Ep 359 The 5-Day Fertile Window Explained (And Why Hollywood Gets It Wrong)
In this episode of The Wholesome Fertility Podcast, host Michelle Oravitz breaks down one of the most common fertility myths, the belief that pregnancy can only occur on the exact day of ovulation. Popular culture and even many fertility apps often portray conception as a single-day event, but science tells a different story. The truth is, sperm can survive in the reproductive tract for up to five days, creating a much wider fertile window than most people realize.
Michelle explains what the 5-day fertile window really means, why the “Day 14 ovulation” rule is misleading, and how women can better understand their unique cycles. She also shares practical guidance on tracking ovulation accurately using basal body temperature (BBT) charting, cervical mucus observation, LH strips, and hormone-monitoring devices.
Key Takeaways:
How cervical mucus supports sperm survival and why hydration is essential.
The impact of irregular cycles caused by thyroid health, PCOS, stress, or travel.
Why fertility apps often fail to predict ovulation accurately.
The best timing and frequency of intercourse to increase the chances of conception.
How intercourse during the luteal phase may help prime the immune system to receive an em
Disclaimer: The information shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult with your healthcare provider before making any changes to your health or fertility care.
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Michelle: Let's start with the basics. Ovulation is an event in a woman's menstrual cycle when the egg is released from the follicle in the ovaries, and [00:03:00] that egg usually only lives for 12 to 24 hours. Sperm, however, it can survive in the reproductive tract for up to five days. Now, this is only given if it is within the fertile window because sperm cannot survive if it's outside of the fertile window because the pH is actually very unfriendly to the sperm.
Michelle: So given that there is ample cervical mucus that protects the sperm and the sperm can survive five days, and this is why usually we refer to the fertile window as a five day window. Those five days are actually five days leading up to ovulation, and because the sperm can wait and survive those five days, this is still considered the fertile window because they can survive and be waiting for the moment of ovulation.
Michelle: That's why having intercourse. On the days leading up can actually amplify your chances of conceiving. But most people who don't really know this believe that you can only conceive during [00:04:00] ovulation. And we see this time and time again on movies. They always show a woman looking at the time, checking her temperature and saying, okay, this is it.
Michelle: As if that window is like a half hour window, but that's really not the case. So based on this, people who are just trying to conceive for the first time and are having issues. Trying to conceive might not realize this until they go down the rabbit hole and really learn what is really happening in their body.
Michelle: So no, you don't just get pregnant on that one day of ovulation. You have a fertile window, which means that if you have sex within that window, there is that potential to conceive. Another myth that often occurs, and I see this a lot. And this is really based on the algorithm that people see on apps is that ovulation is always on day 14.
Michelle: So given that a person might have what's called a textbook cycle, which is a perfect 28 days consistently, they might assume or think that they're probably [00:05:00] ovulating right in the middle. But that's not the case, and it's actually a very, very common misconception. The reality is, is that. Every woman is different, and just because she has a 28 day cycle does not mean that she's ovulating right in the center.
Michelle: And this is why it's important to check, which I'll be going over soon, to understand really where in the cycle is a person ovulating. Because once you know and confirm the exact date of ovulation and check this for a couple of months so that you can see if there's inconsistencies or shifts within months, or do you start to find a pattern, and with that pattern, you'll start to understand more or less what your fertile window is.
Michelle: And so this leads into another myth that apps can predict ovulation. And this isn't true because what the apps do is base their data on algorithms. So they either see an algorithm of a huge general prediction, or they can assess an algorithm based on. Your [00:06:00] input of when you are having your period, but that being the case, unless you're putting in the exact time of ovulation that you actually confirmed, it doesn't really know what to base the algorithm on.
Michelle: So many times it will assume. That ovulation occurs on maybe day 14, but that's not necessarily true unless you actually test it. So there are a couple of tools that you can actually do at home to track when you're actually ovulating, and this can take up to two months to really know your fertile window because you won't know your fertile window until you know the day of ovulation.
Michelle: So if you do BBT, which is basal body temperature, and you check your temperature every single day, early in the morning before you get out of bed, and ideally you wanna sleep for three hours before checking. So three solid hours of sleep, meaning if you didn't go to the bathroom and then went back to bed and fell back asleep and only suffer an hour and then checked.
Michelle: Now, if that is the case once in a [00:07:00] while, that's okay. Don't let that. Stop you from checking. However, just keep in mind that the most consistent data you're gonna get is if you sleep for three solid hours. At night before you wake up and you don't get out of bed before checking your temperature. Another really good, impactful habit and practice is to use the digital thermometer and put it in your mouth a few minutes before actually turning it on.
Michelle: Some say even wait 10 minutes. But even if you have five minutes, it's still gonna be better than just turning it on right away. And what this does is it gives you a little more of an accurate reading, and then what you can do is some apps actually have calendars that you can input this information. And what it'll do is give you like a little bit more of a chart.
Michelle: And you can also print out a bunch of charts online and just write it in. So what over time happens is that in the follicular phase, which is the first part of the cycle before ovulation, day one would be the time that you're bleeding your first day of bleed for your [00:08:00] period. So from day one, up until ovulation, it's considered the follicular phase.
Michelle: And this is when the follicle starts to grow and get ready. And then estrogen and FSH rise. And then LH starts to surge right before ovulation. To trigger ovulation. And so typically you'll find with BBT charting is that the follicular phase is what we call in Chinese medicine is more of the yin phase of the cycle.
Michelle: So the yin is more of a cooling aspect of the body, and what you'll find is that the temperature of the BBT in a normal cycle will show lower than the luteal phase, which is after ovulation. So typically what you're looking for is about 97 degrees in the follicular phase, and then. You'll see that it drops temporarily right as you're ovulating, and then it rises and it stays around 90 eights in the luteal phase.
