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What does fertility mean?
Being of childbearing age means that it is possible for you to get pregnant. To fully understand your fertility, you also need to understand your menstrual cycle, as you need to ovulate in order to get pregnant.
The menstrual cycle consists of different phases, ovulation being one of them, and occurs approximately 14 days before your next period. When the egg detaches from the ovary, it is caught in the fallopian tube and can be fertilised. Sperm can survive for up to 5 days from having vaginal intercourse, which means that you can get pregnant in the days before ovulation and the day after, as the egg is “mature” for about a day after it has been released.
Some women clearly feel when they ovulate while others feel nothing at all. If you are planning to get pregnant, it can be good to chart your menstrual cycle so that you have a better understanding of when your fertility is at its highest and know approximately when ovulation will occur. In this article we go through everything that might be good to know about ovulation!
When are you most fertile?
Female fertility peaks around age 22 and then gradually declines until about age 35. After 35, fertility decreases further until menopause. This does not mean that you cannot get pregnant after you turn 35. On the other hand, there are some risks of complications for both pregnancy and childbirth – but of course there can be no complications at all. It is also important to point out that some people get pregnant without problems at the age of 40 and others have difficulty getting pregnant at an early age. Fertility is therefore highly individual.
Can lifestyle affect whether you are fertile?
The simple answer is yes. A nutritious diet and exercise are examples of things that affect your general health for the better, as well as your fertility. By eating a varied diet with a high nutritional content, you will create good conditions for getting pregnant. This also applies to how you move. The recommendation is to get in some everyday exercise and a couple of activities that get your heart rate up every week, around 30 minutes per session. How you choose to move doesn’t matter, as long as it feels good and enjoyable for you.
In addition to a nutritious diet, it is good to get some folate supplements (folic acid), which is a B vitamin that, among other things, increases the chances of the foetus developing normally during the first weeks of pregnancy. By taking folate supplements, you can prevent early miscarriages and spina bifida.
How do you know you are fertile?
Fertility has a lot to do with age. Biologically, women are most fertile before the age of 30, and after 35, fertility declines relatively quickly. Men’s fertility also declines with age, but never completely declines as it does for women when they reach menopause.
What does infertility mean?
When a couple has tried to get pregnant for a year of unprotected and regular sex without results is what we usually refer to as infertility or involuntary childlessness. At this point, it may be appropriate to take tests to try to find a cause for the infertility, if the couple wants. How long an investigation takes varies from clinic to clinic, but it can take a couple of months as several tests are carried out. If you want to read about infertility and how an investigation works, you can do so here.
