Quick Question re ovulation

[WipsGlitter]

I'm tracking my periods using fertilty friend. Are you supposed to have intercourse on the days leading up to ovulation or the days afterward. I know it's not an exact science!

[LauraM20]

I was just writing a thread exactly like this one! I got a smiley face on an opk today (day 13) dtd on day 10 & 12, dh is away tonight, will tommorow be ok? And when exactly do you ovulate when I have my smiley face or 24 hours after? And when is the best time to dtd? X

[winkle2]

I do the sperm meets egg plan (SMEP) which advises you DTD every other day up until you see the smiley face. When you see the smiley face you dtd that day, the next and the day after. miss a day and then one more try.

Good luck!

Once you see the smiley face you will ovulate in the next 12-36 hours.

[Treats]

According to Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler - women are only fertile for 1-2 days a month, immediately after your egg is released. You can tell you've ovulated by a temperature increase or by a change in cervical fluid from egg-whitey to drier or creamier. Once you've noticed these changes you're no longer fertile and any sex you have after this time will not get you pregnant.

however, any sex you have BEFORE that point could get you pregnant - sperm can hang around for up to a week. So you should have lots of sex before you ovulate. You can of course still have sex after ovulation but it won't make any difference.

[eurochick]

I agree with Treats. My own version of the SMEP is to dtd everyother day from the end of my period until a couple of days after I am sure I have ovulated.

Pre-ov dtd is helpful because sperm can live for a while in the fallopian tubes. However, the egg is only fertilisable for a short time after ovulation (I've seen 12-24 hours mentioned). After that period has passed, dtd cannot fertilise the egg. I carry on dtd until I have 2 or 3 days of raised temps and my other signs (mucus/OPK/ov pains) correspond to indicate ovulation has happened.

When I have temped and used OPKs together, I have ovulated 0-2 days after a positive OPK.

[LauraM20]

That's great thanks, so I ovulate around 24-48 hours after my smiley face! Thank you, fingers crossed! X