Can't conceive *after* ovulation? Confused...

[VJONES1985]

I'm showing my lack of knowledge about ovulation here, so please excuse me! A friend told me that the best time to dtd is just before ovulation but that once you have ovulated, it is not possible to conceive. Now,this has confused me because I thought 'ovulation' is when an egg enters the fallopian tube (?) and that if sperm is not already there waiting for the egg, the sperm can still fertilise the egg if it enters afterwards eh. In the 12-hour period the egg is still alive. Is that correct?

I meant eg, not eh...

Chances of getting pregnant after ovulation are "negligible" according to my GP sis-in-law

I see. Well, I'd better hope then that, after my positive opk this morning, I don't ov between now and dtd tonight! Luckily we dtd last night though.

It is possible, but it depends on how long the sperm needs to get there. Also, the older the egg gets before being fertilised, the lower the quality of the egg and the higher the chance that it will not proceed into a viable pregnancy.

I'm learning a lot here, as I always thought it took a matter of minutes for sperm to reach an egg :D

About 7 hours!

Blimey! They have a long old journey!

I never new that, I thought it was around 30-40 mins. its amazing..

Hope they take a packed lunch.

7 hours???

actually, some research showed some sperm reached the tube within minutes. but the rest could take longer, or if the sperm is less mobile it will take longer as well.

Oh good, I don't feel quite so silly now ;)

The egg will only survive for up to 24 hours after ovulation occurs (ths is the rupturing of the follicle in your ovary that releases the egg). You have the best chance of conception if sperm are swimming in your tubes ready and waiting for the egg to arrive, rather than waiting until after ovulating.

I had fertility treatment and had to take an HCG trigger injection to cause ovulation. The injection works within 36-48 hours and the advice from the fertility clinic was to have sex on the day of the injection and then again 2 days after the injection. We were told not to bother after this, indicating there was little to no chance of conception.

Thanks Foal, that's interesting to know :)

Reading this thread has taught me a few new things.

But does anyone else feel squeamish?

" if you sperm swimming around your tubes"

All I can picture is I've swallowed a goldfish bowl, and the (large) fish are swimming around my insides! Gross!

In my limited experience ds was conceived after a couple of months of trying in a month when we dtd more at the beginning of my cycle, so this would make sense to me!