You wanted to know if it’s helpful to use an app that tracks your periods while trying to conceive. And they are helpful if they take your cycle lengths into account. There are some that just automatically go off of a 28 day cycle, and that’s not helpful if your cycles are shorter or longer than that, because that will change the time of ovulation. So if you’re using an app that asks you about your cycle length history and if you’ve been tracking this for the last several months, that will be even more helpful, because then you can give it an average amount of time A normal cycle length is anywhere from 25 to 35 days in length, but it’s normal for it to vary slightly from month to month. So one month your cycle might be 28 days long, and the next month might be 30 days long, and the next month it’s 29 days longs, so of course the average would be 29. It’s also normal for it to vary a little bit more than that, so it could be 29 days, 32 days, and so it’s helpful if you can give that history, and then if you’re using an app that takes that into account, it will give you more accurate information, because, basically, how the apps work is they determine that ovulation will happen about mid-cycle. And ovulation usually does happen about mid-cycle or about 12 to 16 days before the next period is going to begin. You have to remember that all the app is doing is telling you an estimated day of ovulation. It really doesn’t know exactly what your body is doing. And ovulation also isn’t a perfect science and sometimes it happens a little bit sooner or a little bit later than you planned on it happening, and so I’ll help you calculate it out for a minute. Let’s say that you do have a 28 day cycle on average, so ovulation is likely to happen somewhere between day 12 and day 16. And you’re actually fertile for 5 days leading up to the day of ovulation, because sperm can live inside a woman’s reproductive tract for up to that long and fertilize the egg once it’s released. So basically, that means your fertile window could extend anywhere from day 7 to day 16, or even day 17 or 18 if it happens a little bit later than expected. So in short, period apps can be helpful. That’s the short answer. But if you want to increase your chances of having a baby, then the best thing you can do is start having intercourse every other day and, at the most, daily from the time your period ends until a few days past the midpoint of your cycle, and by doing that, you should time things right and give yourself a chance at conceiving. If your cycles are shorter than 25 days, longer than 35 days, or just completely irregular, talk with your doctor if you’re wanting to have a baby, because in those circumstances, it’s really hard to know when or even if ovulation is happening. And when your periods are super irregular, there’s no way for you to know when you’re ovulating and then there’s no way to time intercourse with ovulation to have a chance at conceiving. So talk with your doctor and they’ll determine if intervention is necessary in order to help you have a baby. Good luck with everything, and if you have more questions in the future for me, feel free to ask them on our Intermountain Moms Facebook and Instagram pages, and recommend us to your friends and family too.
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