Trying to Conceive Clinic

Ovulation

Your TTC window of opportunity

Although best advice for couples is to have unprotected sex throughout each month, there is actually only a maximum 24-hour period during which an egg is alive to be fertilised.

However, that’s not the whole story…

Your TTC moment

The window of opportunity for successful conception is all based around the time each month when you ovulate. For more about this, see five signs you are ovulating.

Sexual intercourse up to two or three days before ovulation and a maximum of 12 to 24 hours after ovulation provides time for the sperm to be available throughout any duration when the egg is ready to be fertilised. This is because the sperm live longer than the egg does.

Longer living sperm and faster ‘swimmers’

The theory goes that X chromosome sperm – for a baby girl – last longer. Therefore sex ahead of ovulation can increase the chances of having a girl. The Y chromosome sperm – for a baby boy – do not live as long but apparently ‘swim’ faster so sex on the day of ovulation increases their chances of reaching the egg before the X chromosome sperm.

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