 hours during which it can be fertilized. After that, you will no longer be in your fertile window . If you’re looking to avoid pregnancy, this is the phase during which people using fertility awareness methods commonly have sex freely, but keep in mind that there’s never a guarantee when it comes to avoiding pregnancy if a working ovary and sperm are involved.
You’re Least Likely To Conceive Right After Ovulation
You are least fertile when you are farthest from the time you start ovulating.
So, right after ovulation, in the days just prior to your period are when you are least likely to become pregnant.
It’s possible, but not very likely, to get pregnant during your period, particularly if you have a short menstrual cycle and ovulate early.
If you have sex the day after your period ends it is possible to get pregnant, because there’s potential for the sperm to still be present when you begin ovulating about a week later.
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Using Ovulation Predictor Tests
Ovulation predictor testswork a lot like pregnancy tests, except they tell you when you’re likely about to ovulate. They come as test sticks or test strips that react with your urine. To use these, you can urinate into a cup and then dip the test strip into the collected urine. You will get your result based on color changes or digital reading.
At-home ovulation tests detect the luteinizing hormone in your urine. LH surges just before you ovulate, so when the test reads positive, this indicates that your body is attempting to trigger the egg release from the ovary and that it is probably your optimal time to become pregnant.
When To Have Sex
Youre most likely to get pregnant if you have sex in the days around ovulation , with the day before and day after being the most fertile.
- An egg lives for about 12-24 hours after being released. The egg must be fertilised by a sperm during this time for you to get pregnant.
- Sperm can live for around 5 days inside a womans body, so if youve had sex in the few days before ovulation, the sperm can wait for the egg to be released.
This is called your ‘fertile window’. We can help you calculate this with our ovulation calculator tool.
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What Are The Symptoms Of A Blood
The Janssen/Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine can cause thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome. This is a blood-clotting problem that can be life-threatening.
As a result, the FDA is restricting use of the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine to certain people age 18 and older. Examples include people who had a severe allergic reaction after getting an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine and people who can’t get an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine due to limited access or personal or religious concerns. Research suggests there isn’t an increased risk of this blood-clotting problem after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination.
Serious side effects of the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine typically happen within two weeks of vaccination and require emergency care. Possible symptoms include:
- Shortness of breath
- Easy bruising or tiny red spots on the skin beyond the injection site
This vaccine shouldn’t be given to anyone who develops thrombosis with thrombocytopenia after getting the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine or any other adenovirus vector COVID-19 vaccine.
When Is The Fertile Window
The menstrual cycle is a complex process, regulated by multiple hormones which are released from various parts of the body, not just the reproductive system. It is helpful to know a bit about the cycle in more depth in order to understand what happens at what time, and what may cause any changes or abnormalities within this cycle.
For a description of a typical menstrual cycle and learn about the possible changes which may affect your fertility, check out the section: The Menstrual Cycle Calendar Phases
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Can Pregnant Or Breastfeeding Women Get The Covid
If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, it’s recommended that you get a COVID-19 vaccine.
The overall risk of COVID-19 to pregnant women is low. However, women who are pregnant or were recently pregnant are at increased risk of severe illness with COVID-19. Pregnant women with COVID-19 are also more likely to deliver a baby before the start of the 37th week of pregnancy . They might also be at increased risk of problems such as stillbirth and pregnancy loss.
Getting a COVID-19 vaccine can protect you from severe illness due to COVID-19. Vaccination can also help pregnant women build antibodies that might protect their babies. Research shows that infants born to mothers who receive two doses of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine — such as the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine — might have a lower risk of hospitalization due to COVID-19 infection in their first six months of life.
COVID-19 vaccines don’t cause infection with the virus that causes COVID-19, including in pregnant women or their babies. None of the COVID-19 vaccines contain the live virus that causes COVID-19. Also, keep in mind that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines don’t alter your DNA.
Have Frequent Sex During Your Fertile Window
One of the most common questions among people trying to conceive is: How often should I have sex if Im trying to get pregnant?
The short answer is that it depends on your preferences as a couple, and whether there are any known fertility issues.
Overall, studies have shown that couples who have sex every day or every other day during the fertile window have the highest rates of pregnancy. Also, doctors often recommend sticking to just once a day during the fertile window.
If having sex every day or every other day isnt possible or enjoyable, set a goal to have sex throughout your cycle. This can get you and your partner into a regular sex routine, which can carry you into the fertile window.
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Understanding Your Menstrual Cycle
Your menstrual cycle begins on the first day of your period and continues up to the first day of your next period.
You’re most fertile at the time of ovulation , which usually occurs 12 to 14 days before your next period starts. This is the time of the month when you’re most likely to get pregnant.
It’s unlikely that you’ll get pregnant just after your period, although it can happen. It’s important to remember that sperm can sometimes survive in the body for up to 7 days after you have sex.
This means it may be possible to get pregnant soon after your period finishes if you ovulate early, especially if you have a naturally short menstrual cycle.
You should always use contraception when you have sex if you don’t want to become pregnant.
