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Is ovulation the same as fertile days?

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3 fertility expert(s) answered this question

Answer from: Kate Davies, RN, BSc (Hons), FP Cert

Nurse, Independent Fertility Nurse Consultant & Coach at Fertility Industry Consultancy & Podcast Co-Host
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Ovulation days is actually the day of ovulation but your fertile days is the time around that based on the life of the egg which is 12 – 24 hours and the life of sperm which is around five days, potentially seven days, so that gives you what we call your fertile window.

Answer from: Christos Kleanthis, MD MSc PhD

Gynaecologist, Obstetrician and Reproductive Gynecologist
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Ovulation is the day of the release of the egg and it is part of the fertile days, let’s say “fertile window”. Fertile window would be described as the time of the period of 5 days leading to ovulation when frequent intercourse needs take place. Sperm can survive for 4 to 5 days in genital tract but it can fertilize more successfully for about 3 days whereas the oocyte – the egg – can only survive for 24 hours. That means that once on the ovulation day, the egg is released in the abdominal cavity. The sperm needs to be already present there to fertilize the egg so that the pregnancy can be established.

Answer from: Leo Martinez, PhD Biotechnology & Biomedical Sensors

Diagnostician, Chief Scientific Officer
Pearl Fertility by Colorimetrix GmbH
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Ovulation is not the same as the fertile days and this is also a misconception that you get from the typical ovulation tests. First of all these ovulation tests are hormone levels but they portray themselves as ovulation tests so that you’re testing ovulation but they also portray themselves as when the test is positive is the fertile days and it’s not true.
I mean it is true that when the hormones are high you are still in your fertile window but it’s not the entire fertile window or the only fertile days it’s only a fraction of them – so it’s not the same.
The fertile days are the chances of getting pregnant and when they are highest? They are highest before ovulation.

About this question:

How long can you get pregnant in one cycle?

People who did not have challenges in conceiving rarely think about how the process of getting pregnant really works. They usually do not know the difference between ovulation and the fertile days.

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