Understanding female fertility

You’ll hear a lot of references to the female reproductive system, and essentially we’re referring to all the female organs that make it possible for a person to conceive, nurture and deliver a baby. These include the vagina, the cervix, the uterus, the fallopian tubes and, of course, the ovaries, which are responsible for developing and releasing eggs.

Most women, from puberty to menopause, experience a monthly ovulation cycle and around the mid-point they release an egg. This process is ovulation.

 

On average, a woman’s cycle takes 28 days (although this can vary) and it’s divided into three phases: the follicular phase (when one of the 500,000 or so eggs in your ovary is selected and matured), ovulation (when the egg is released by the ovary and drawn into the fallopian tube, where it waits to be fertilised) and the luteal phase (when the lining of the uterus develops, ready to receive the fertilised egg).

 

When trying to conceive, it helps to work out the length of your menstrual cycle by counting the number of days from the first day of your period up to the day before your next period. There are apps you can use to help track this, and knowing this will help you figure out when you’re ovulating, which should be the mid-point of your cycle.

 

You can also look for other clues such as tender breasts, a rise in your basal body temperature or cervical mucus that’s slippery and clear like an egg white, or use a urine or saliva test kit from the pharmacy.

It’s important to know the precise moment of ovulation as the egg only lasts for around 24 hours. The good news is that sperm can last for several days, so your fertile window (the time during which it is possible to fall pregnant) starts around five days before ovulation and ends the day after ovulation.

 

After fertilisation, the egg and sperm become an embryo that spends 4-6 days travelling along the fallopian tube until it reaches the womb, where it implants itself in the thickened lining. If fertilisation doesn’t occur, the egg and the womb lining shed in the next period and the cervical mucus will become thicker, making it harder for sperm to reach the cervix.

 

With this in mind, it’s good to aim to have sex every two days during the fertile window when trying to conceive naturally. If you’re unsure of your fertile window, aim to have sex every two or three days throughout your cycle.