Getting Pregnant FAQs
How long does it take to get pregnant for most women?
About 30% of women conceive the first menstrual cycle they try, 60% within two cycles and 80% within six cycles. After 12 months of trying, about 90% of couples succeed in getting pregnant. However, those numbers are just generalizations. Actual conception rates vary greatly by age, factors like smoking and drinking, and the overall health of both parents.
How long do I have to be off birth control to get pregnant?
If a woman completes a cycle of birth control pills today, she could become pregnant her very next ovulation. There is no need to wait additional time to start trying. What is important is to finish that entire last cycle of pills to prevent irregular bleeding. Don’t stop, for instance, on day 18 but continue the full cycle (day 28).
How can I tell if I'm ovulating?
There are a few methods women can use to figure out when they ovulate:
- Counting days—For women with regular 28-day cycles, ovulation happens between days 11 to 21
- Home ovulation tests—They measure hormones in urine or saliva, but can get expensive over time
- Changes in basal body temperature and cervix—These are subtle and can take time and effort to monitor and learn
- Symptoms—Some women feel cramping or other period-like symptoms
Women working with a fertility specialist may have blood tests to more accurately pinpoint their ovulation.
What changes can I expect in my body when I stop using birth control?
How often should we have sex while trying to conceive?
In a perfect world, women would know exactly when they are ovulating, and couples could then have sex as often as desirable in the five days prior to the ovulation day itself (the fertility window). But predicting the exact date of ovulation is not currently an exact science. There are tests and trackers that can help. But for most couples, ultimately, it comes down to an educated guess. The advice, therefore, on how often to have sex can vary greatly. The expert consensus seems to be that the more sex couples have, the more likely they are to conceive, with the highest concentration being in the days around when ovulation is likely to occur.
How do doctors check if I can get pregnant?
Doctors usually begin with blood tests that can determine a woman’s hormone levels. A pelvic exam coupled with an ultrasound can provide some information about the uterus and ovaries, as well. These will help determine if the woman is ovulating. If she is, doctors will look for any structural problems in the female reproductive tract with a test called a hysterosalpingogram. While looking at an x-ray of the uterus and fallopian tubes, a dye is injected through the vagina. The dye allows doctors to see if there are any blockages in the reproductive tract that would either prevent sperm from making it up to the fallopian tube or prevent an egg from making it down into the uterus. A laparoscopic surgery to view the abdominal cavity and organs is also possible, although less common.
Is there a best time to get pregnant?
Women actually only have a day or two each month that it is possible to get pregnant. That’s the day her ovary releases her egg into the fallopian tube and before the egg travels through the tube into the uterus. The time the egg spends inside the tube itself, is the window of time a sperm has to reach and fertilize it. For most women, this window is 24-48 hours or so. But timing sex so that the sperm makes it to that tube promptly is a little more complex. That’s because sperm can live for 3 to 5 days inside the female reproductive tract. And it may take an energetic few that long to swim all the way to the fallopian tube. That’s why the fertility window—the best time to have sex to increase the likelihood of pregnancy—is five days before ovulation, as well as ovulation day itself.