Michelle: So typically you don't want it to go lower. And if you start to see that in the follicular [00:09:00] phase, you're going down to like about 90 sixes and the luteal phase. Maybe it's not reaching, maybe it is going up, but like about 90 sevens a little bit, 98. You might wanna look into your thyroid because that is a very common reason for why people's temperature is a little too low, and that can really shift a lot of things when trying to conceive.
Michelle: So if that's the case, I would definitely speak to your doctor or an endocrinologist to see if your thyroid is working optimally. But regardless, it will tell you when you're ovulating based on that temperature rise. And so during that time, it's good to have maybe one or two readings for two different months.
Michelle: To see if you have a pattern repeating. Some people naturally have a little bit of an irregular cycle, and that could be normal for some people, and they might alternate from one month to the next being a little different. I've seen some people have maybe like 27 days and then 29 days, and it kind of alternates.
Michelle: As long as the alternation is not [00:10:00] too drastic, it could be very normal for you. So this is why it's important to really collect the data consistently and really go from month to month If you do see a pattern for yourself. Once that happens, then you can start to assess. If I know that I'm ovulating, say 16 of every single cycle, what does that mean?
Michelle: It means that five days before that should be your fertile window. You might also wanna start checking for cervical mucus around the fertile window. So you'll find that you'll start to have an increase in cervical mucus around that time. So when you wipe, you just wanna pay attention to it. And oftentimes when I work with people that have never really thought about doing this and have never learned how to really understand their body literacy when it comes to their cycle, may not notice the.
Michelle: Cervical mucus at first, but then eventually once I mention it, they do start to notice shifts and changes. And a huge, huge thing to mention if you do have very low cervical mucus is make sure that you are hydrated because cervical mucus. [00:11:00] It consists of mostly water, and that can really make such a huge difference.
Michelle: I had one patient who worked in healthcare. She barely drank any water, and I told her, this is a must. You really gotta start drinking more water. And once she started hydrating for a month or two, she saw an increase in cervical mucus. So something as simple as that can make such a drastic change. So you could buy an LH stick or an OPK.
Michelle: Now, I would say before even doing that or really relying on that. Make sure you are in fact ovulating. So A BBT chart can show you that you're ovulating and an LH six or OPK will only show that your brain is trying to make the ovaries ovulate, but it does not confirm that ovulation happened. Another thing that you can do is something like Mira, which is gonna look at a number of different hormones in your cycle.
Michelle: And I would definitely suggest looking into that, and that is really one of my favorite kits to suggest for my patients. And many times you're a [00:12:00] practitioner, they have a practitioner account. Who can actually access all your data. So it's really super helpful. It makes it a lot easier 'cause you're just testing in the morning with urine and it's super simple and easy to do and I'll have information in my episode notes if, if you guys wanna discount for that.
Michelle: There are other things that you can use. Things like temp drop, which basically checks your skin temperature or even aura rings do the same. And they can also see based on your records and your tracking, what your fertile window is. Now, just like with BBT, it takes about a month or so for some of those tracking devices to really understand your cycle, the ones that link to apps.
Michelle: So keep that in mind that it's not something that happens right away. It does take a little time. But once you do understand that you're gonna have a lot clearer of a picture on when your fertile window is. Now, in some cases, people have very irregular cycles and they don't really have a pattern. And this can be in cases with people with thyroid conditions, [00:13:00] PCOS, or even stress.
Michelle: And sometimes travel can also throw off a cycle because. When you're jet lagged and your circadian rhythm is off, it can impact your menstrual cycle as well. So those are things to keep in mind. Now that being said, I used to have extremely irregular periods, and it would be maybe two, three month cycles, which means I didn't get my period for three months in a row, and I had this going on for 12 years, and I resolved it with acupuncture, lowering stress.
Michelle: And diet so it can be done. And most of the time I find that with irregular cycles, acupuncture or natural means are actually a better way than just going on the birth control pill where you're not really impacting your cycle and getting to the root of things. So when should you be having intercourse and how often?
Michelle: So research shows that having intercourse every other day from five days before you ovulate is the best time. So I would definitely say do that, but then also. So I would suggest the day [00:14:00] before, the day of and the day after ovulation, and I would also continue it into the luteal phase because research shows that women who have more intercourse, and especially in the luteal phase, it can lower their immune system and prep it.
Michelle: So that it's able to receive a foreign body like sperm or a fertilized egg, which oftentimes a woman's immune system see sperm as a foreign object to protect itself from. So you wanna prime the woman's body to recognize that this is normal and it's okay. So it adapts to be able to receive that new life.
Michelle: Now all this being said, I know that sometimes tracking can be very stress. And I would definitely say if you are the type of person that gets really stressed out with data, then maybe for a little while you might wanna avoid over checking. Sometimes I have people doing the Mira app and they just check around the time that they're ovulating, like leading up.
Michelle: And then afterwards, and you might just wanna do this for a few months and see what it says. But if [00:15:00] it's causing you more distress, then I would say you might wanna take a pause and really take care of your mindset, because all of this information and data collecting could be very overwhelming for so many couples.
Michelle: So ultimately, you want to meet yourself where you're at and what you can realistically do without increasing stress. So in this episode, I really wanted to bring more clarity and information. Around the fertile window. And if you wanna dive deeper into understanding your menstrual cycle, I've created a free ebook called The Best Kept Secrets to Harming Your Moon Cycle, and you can find a link in the episode notes.
Michelle: So thank you so much for joining me today, and I'm wishing you flow and ease on your fertility journey. [00:16:00] [00:17:00]