Sperm into her fertile vagina

Getting Pregnant. If you are new to the trying to conceive TTC world, you are probably learning more than you ever thought you would need to know about how your reproductive system works. Therefore, couples trying to conceive should plan to have intercourse a number of times in the days just prior to ovulation. To do this means you must be able to predict when you will ovulate, a task that is sometimes more difficult than you might think. Fortunately, for those of us who need help, there are several reliable ways to predict when your most fertile days will occur during each cycle. Before we embark on a discussion of how to pinpoint your fertile window, it might be helpful to briefly review the stages of your menstrual cycle , as hormonal changes that occur during the different phases set the stage for ovulation and provide clues as to when ovulation is coming.

Suarez, A. At coitus, human sperm are deposited into the anterior vagina, where, to avoid vaginal acid and immune responses, they quickly contact cervical mucus and enter the cervix. Cervical mucus filters out sperm with poor morphology and motility and as such only a minority of ejaculated sperm actually enter the cervix. In the uterus, muscular contractions may enhance passage of sperm through the uterine cavity. A few thousand sperm swim through the uterotubal junctions to reach the Fallopian tubes uterine tubes, oviducts where sperm are stored in a reservoir, or at least maintained in a fertile state, by interacting with endosalpingeal oviductal epithelium. As the time of ovulation approaches, sperm become capacitated and hyperactivated, which enables them to proceed towards the tubal ampulla.

Ovulation is the point in your menstrual cycle where one of your ovaries releases an egg. Typically an egg survives in the female reproductive system for between 12 and 24 hours, this varies cycle to cycle. Natural Cycles works by detecting ovulation, this can be identified by an increase in basal body temperature caused by hormones prior to ovulation day. Basal body temperature is the lowest resting body temperature measured to 2 decimal points. Read more about how Natural Cycles works here.

A lot of numbers are thrown out there about the lifespan of sperm but here's the scoop: sperm can live as little as a couple of hours or as long as five days after sex. Once inside the vagina, the lifespan of the sperm depends on the woman's vagina, uterus, and fallopian tubes. Without fertile cervical fluid, sperm won't survive longer than a few hours inside the vagina or uterus if they make it that far. Many sperm die off in the very acidic vaginal canal within the first 12 hours.