Do ovulation calendars work?

[bunchie7]

My husband and I have been trying for our first child for nearly a year with unfortunately no results. I have been trying to use an ovulation calendar to know exactly when I'm most fertile. I was just wondering if anyone knows if these are acurate or if we should just keep practising when we feel like it!!!!

[Ice.Maiden]

Hi bunchie.
I assume by ovulation calendar, you mean keeping a note/graph of any rise in temperature which happens during ovulation? These supposedly work well if the woman's menstrual cycle's regular, but a home ovulation kit may be more useful to you.
Ovulation usually occurs between the 10th and 14th or 15th day after a period finishes, but this can vary from woman to woman.
Doctors won't normally investigate until you've been trying for a year, so you could go along and tell him that you've been trying for this long. Health checks may be done to rule out any infections, and then further checks to make sure that your tubes aren't blocked - as well as checking your husband's sperm count. This is what friends of mine've been through before any discussion about fertility treatment, but if you do the "deed" often enough during your possible fertile times, hopefully you'll find all this unnecessary.
Best of luck.

[tigwig]

I think its a good idea yes. You need to work out how long your cycle is and look out for the changes that happen when you are ovulating. This is usually 14 days before the start of your period so the first day of the period is classed as day 1. In a 28 day cycle that means you would ovulate on day 14 and could fall pregnant (if there is no other reason not to) approx 7 days around this day. Sperm can last up to 7 days inside you so even if you had sex a week before ovulation it could result in a pregnancy. The best time is usually the day before or the day itself if the egg happens to be released at the same time! Eggs can only survive for 12-24 hours max.
I would also go to your GP and start the ball rolling with checks and stuff.
Although you should get a result timing sex around ovulation its worth bearing in mind that its very easy to become obsessed and diappointed each month it doesn't happen doing this. I am sure the GP will tell you to keep on relaxing about it as stress makes it even worse. They say that having sex 2-3 times every week makes sure there is always sperm waiting to fertilise the egg.
Good luck!

[Selfridge81]

Have you tried www.MyMonthlyCycles.com?