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Original poster

Did anyone fall pregnant without tracking ovulation

97 replies

Candlesandflowers · 08/12/2023 16:20

I’m going to start TTC but my husband thinks we should just stop using contraception rather than tracking ovulation etc as we know quite a few couples that have been really rigid about it and struggled.

has anyone successfully got pregnant that way ? The conception board had freaked me out and made me worried that just not using contraception isn’t going to be enough but equally I see my husbands point that being super rigid will make it more stressful and stress won’t help either

OP posts:
ShowOfHands · 08/12/2023 16:23

The vast majority of people I would imagine. If you're normally fertile with a regular cycle, having sex every 2-3 days is perfectly acceptable. When TTC my first (at college now), tracking really was a minority activity. More popular now, but not necessary for the majority.

user6776 · 08/12/2023 16:24

Yes. And I'd imagine a lot of people do fall pregnant without tracking cycles etc.

Ddcg12 · 08/12/2023 16:32

When I first came of the depo injection I tried for 12 months to get pregnant but it didn't happen then covid came and I changed my mind and had the implant put in. When I had the implant taken out the nurse said it would take a while around 12 months to conceive. I fell pregnant within the first week !! Everyone is different some of my friends have tracked and not conceived for a year or more and some straight away. There is a lot of pressure and stress when your tracking ovulation.

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idontlikealdi · 08/12/2023 16:34

Yep took about a year. if it had taken longer we might have gone down that route

ThereSnowLimit · 08/12/2023 16:34

It didn’t even cross my mind. We just stopped using contraception.

If we’d have had trouble conceiving I would have started tracking. But it seemed a bit OTT for first time TTC.

Junemoon222 · 08/12/2023 16:35

This reply has been deleted

We're afraid we don't believe that the OP is genuine so we've removed their threads and posts.

Riverstep · 08/12/2023 16:35

I think it is only really done by those struggling to conceive. Most people I know just had loads of sex.

Hermittrismegistus · 08/12/2023 16:35

The overwhelming majority of pregnant women in the world and throughout history will not have tracked ovulation.

DPotter · 08/12/2023 16:36

For millions of years human females have conceived without going to the trouble of tracking their ovulation.

Just because few couples you know had problems, doesn't mean you will have problems.

I swapped the contraceptive pill for a folic acid pill and had lots of sex. Took about 5 months to conceive and I was 38.

If you are a natural worrier, I would have thought tracking could increase the stress levels. Now that can effect your ability to conceive.

Fantasmic143 · 08/12/2023 16:37

Yes, but this was 25 and 21 years ago.

Is there a better understanding of these things now?

Like @ShowOfHands, having stopped the pill, we had sex every other day and I got pregnant the first month both times. The only thing I did was to lie with my feet up the headboard of the bed so that gravity could help the swimming!

FluffMagnet · 08/12/2023 16:41

Most people i know who have stressed about becoming pregnant have then struggled. When they were chilled (usually after a second baby and just being careless about contraception because they struggled first time around) they've fallen pregnant easily.

I don't know how to track ovulation, yet managed to have two babies each on first try in the past few years. You may find yourself equally lucky but you won't know til you give it a try.

moistclam · 08/12/2023 16:41

No, nobody in the history of the world has ever fallen pregnant without tracking ovulation.

JaninaDuszejko · 08/12/2023 16:49

I think the conception boards are just geared towards those who have issues in the same way the relationships boards are.

I never tracked ovulation, just had sex at least every second day and got pregnant the first month of trying each time. I was 36, 38 and 41. Enjoy all the sex you can while TTC and pregnant because once the baby comes you'll not be in the mood for ages.

heldinadream · 08/12/2023 16:52

Well, practically everyone in the whole history of humanity until just a few short years ago.

JustWhatWeDontNeed · 08/12/2023 16:54

How old are you?

I track my periods anyway so can easily check approximate ovulation. I don't think I could be arsed with temps and OPKs etc, but I don't see the harm in knowing roughly when you're likely to ovulate.

If you're young and have regular sex you probably don't need to worry about it. If you're 37+ you might want to be more conscious of it.

I've never been pregnant, but I'm approaching 38 so would pay attention if I decide to ttc cos I wouldn't want to "waste" a month.

erikbloodaxe · 08/12/2023 16:54

Managed 3 children by having sex.

ThreeRingCircus · 08/12/2023 16:59

I didn't track ovulation first time round, just stopped contraception and fell pregnant very quickly. Second time round we tried for six months taking a relaxed approach and then started tracking ovulation but to be honest it wasn't really necessary as I was always hornier when I was ovulating anyway!

Shrammed · 08/12/2023 16:59

We just stopped using contraception.

I thought that was what most people still did - bar those on contraception who had failures.

I thought people tracking ovulation were either expecting problems with good reason or had been trying at least over 6 months if not a year.

CheshireCat1 · 08/12/2023 17:00

Just enjoy yourself for a few months without any contraception. Try not to stress and good luck.

Whataretheodds · 08/12/2023 17:00

Yes millions of people.

Take your vitamins (you and your husband) eat well, cut down on alcohol and caffeine
Stop using contraception
Have plenty of sex

YourWinter · 08/12/2023 17:01

Yes. Almost everyone, since the dawn of humanity.

Certainly I did with my three, my sister with her five, my mother with her four, her mother with her four, and two of my three adult children. The other had IVF so a very different scenario.

One of these female relations conceived on the occasion of losing her virginity. One conceived the weekend before her period was due the following week, regular cycle and the father was only home from working away for that weekend. One conceived after missing a mini-pill in the middle of the month. I conceived, three times, the first month off the pill.

Why make it such a miserably controlled “thing”? Just stop using contraception when you’re both sure you’ll be happy if you conceive the first month.

Mummymummy89 · 08/12/2023 17:01

It took us nearly 2y to conceive dc1.

For the first of those years, we tracked my cycles. Didn't help. We were only 29yo too. I knew IVF was something I'd never want to do (mostly because I have needle phobia etc) so we kind of stopped hoping it'd happen. I was sad about it. We'd moved into a lovely big house hoping to fill it with kids.

We kept having sex in the ordinary way for the following year and finally conceived...!

I know other couples who have conceived by tracking cycles but personally I found it wearisome and it kept giving me false hope every month.

Then we conceived dc2 literally the month I stopped BFing dd. Absolutely no tracking and a total (but welcome) surprise; we were hoping for a second so weren't using contraception but we thought it was an extremely long shot.

MuckyPlucky · 08/12/2023 17:03

😂

Bleepbloopbluurp · 08/12/2023 17:05

Your DH is right.

Just stop using contraception and have sex every 2-3 days. If you need to be a bit more targeted (lots of work trips for example) then bear in mind that you probably ovulate 12-16 days before your period starts. I know someone who was ttc for a year believing all women ovulate on day 14, but she had a 34 day cycle and ovulated day 20 so was quite wide of the mark. Good luck!

Notmetoo · 08/12/2023 17:06

I have been pregnant twice and didn't track ovulation either time.
Most pregnancies throughout time have happened that way. Tracking ovulation is a fairly modern idea.

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