While on the BCP

There are recorded cases when women did conceive while on birth control pills. It is not common, though.

LoriVI says:
My SIL got pregnant while on BCP. Her pregnancy was considered high risk, but went on to have a beautiful, healthy 8 lb. girl.


 


 

How long after the BCP

Every woman is different really. You could conceive straight after you go off the pill (not very common, though), or it will take longer. The average you could conceive after quitting pills is about 6 months. That's because your body needs to clean its system from the pill hormones and get back on track with your body's natural hormones.


 


 

When Breastfeeding

Carmeli says:
I read in the website http://www.fertilityUK.com that when AF doesn't come while breastfeeding, there is a corresponding contraceptive effect. At any rate, if AF has not been showing up, fertility is questionable anyway so this info makes sense to me.


 


 

Too Thin/Too Fat

About being too thin, and I can speak only about my experience. I was too thin and weighed almost nothing before I got pg the first time. The doc told me that I needed a certain amount of fat to help conception. Although I never avoid eating fatty things I never could put on weight because I have a very fast metabolism (i.e I burn energy quickly) but did manage to eat healthily until I built that minimum fat I needed.

About being fat

Amanda says:
I have read that being over- or underweight MAY hinder conception. Now, I don't think that goes for everybody, and I don't know how many pounds they meant, but it may make sense for her to follow your advice and slowly, healthily try to lose a few pounds while she's trying. I also have a friend who got pregnant when she was a bit overweight (let's guess 40 pounds, for the sake of discussion) her doctor recommended that she gain only 10-20 pounds during pregnancy, instead of the typical 25-35 that dr.s recommend for most women, so there was another off-set.

SandS says:
Proper diet/nutrition is so important...I, too, am interested in losing weight (approx. 20 lbs) B 4 I get PG. I am trying to exercise and eat properly. I know the idea isn't 'new' to anyone, but I've finally BANISHED diets from my life ... in my experience they have only caused me to gain more than I lost in the long run. I decided exercise is the only way to go....I incorporate it into each 'work day', so it doesn't seem like such a chore. If your friend is very overweight, I think it might not be a bad idea to wait B4 getting PG. When my best girlfriend got PG, she was +200 lbs and only 5' tall.....she had a horrible first 3 mos. High bloodpressure, sick all the time, extreme fatigue and the list goes on!!

Dawn says:
I have never in my LIFE been the 125 pds they say is right for my height. I have been 145, 150, and am now at my personal heaviest at 165 BUT..... I am very healthy. very low cholesterol eat well, walk for exercise, garden etc. My DH tried to pull the " you need to lose weight" and I said WHY??? That's silly. There is no right weight to do anything at and I would rather be healthy and need to lose a few than stick thin and miserable. The older I get, and the way I look at my body has changed. I have thought I as fat for most of my life, until I finally realized that it wasn't me at all. Ok there was my diatribe for today..... Just be healthy!!! = )


 


 

How long will it take me to conceive?!

Vik (aka vik4kidz) says:
I saw on the Pinelandpress web site the following statistics...
  • for ages 20-25, the rate of conception is about 25% per month
  • for ages 25-30, the rate is about 20% per month
  • for ages 30-35, the rate is about 15% per month
  • for those 35 and over, the rate is about 10% and lower per month
I remember reading a post (can't remember who) that claimed that the rate for teenagers is about 50%...not sure about the truth to any of these rates...

Joanne_L says:
I think it is about 20 per cent of couples who are BDing at the right time and have nothing wrong with them will conceive each month. But - you can't add them up and say that you have a 100 per cent chance of conceiving in 5 months.

Instead, imagine a group of 100 women all trying. In month 1, 20 will conceive. In month 2, 20 percent of the 80 who are left will conceive - 16. In month 3 there are 64 women left, 13 get pregnant and 51 go on to month 4.
And so on. By month 12 you end up with only one or two left in the group of 100, which is why the Drs start to investigate if nothing has happened after you have been trying for a year.

