This site gets better with user participation. Please participate... Some of the main things you can do is rate this advice, add comments to this advice, add links to and from this advice, and/or write your own advice. When I was trying to get pregnant for the first time, I unexpectedly experienced some difficulties.  As a result, I put a lot of effort into studying my body and how to make it achieve maximum fertility.  I studied books, internet sites and learned a lot about infertility, fertility and conception.   For those of you who would like to know your bodies better or trying to conceive (or to not conceive), here is a summary of what I have learned: The menstrual cycle The average menstrual cycle is 28 days.  Although this can vary significantly from woman to woman, cycle to cycle, which can make it really difficult to guess when you are fertile.  In preparation for trying, it is helpful to know how long your average cycles are, so that you can know when you ovulate.  When coming off of contraception, such as the pill which regulates cycles, it is difficult to know how long your natural cycles are.  I recommend counting at least 3 cycles and using a barrier or alternative method so that you know how long your usual cycles are. Day 1 is the first day of your period.  In a 28 day cycle, day 14 is the day of ovulation and then day 28 is the last