If you're serious about getting pregnant, you can improve your chances by using an ovulation calendar. An ovulation calendar provides an estimate of your most fertile time of the month, based on your menstrual cycle. By predicting the days when your body is actively ovulating, you can increase your chances of getting pregnant. Many calendars even claim that you can increase the chances of having a boy or a girl by having sex on certain days within your peak fertility period.
How the Ovulation Calendar Works
You need to know the exact day that your most recent menstrual period started in order to use an ovulation calendar. You also need to know how many days your period lasts. The closer your period is to 28 days, the more accurate the ovulation calendar predictions will be. Menstrual cycles that last less than 21 days or more than 35 days are outside the range where a calculator can accurately predict your fertile period.
Most calendars will tell you that your most fertile time is between day 11 and day 21 of your menstrual cycle. By having sex on the calculated fertile days, most women have a 15 to 25 percent chance of getting pregnant. At the beginning of your ovulation cycle, you're only slightly fertile. These initial days of the fertile period are the best time to try to conceive a girl. You're most fertile during the last two or three days of the ovulation cycle, which increases the chance of conceiving a boy. It's important to note that these are just statistical estimates; there's no guarantee that it will work, but it will increase the likelihood of conceiving one gender over another.
Other Methods for Calculating Fertility
Other methods of calculating your fertile times include charting your basal body temperature, cervical positioning and cervical mucus. A nutritionist can even help you modify your diet to increase your fertility. Did you know that certain foods can boost your fertility health to help you conceive? A few foods you might consider eating more of when you’re trying to get pregnant include:
- Whole milk and other dairy products
- Lean proteins rich in iron, like turkey and chicken
- Whole grains and beans, which are rich in folic acid
- Salmon or sardines, which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids
Speak with your nutritionist about other foods that can help to boost fertility.
One last thing to note is that an ovulation calendar is just an estimate of when you're most fertile—it’s not necessarily an accurate or useful method to try to use as a form of birth control.
