How often should you have intercourse during fertile window

You may have heard that having sex twice a day during ovulation makes it easier to get pregnant. It’s true that the more sex you have during this time, the better your chances, but you don’t need to stress about the exact frequency. Here's what to know about having sex to conceive, including how to recognize you're ovulating. 

When to have sex if you're trying to conceive

When it comes to having sex to get pregnant, try not to stress. Having sex during ovulation is definitely important, but how often you do it depends on you and your partner.

Science shows that the highest pregnancy rates in couples occur among those who have sex daily, or at least every other day. That's not always possible, or even enjoyable, for everyone. But if you do wonder how often you should have sex to get pregnant, a good rule of thumb is at least every two to three days soon after the end of your period. You can become pregnant if you have sex anywhere from five days before you ovulate until a day after it, so this is when you will be at your most fertile.

Remember, sperm can survive inside your body for about 72 hours, so if you have sex in the three day-span before ovulation, you're more likely to get pregnant because there will be sperm already there to greet your just-released egg. The lifespan of an egg once released is only about 24 hours, so if sperm arrive even just 12 to 24 hours after you ovulate, it may be too late already.

Signs of ovulation to watch for

If you're trying to conceive, it's important to watch for ovulation signs. Most women ovulate about halfway through their menstrual cycle. That means if you have a 28-day cycle, you can expect to ovulate around day 14. But if your periods are irregular, it can be more challenging. You'll want to also be alert to the signs of ovulation. There are two main signs to watch for:

• Changes in cervical mucus. Just before you ovulate, you'll notice that you produce more mucus that's thin and slippery (it's often likened to an egg-white consistency). Right after ovulation, it decreases and thickens. If you want to get pregnant, have intercourse at least every other day when you notice the thin and slippery cervical mucus.
• An increase in your basal body temperature (BBT). Your BBT is your body's temperature at rest. It increases by half a degree to a degree during ovulation and remains there until your next period. Your most fertile days are the two to three days before this temperature increase. You can keep tabs on your BBT if you take your temperature every morning before you get up. While this temperature spike occurs too late to make a baby, you can use this information to time sex going forward.

This can be a lot to keep track of, so another, easier option is to use an over-the-counter ovulation predictor kit. These are up to 99 percent effective in identifying when you're about to ovulate. They track your body's production of luteinizing hormone, which rises 24 to 48 hours before you ovulate. This gives you a couple of days to have sex before the egg release happens.

Is it possible to have too much sex if you're trying to conceive?

No, you can't have too much of a good thing. In fact, research even suggests that the more often a woman has sex, the more likely her immune system is to realize it's time to get pregnant. One 2015 study published in the journal Fertility & Sterility found that women who are very sexually active have greater changes in their helper T cells, which are cells that prevent your body from viewing sperm as an invader and attacking it. This theoretically make it easier for you to conceive.

The only downside to too much sex is if it stresses you out. That itself can affect your cycle. If having sex twice a day during ovulation is too much for you, then scale back.

Other tips for trying to conceive

There's more to trying to get pregnant than just having sex. Other things you can do to help include:

• Staying at a healthy weight. If you're overweight or underweight, it can impact your fertility.
• Don't smoke or drink too much alcohol. Both can lead to decreased fertility.
• Limit caffeine. Try to keep it to around 200 milligrams a day, or two eight-ounce cups of coffee.
• Don't work out too much. Regular exercise is good for you, but strenuous exercise for more than five hours a week can make it harder to ovulate.

When you are first trying to have a baby, sex can be fun. However, when it takes longer than expected, sex can start feeling stressful, and sexual issues during infertility can arise. When sex becomes baby-making and not a way to express intimacy and closeness within a relationship, it can lose its enjoyment. 

SGF physician, Melanie Ochalski, M.D., who sees patients at SGF’s Lancaster, Pennsylvania, office, answers questions about having sex when you are trying to conceive (TTC).  

Is sex less enjoyable for couples trying to conceive?

We asked our patients at Shady Grove Fertility this very question! In our survey, 13 percent of respondents said sex was MORE enjoyable when they were trying to conceive. These respondents cited that it was wonderful to know they were trying to build their families. 

A greater number of patients, 44 percent of respondents, said that while it was more enjoyable at first, that feeling did fade. “For us, it was such an exciting feeling to know that this one time could make the baby that we have always wanted. But as the months went on without a positive result, there began to be more pressure and less romance as we started to time our intercourse with ovulation predictor kits,” says one anonymous Shady Grove Fertility Facebook community member. 

The remaining 43 percent of respondents said that sex was less enjoyable while trying to conceive because it began to feel like a chore.  

How often should I have sex if I’m trying to conceive?

The average American has sex just a little more than once per week. For couples trying to conceive, this sexual frequency has a high likelihood of missing the fertile window. 

The fertile window includes the 6 days leading up to and ending on the day of ovulation. Sperm can live in the female body for several days and the egg survives for approximately 24 hours after ovulation. Therefore, to optimize chances of pregnancy, it is recommended to have intercourse every 24 to 48 hours during the days leading up to ovulation.

How to determine your fertile window 

For women with a regular cycle, ovulation typically will occur 14 days before the start of your next period. 

For women with irregular and less predictable cycles, they may not be able to determine when ovulation will occur. Ovulation predictor kits can be used at home to detect rises in luteinizing hormone (LH), which is an indicator of ovulation. 

At Shady Grove Fertility, patients have LH levels measured during their day 3 testing, and patients are often given medication, such as clomiphene citrate (Clomid), which helps induce ovulation. 

When to seek help from a fertility specialist if you’re struggling to conceive 

A fertile woman in her 30s only has about a 15 percent chance of conception each month, so often pregnancy does not occur right away and a few months of trying is completely normal. Approximately 40 percent of fertile couples will conceive within 3 months of trying, and 70 percent of fertile couples will conceive within 6 months. 

For women under 35 years old who have been having unprotected intercourse for a year or more without a successful pregnancy, I recommend speaking with a fertility specialist. For women between the ages of 35 to 39 years, I recommended speaking with a fertility specialist after 6 months. For women 40 or older, it is recommended to speak with a fertility specialist after 3 months or right away. 

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in April 2017, and has been updated for content accuracy and comprehensiveness as of July 2022.

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