Stanford, J. B., White, G. L., & Hatasaka, H. (2002). Timing intercourse to achieve pregnancy: current evidence. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 100(6), 1333-1341. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0029-7844(02)02382-7
Stanford JB, White GL, Hatasaka H. Timing intercourse to achieve pregnancy: current evidence. Obstet Gynecol. 2002;100(6):1333-1341. doi:10.1016/s0029-7844(02)02382-7
Stanford, Joseph B., et al. "Timing intercourse to achieve pregnancy: current evidence." Obstetrics and Gynecology, vol. 100, no. 6, 2002, pp. 1333-1341.
The fertile window is the 6 days ending on ovulation day
This 2002 expert review from a University of Utah team addresses timing sex for pregnancy, among couples trying to conceive. The fertile window is the 6 days that end on the day of ovulation. The authors suggest that spotting ovulation ahead of time, as charting vaginal discharge does, is likely to beat calendar counts or body temperature.
About 8 in 10 couples using the Creighton Model FertilityCare System conceived in the first month. Source: Stanford JB et al., 2002, PMID 12468181.Study at a glance, expert review: The fertile window is the 6 days that end on the day of ovulation. Source: Stanford JB et al., 2002, PMID 12468181.
Key Findings
Conception is possible from intercourse starting about 5 days before ovulation through the day of ovulation. The authors say conception on the day after ovulation has not been documented.
Among women with normal fertility trying to get pregnant, 30% had the whole fertile window fall between days 10 and 17 of the cycle.
In a study of 50 couples of normal fertility using the Creighton Model FertilityCare System, 76% conceived in the first month. It left out couples who tried without success.
In a recent study, days with vaginal discharge from cervical mucus went with a two-fold higher chance of clinically evident conception than days without discharge.
The authors found no published studies of charting for pregnancy in couples with infertility, or in women with long or irregular cycles.
Interpretation
This is an expert review of the evidence available in 2002. The authors' recommendation draws on how the cycle works and on the studies they reviewed. They favor methods that spot the fertile window ahead of time, before ovulation happens. The findings support further studies of timed intercourse in couples with infertility.
RRM Context
The authors name two teaching systems with published research on charting: the Creighton Model FertilityCare System and the Billings Ovulation Method. They call charting a first step for couples who conceive slowly, since it shows whether and when ovulation happens. Restorative reproductive medicine puts evaluation of the cycle before treatment.
Our editorial summary of this paper, not the article's abstract.
Abstract
Physicians who counsel women for preconception concerns are in an excellent position to give advice to couples regarding the optimal timing of intercourse to achieve pregnancy. The currently available evidence suggests that methods that prospectively identify the window of fertility are likely to be more effective for optimally timing intercourse than calendar calculations or basal body temperature. There are several promising methods with good scientific bases to identify the fertile window prospectively. These include fertility charting of vaginal discharge and a commercially available fertility monitor. These methods identify the occurrence of ovulation clinically and also identify a longer window of fertility than urinary luteinizing hormone kits. Prospectively identifying the full window of fertility may lead to higher rates of conception. Proper information given early in the course of trying to achieve pregnancy is likely to reduce time to conception for many couples, and also to reduce unnecessary intervention and cost.
The Billings Ovulation Method uses only cervical mucus to identify the fertile window. Learn how it works, what the evidence shows, and its value in restorative reproductive medicine.
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