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The ABC of menstruation
Working out your ovulation
The relationship of ovulation to menstruation being relatively constant means that ovulation will only take place mid-cycle in a 28-day cycle. Using the first day of a menstrual period as Day 1, a 34-day cycle will have ovulation on Day 20, while a 42-day cycle will have ovulation on Day 28.
Ovulation is, therefore, always 14 days before the onset of the next period. When there is a varying length of menstrual cycle, this very normal function does make difficulties for couples trying to encourage conception by concentrating their efforts around the time of ovulation. The fertile window Researchers have stated that variations not only occur between women, but they can also happen for individual women from cycle to cycle - this is perfectly normal. Some investigators have revealed that the probability of conception increases in the six-day period leading up to and including the day of ovulation. This fairly recent discovery probably accounts, in part, for the finding that some women seem to be more fertile than others.
The most fertile time of the cycle has, traditionally, been said to be within a 24-hour period before and after ovulation. However, it has now been found that the 'fertile window' is probably much wider than was previously thought. In a significant number of women, it is often thought that ovulation can occur as much as three days before the usually supposed fertile window - and many women remain fertile well after Day 17.
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