A woman with one ovary usually has the same chance of getting pregnant as a woman with two. There are a few exceptions that can make getting pregnant more difficult. The remaining ovary must be attached to the remaining fallopian tube. If only an ovary and the opposite fallopian tube exist, it is much more likely that during ovulation, an egg will not pass down the fallopian tube. One with a single ovary and a single fallopian tube that are not on the same side is also at higher risk for tubal pregnancies. If you are planning to get pregnant in the near future, you may be wondering when exactly it is that you can get pregnant. If you happen to be contemplating these issues, you are definitely on the right track to pregnancy! Let us discuss the biology of the female body in greater detail so as to understand when exactly you can get pregnant.

After the age of puberty, a typical woman has a month-long menstrual cycle. The main explicit visible sign of the aforementioned monthly cycle is the presence of menstruation, but this is far from all that happens inside your body. You can get pregnant as soon as you have started experiencing this monthly pattern.

During each monthly cycle, your body will, subtly and carefully, build a lining of blood vessels and nutrients in your uterus. This is a careful introductory preparation for the time when you actually do get pregnant. Your body does not know when that will happen, so it prepares thoroughly and consistently each and every month.

In all probabilities, you can get pregnant when the lining of the uterus is ready. It is precisely at this point that your ovaries release an egg into your uterus. This is the right time for you to get pregnant since everything is perfectly aligned. Should you have an intercourse at this time in your monthly cycle, you would stand a good chance of getting pregnant. This stage is called “ovulation" during which the egg is being released into your uterus.

If you don’t get pregnant during your ovulation stage, the egg eventually dies and the lining of your uterus becomes too old. At this point, your body sheds the lining and the egg in order to start all over again. This stage is called menstruation, during which you notice blood coming to the outside. You typically cannot get pregnant at this point of your monthly cycle. You will have to wait for the next ovulation period to take place.

This pattern is repeated over and over again during the childbearing years until you become pregnant or reach the menopause. When you get pregnant, the lining in you uterus is not lost, but rather grows with the baby turning into placenta, which nourishes the baby for nine months.

Can I get pregnant during my period?

Yes, but it's very unlikely. Women do not ovulate during their period. However, eggs may live for 2 days and sperm may live for 5-7 days inside a woman's body. They could finally meet up during menstruation, but it's rare. Plus, menstrual blood can transmit HIV, so you should definitely practice safe sex during your period.

Maximizing fertility

When you're trying to conceive, consider these simple do's and don'ts.

Do:

* Have sex regularly. If you consistently have sex two or three times a week, you're almost certain to hit a fertile period at some point. For healthy couples who want to conceive, there's no such thing as too much sex. For many couples, this may be all it takes.
* Have sex once a day near the time of ovulation. Daily intercourse during the days leading up to ovulation may increase the odds of conception. Although your partner's sperm concentration will drop slightly each time you have sex, the reduction isn't usually an issue for healthy men.