Gina (aka Geans) says:

Some interesting statistics I received at my doctors appt today:

  • IN each ovulatory cycle there is a 25% chance of becoming pregnant.
  • Only 50% of couples who are TTC will conceive during the first 3 months.
  • Approximately 75% of couples TTC will conceive during the first 6 months.
  • 90% of couples will conceive within the 1st year of TTC.

It also said optimal way of TTC is having intercourse every day for a time period of 6 days prior to ovulation.

Now I don't agree with that personally, but that is what it says, and I thought I would share. It also said that The New England Journal of Medicine reported pregnancies that the greatest # of pregnancies occur in the interval 6 days prior to ovulation and leading up to the day of ovulation.


 


 

With one ovary

Mere_K says:
From what I've read, it doesn't matter if you have one ovary or 12, your lifetime fertility is the same. It's like a blind person's senses of smell and hearing are really great. The body is an amazing machine which can tell some of it's parts to take over when others are malfunctioning. (Ever wonder why you don't need an appendix or gall bladder???) Also, from what I've read, one ovary has enough eggs for more than one lifetime's worth of fertility so don't worry about your biological clock ticking... unless you want LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of kids...(like 1 per year for the rest of your "fertile" life) :) Your natural hormones will stimulate your ovary just as it would two symmetrical ovaries. Sometimes women have both ovaries stimulated at once - That's when you often get fraternal twins. Put your mind at ease, and if you don't believe me.... call your OB. I bet you hear the same story!

MrsCC says:
My SIL had one ovary removed.....and had a beautiful baby boy three mths ago!!


 


 

With a Tipped Uterus

From ask the midwife of the board:
The position of the uterus has little bearing on fertility. A retroverted uterus which is tilted or "tipped" back towards your spine often means that the cervix is directed anteriorly towards your abdomen. In this position, it is not in the ideal circumstance to be in contact with the pool of semen deposited in the vagina. This alone is not a cause of infertility but can sometimes compound already existing infertility issues. A good position for intercourse for you may be "all fours" or woman on top and then recline on your abdomen for about 30 minutes after intercourse.


 


 

What is Day ONE?

Day ONE is the FIRST day of your menstruation with normal blood flow. Don't start to count the spotting days before AF.


 


 

What is Peak Day?

TJ says:
Peak Day is generally agreed to be the day of your PEAK FERTILITY - not necessarily the day you ovulate, but the day you are most likely to conceive. This is usually the LAST day that you observe fertile CM (CM that is clear, stretchy, and/or lubricative). It is not necessarily the day with the MOST CM - it's the LAST day you observe fertile CM (or even just a lubricative sensation when wiping, even if no CM is apparent). Many women will also find that the day following their Peak Day is the day their BBT will rise significantly, but that's not always the case (some women see a slow rise, and others have a delay before the rise occurs).


 


 

Luteal Phase? DPO? LPD?

Luteal Phase is the second part of your cycle, right after ovulation. It's in this phase that the egg gets fertilized and after that, implanted. The hormone progesterone plays a big role in this phase.
The length of this phase is normally 12 to 14 days [mine is generally 16]. These days are called Days-Post-Ovulation or DPO. Start counting (1 DPO) from the day of the temperature shift (first High temp after Ovulation) until the first day of your full AF (first day excluded from the count, but spotting days before AF count). Your pre-O phase may vary in length, bur your post-O phase will remain a bit constant, minus or plus one or 2 days.
You are considered to have a LPD (Luteal Phase Defect) if the length of your Luteal Phase is less than 10 days. LPD means generally that you have insufficient production of progesterone. The low-tech way to correct it is by taking the supplement vitamin B6: about 50mg daily. Else a prescription of Clomid can correct LPD efficiently.
You can read more about LPD from this informative website http://www.inciid.org/lpdefect.html

Mary (aka teller) says about LPD:
I just found out by charting that my luteal phases were 6-9 days. I went to the doctor and he prescribed Clomid. Although Clomid is usually used to make women who do not ovulate to ovulate, it can be used to correct the Luteal Phase defect. On my first cycle of Clomid, I went from a 8 day luteal phase to a 12 day phase.


