How To Use An Ovulation Calculator To Help You Get Pregnant

Using an ovulation calculator has numerous benefits. It can help you track your ovulation date or when you are most fertile, making it easier to get pregnant.

It can also help you track and manage your periods even if you are not intending on getting pregnant right now.

This guide provides tips on how to use an ovulation calculator to determine the best time to try for a baby.

Our physicians also provide tips for supporting fertility and reproductive health to help you get pregnant faster.

Why Do I Need An Ovulation Calculator?

If you’re trying to get pregnant, the timing of intercourse during your fertile window is critical. An ovulation calculator can help track your fertile window. During this period, you should have unprotected sex every couple of days to increase your chance.

However, for many couples, infertility issues can prevent you from getting pregnant when you want. Infertility is defined as not being able to achieve a pregnancy after one year or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse.

Women who can get pregnant but are unable to stay pregnant to full term for delivery may also be infertile. It is important to note that conception involves both male and female parties.

What causes infertility?

From a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) perspective, the main organ systems responsible for fertility are the kidneys, Liver, and Spleen.

According to TCM Physician Vong U Chan, “The main syndromes associated with infertility are Deficiencies in Kidney yin, Deficiency in Kidney or Spleen yang, Deficiency in Kidney qi or Spleen qi, Liver Qi Stagnation, Phlegm-Dampness accumulation, and Blood Stagnation.” 

“The Deficiency in Kidney yin, yang, qi, and jing are usually due to a poor body constitution, having several abortions, overworking, which can diminish qi, being overly sexually active, which can diminish jing.”

“The deficiency in Spleen yang and qi mostly stems from a poor digestive system. This could be due to the accumulation of poor dietary habits, such as irregular meals and overconsumption of cold and raw food.”

“As a result, the poor absorption of nutrients leads to a Deficiency in Qi and Blood to nourish the organs and body. Stagnation of Liver Qi is often a result of stress and negative emotions, such as anger, anxiety, and overthinking, which leads to poor blood circulation, too.” 

“Pregnancy is the result of a process that involves many steps. To achieve pregnancy, the following steps must succeed. Otherwise, any problems with any of the steps can result in infertility,” stated Physician Vong.

The steps are:  

• A woman’s body must release an egg from one of her ovaries during ovulation.  
• The egg must go through a fallopian tube toward the uterus without obstruction.  
• A man’s healthy sperm must successfully fertilize the released egg along the way. 

• The fertilized egg must attach to the inside of the uterus. 

The most common reason for female infertility is problems with ovulation. Without ovulation, there are no eggs to be fertilized. Some signs of problems with ovulation are irregular or absent menstrual periods.

How To Tell If You Have Fertility Problems

An ovulation calculator can be a great tool to use if you are infertile. But how do you know if you are?

According to Physician Vong, “Infertility is something most couples don’t know they have until they start trying for a baby. Some people may also have symptoms, such as an irregular period, but they can still conceive successfully too. Hence, it does not mean that those who have such symptoms are infertile. It only means that if one is trying to conceive or experiences such symptoms, it is good to get it checked and treated to increase the chance of conceiving.”  

Symptoms of infertility

“In TCM, we will ask in-depth questions about the female’s menstrual period, such as is the period regular, the number of days for each cycle, the volume, the color of the menstrual blood, any blood clots, and if there is any discomfort before, during or after a period, such as abdominal cramps. Some females may also have poorer body constitutions, such as chronic fatigue, falling sick easily, feeling cold often, a pale complexion, and low sex drive,” explained Physician Vong. 

For males, symptoms usually involve problems with the delivery of sperm, such as premature ejaculation and erectile dysfunction.

Tips For Using An Ovulation Calculator

Firstly, if you have an irregular period, you should seek professional medical help. In addition, there are lifestyle changes you can incorporate to regulate it, such as maintaining a healthy weight and exercising regularly.

It is easier to track your ovulation days when your period is more regular. An ovulation calculator can help you estimate your fertile period or you can also buy ovulation urine test kits to track the fertile window.

Taking your basal body temperature (BBT) can also be used to track your ovulation. The body temperature dips slightly just before the ovary releases an egg. Then, 24 hours after the egg’s release, the body temperature rises and stays up for several days.

On average, before ovulation, a woman’s BBT averages between 96.98 degrees Fahrenheit and 97.52 degrees Fahrenheit. After ovulation, it rises from 97.52 degrees Fahrenheit to 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. It is important to take your temperature at the same time every day before getting out of bed and record the results on a chart.

How To Find Your Ovulation Days

Follow these steps to find your ovulation days:

• Determine the starting day of your last period. For example, if the first day of your period was April 25th, you would use this date.
• Determine the average length of your monthly cycle. For most women, this number is 28 days.
• If your cycle is 28 days long, then your fertile days will begin approximately 8 days after the start of your period and last for 5 days.

For example, if the start of your period is on April 25th, and your cycles last 28 days, then your fertile days would be May 3 through May 8th.

The average cycle can vary from 23 to 35 days. The length of your cycle refers to the first day you start bleeding in your last period to the first day of bleeding in your next period.

Therefore, if your cycles are not 28 days long, you can subtract 14 days from the end of your current cycle. This will help determine your most fertile ovulation days.

TCM Can Help Support Fertility

In addition to tracking your fertile days with an ovulation calculator, you can use TCM remedies to help increase your fertility.

According to Physician Vong, “The more common treatment methods are herbal medication and acupuncture. Through our four-diagnosis method, and by looking at your medical reports, if any, we will identify the syndrome and then treat it accordingly. For example, if the syndrome identified is a Deficiency in Kidney yin, then we will nourish the Kidney yin to strengthen the body.”  

Bak Foong pills can help regulate your periods and support womb health. They also help alleviate menstrual symptoms to make your monthly cycles easier to deal with.

By promoting qi and blood circulation, acupuncture can increase blood supply to the pelvis and uterus to improve overall ovarian health. Acupuncture also restores balance in the body. This improves the immune system and regulates hormones. It also calms the mind and enhances mental health.

“Couples struggling with infertility are often under a lot of mental stress as well. Acupuncture not only improves their physical health but also benefits their emotional well-being, too,” stated Physician Vong.

Because infertility issues are rather complicated, it is best to seek treatment from a professional TCM physician to get a proper diagnosis and prescription rather than to self-medicate.