Ovulation @ MindSay

While they may not carry the baby in their wombs, most dads are keen to be as involved as possible with the new addition to the family. One way they can do this is to accompany their partners during their medical checkups.

These are some of the benefits you gain by accompanying your spouse to the obstetrician:

• It will make your spouse feel better. Always remember that she's making a huge sacrifice that we guys would never want to make. The least you can do is make time for a few appointments so she feels you are in the game with her.

• For the average guy, pregnancy is one big mystery. Going along to meet the doctor will give you the opportunity to ask questions and clarify your doubts.

• It will help you understand your partner's state. Visiting her doctor will also enable you to update yourself on your baby's progress.

• Unlike your spouse, who is bringing up the baby inside her, you may not feel equally excited about the pregnancy. Being able to see the baby's ultrasound image and hearing those tiny heartbeats will help you connect to your unborn baby.

• As the pregnancy advances, the obstetrician will play an increasingly important role in your life as a couple. It is important that you establish a rapport with the doctor and the other hospital staff so that you are more comfortable in dealing with them later when you need to do so. You don't want to be meeting the obstetrician for the first time when your baby is being born.

• Bring a video recorder or a camera phone and with your finger clearly over the lens the entire time, record the first sounds of your baby's heartbeat. This may come in handy later on if you ever find time to make a birth video.

Ovulation Calculator - Determines Your Spouse's Fertility
If you and your spouse are planning to have a baby, an ovulation calculator is an excellent tool to help you increase your chances of a successful conception.

What is an ovulation calculator?

An ovulation calculator is simply a system to help you calculate the days during which your spouse is most likely to be ready for conception.

How does the ovulation calculator do this?

The ovulation calculator determines the date of your spouse's ovulation, or the process by which her ovaries release the ovum (egg).

Ovulation determines your spouse's fertility, or her readiness to conceive. By calculating the day when ovulation takes place, the ovulation calculator predicts the optimum period during which sexual intercourse will lead to a successful conception.

How does the ovulation calculator work?

To understand how the ovulation calculator works, it is important to know about ovulation and how it affects conception.

Ovulation depends on your spouse's menstrual cycle, or the period between the first days of two consecutive periods. Though this differs for individuals, in most women the menstrual cycle is around 28 days. Typically, ovulation occurs somewhere around the middle of the menstrual cycle. Going by this, if your spouse's menstrual cycle lasts 28 days, ovulation in her case will occur around 14 days from the first day of her period.

In practice however, this may not be that precise. In many women, menstruation is irregular, or varies from the average 28-day cycle. Even so, most women with a 28- to 32-day cycle will ovulate between days 11 to 21 of their menstrual cycles.

Conception occurs when the ovum, or egg, released by your spouse during ovulation, is fertilized by your sperm. While generally sperms remain alive for about 72 hours after intercourse, the ovum may survive for only about 24 hours. The chances of conception are highest if you have sexual intercourse with your spouse in the period comprising about five days before ovulation, the day of ovulation, and a day after.

The ovulation calculator thus helps you calculate the period when intercourse with your spouse is most likely to make her pregnant.

Are there other ways to track ovulation?

Apart from an ovulation calculator, you can tell when your spouse is ovulating by changes in her:

• Cervical mucus: The amount of mucus increases and becomes more slippery during ovulation.

• Basal body temperature: Just before ovulation, your spouse will experience a sudden drop in her basal body temperature (measured immediately after she awakens). The subsequent rise in temperature will indicate ovulation, and will last until the end of the menstrual cycle.

Ladies,

 

When you're in mid-ovulation, do you feel amorous or not? There seems to be an issue with The Boy and I need validation... or a reality check. *G*

 

Thanks!!