 


 

When does the egg implant?

From a week to 10 days after conception.


 


 

Short Cycle

You can have a cycle as short as 24 days. It's not the length of your cycle which is important but the length of your Luteal Phase.

LoriVI says:
Although all the books say a cycle can be as short as 24 days, I personally have experienced cycles as short as 20 days. Mine usually run between 20 and 25 days.
Some say that these short cycles makes a woman infertile, but I am not infertile since I have a 3-year-old child and had a miscarriage.


 


 

Long Cycle

You can have a cycle as long as 50 days. It's not the length of your cycle which is important but the length of your Luteal Phase.

Julie says:
It has been my experience that women coming off of bcp often have longer cycles until their system gets back on track. If you wait a few months after bcp you can usually see a patter emerging. Cycles aren't always consistent.


 


 

When Ovulation occurs?

Ovulation occurs at about the middle of your cycle, but this is not always the case as lots of factors can affect your ovulation day. Charting your BBT , and doing CM and CP are good indicators of when you ovulate.
Technically, most women will ovulate 24-48 hours after the LH surge.

Julie says:
Typically it is 14 to 16 days before your next AF is due. This can vary though. To get an idea figure when you would expect AF again based on the first day of your last period and count back 2 weeks. I've found this to be pretty close and my cycle is about 32 days.

Chloe_c says about early ovulation:
I always 0'ed on day 10 so it is highly possible. Do you chart your temps as a temp shift would confirm that 0 has happened. CM is the best indictaion so if you have wet CM or EW CM, things are looking great for you!!!! You will 0 up to 36 hours after a ++++ OPK and it is said that your best chance of conception is the day before 0

DawnR gives a more technical answer:
When your temp rises, the progesterone is what is causing the temp rise.. (get it Pro gestation..) The egg is releases during the estrogen phase of the cycle. As soon as the egg is released, your body chemistry starts to change from the estrogen (egg developer) to progesterone ( egg gestation and implanter) So by the time you get your temp rise.... the egg has already left ( or as I like to say, Elvis has left the building) and your "peak" fertilization time has past. It's one of those myths that you should try as soon as you get the temp Rise, it's all over ( for the most part) by then. The temp dip (if you get it) is a better indicator.

Lori_C1 had once monitored clinically her cycle and here is how it went:
So, I started U/S daily from day 9 (and an U/S on day 3 as the baseline for hormone counts) and continued until the follicle was released. My temp on day 9 was 36.45 (97.6) and I had a bit of ewcm (which I don't get usually so I was excited) Day 10, follicle was bigger indicating a mature egg was inside...temp was 36.35 (97.4)...day 11 noticing wet cm (little puddle shapes in my undies) and temp at 36.25 (97.3)

Day 12 follicle still there and temp is back up to 36.46 (97.6) ...day 13 (today) temp still 97.6 BUT FOLLICLE IS GONE!! YES, I've o'd between day 12 and 13 and blood work shows the surge! So by tomorrow I'll have the rise! So, what I was told was this....sometime between 8am day 12 and 8am day 13 the follicle has released the egg....and in that time frame ovulation can take place. Now this fertility clinic states (through extensive research)that o will occur within 30 hrs of the surge.....

So, temps may not always tell the picture...start BD at least 4 days before o and BD EVERY OTHER DAY (Dr says that there is a reason they make you abstain for an SA test...do the same for BD) and continue for 3 days after the rise...


 


 

Can you feel the ovulation (signs)?

Some women can feel it when they are ovulating by a sensation which feels like cramps. But don't worry if you don't feel it. Some feels the pain only in one side.

Lori_c1 states:
The pain doesn't relate to which ovary is releasing. Release is totally random (they don't alternate) Just signals O!

3dogMom says:
You get kind of a sharp pain on one side (one ovary) that lasts for a couple of hours. I'm just off BCPs and mine have lasted for a couple of days. : p Some people report that they feel twinges along with the pain.
O pains tend to become more pronounced when you're seated or bending over, as you apply more pressure to the lower abdomen in these positions.
They can occur before, during, and just after O, even preceding O by a couple of days. Since not everyone gets them every cycle, or at all, they're considered to be a secondary fertility sign and not to be used at the exclusion of the primary signs---temp, CM, and CP.

KatieW says:
I'm usually VERY bloated about a day or two before I ovulate, plus my breasts and/or nipples get quite sore.


 


 

How can I be sure that I already ovulated?

There are lots of methods which can help you determine if you have already ovulated. See the section about CM, CP, Charting BBT and OPK for help.


 


 

Ovulation while still on a period?

Yes that can happen. Mainly it happens when you are about to have a short cycle.

LoriVI says:
According to TCOYF, a woman cannot ovulate during her period. But for women who have short cycles, you can become pregnant from BDing during a period. This is because sperm can live up to 5 days.
Personally, last cycle I o'd on Day 7, but my period only lasted 4 days, so TCOYF was correct on that point.


 


 

Double Ovulation?

Yes you can have a second ovulation within 24 hours from the first ovulation. That's how twins happen. You could not have ovulated twice if what you thought was the second ovulation occurs after 24 hours from the first one. In this case you just had a delayed ovulation the first time and you thought you ovulated.


 


 

Late Ovulation?

You can Ovulate as late as day 28 a Carmeli reported. So don't worry if you didn't ovulate when you think you should.


 


 

What can delay the Ovulation?

Stress is the major factor in delaying ovulation. Some reported sickness too. But don't forget to consult your doctor if you have delayed ovulation for several cycles, as this can be cured with a medicine called Clomid.


 


 

Anovulatory Cycle

An Anovulatory Cycle happens when you had not ovulated during your cycle followed by anovulatory bleeding (NOT AF).
In the first part of the cycle Estrogen hormones are dominant until just *before* ovulation when Progesterone hormone begin taking its role, and start to build up as Ovulation occurs and goes up.
It's the transition between going from Estrogen to Progesterone which starts to build up the lining (what will become AF later).

If ovulation occurs, Progesterone becomes dominant (which explains the shift in temp when going from pre-ovulation to post-ovulation). Estrogen is still there in the second part of the cycle but at a smaller level and can be sometimes dominant for a day or two. That's why some women see their temps drop in this part of the cycle (in the fallback pattern), then goes up again when Progesterone becomes dominant again. AF then comes when Progesterone levels drops consistantly.

If Ovulation doesn't occur, both Progesterone and Estrogen swing and take roles in being dominant. That explains the temperature chart you get when you have an anovulatory cycle i.e: temp up (Progesterone dominant) and then temp down (Estrogen dominant), etc. In the mean time the lining continue to build up either in big quantity (explains the heavy anovulatory bleeding) or in a very small quantity (explains the very light anovulatory bleeding). After, it's this imbalance in your hormonal system which provoques the bleeding which in this case is considered as an anovulatory bleeding rather than your period. It can be heavy or light as explained above.


 


 

Cramps which last DAYS?!

Linda_B says:
I get ov cramps starting around day 9 or 10 and they last until Af arrives. I never had them that long until after I got off the pill. While on the pill they lasted about 3 days. Now its about 20 days total. Doctor said some women have cramps that long....thats what he says...


 


 

Ovulating always on one side?!

Jai (aka j3sweet) says:
you don't necessarily ovulate from alternating ovaries every month. I too have O pain usually only on my right. I wouldn't worry about it.

ambrielle says:
I only have one ovary, so the right side it is every month. So you see, you can ovulate on the same side every month. I had asked my dr about the alternating O and he told me that every month (now this is supposedly normal) there are sometimes up to 10 follicles trying to mature. But only one does. (usually) That one is the one that burst through and causes the pain. So it just so happens to be the one that is always on the same side.


 


 

Positive OPK but no Ovulation?!

Yes that can happens too. In fact you can have ALL the sign of ovulation but end up not ovulating. That's due to several reasons like follicle inruptured syndrom (sp?) when the egg is mature enough to pop but the follicle holding the egg fail to rupture to free the egg. Other reasons for not ovulating is hormonal imbalance which in turn provoque ovarian cysts.

Angie (aka tatie) says:
You see, in Jan., Feb, and April I got + OPK's, but then no AF. I just couldn't figure it out. Some people told me that it was possible that my body got ready to O, but then in the last minute decided not to. (THis is a possibility.) However, in my case it turned out to be polycystic ovaries. These can cause random LH surges, thus the + OPK, but no O or AF.
If this has been happening to you, I suggest going to see a dr. (Although I hope that nobody will benefit from this info!)


 


 

When to BD?

The best time to start BD is 5 days before Ovulation (supposing that you know when you are ovulating). The sperm lives up to 5 days around your cervix if of course you have a good fertile CM.
You can BD every day if your husband has a normal sperm count. If not, every other day. Keep on BD until a day or 2 after ovulation.

Scoon says: I went to dinner at a friend's last night and another couple was there and the man was a reproductive endocronologist! I was actually able to steer the conversation around to some rather personal issues, but he seemed very happy to discuss his specialty. This is what he told me about the question of how often to BD. The optimal way to get PG is to ABSTAIN for at least three days and then BD on the peak day and the next day. He says that a normal man can make enough sperm in one day to replenish his supply enough to get a woman pregnant in just one day once, but he can't do that day after day. He said BDing every day starting after AF ends and waiting for the temp rise is a bad strategy because after 2 or 3 days of BDing the sperm count starts dropping and there won't be enough, usually, to get PG after a week or so of doing it every night. He said almost a quarter of the couples who come to him get PG a few months after their first visit after he has them change their strategy. His advice is to use OPKs, abstain after day 7 or 8, wait for the OPK to go positive, and the BD that night, and the next night and the third night if you want to. The third night was sort of optional. But the important thing is to try to abstain for at least 3 days before the night when you are most likely to get PG, either the night of a positive OPK test or the one or two nights before your temps go high if you can predict that from CM or past charts.


 


 

Tips on BD to increase chances

The missionary position or rear entry are the best for BD.
Carmeli says:
will your husband let you do the bicycle thing? there was a post way back about doing that! i do the "pillow under my butt" variation. i got pg my first time that way. just put a pillow under your lower back so that your pelvis is tilted a bit upward. it should prevent MOST of the stuff from leaking out, although some stuff still inevitably leaks out. i just wipe the leaking stuff off and hope that there's enough left inside to do the trick. then don't get up from the bed until about 30 minutes later (i don't know but sometimes i do need to pee after or just wash myself coz i'm paranoid about getting an infection, plus sometimes i get irritation after the deed).
I also heard that no matter what position you guys use, you should let DH stay THERE for a few more seconds after ejaculation before detaching himself from you. i guess this insures that the stuff doesn't leak out right away. before i got on this board i mistakenly thought that doing kegels after helped DH's swimmers get in: WRONG!!! kegels get rid of the stuff so don't do them until 30 minutes after!!!


 


 

Is it too late after Ovulation

Well, it all depends on how fast the sperm is to go up there to meet the egg before its too late.

Carmeli says:
Somebody posted before that there is still a 15% chance of conception when you BD on the day of BBT temperature rise. So i guess you canstill get pg even when you're 1 dpo!