Irregular menstrual cycle, is it infertile?

When trying to get pregnant with irregular menstrual cycles, you will be faced with a lot of uncertainty. For women who have regular menstrual cycles per 28 days, the day of ovulation is guaranteed to come on day 14, right in the middle of the cycle. Fourteen days later, the first day of her menstruation arrived. Women with regular periods will have between 11-13 menstrual periods in one calendar year, meaning that they will have up to 13 chances of getting pregnant each year.

On the other hand, women with irregular periods may have a much less chance of conceiving each year because of their uncertain ovulation period. Irregular or abnormal ovulation accounts for 30-40 percent of all infertility cases. Having irregular cycles, no menstruation at all, or abnormal bleeding often indicates that you are not ovulating, a condition known clinically as anovulation.

Irregular menstrual cycles can make planning a pregnancy that much more difficult. But, that doesn't mean you won't be able to get pregnant successfully.

What is an irregular menstrual cycle?

A woman with regular menstrual cycles has a predictable 23-35 day cycle. This means that you can be considered to have a regular menstrual cycle if your period comes every 23 days or every 35 days or anywhere in between these time ranges.

On the other hand, an irregular menstrual cycle is defined as a menstrual cycle that is shorter than 21 days, or longer than 36 days. Your cycle can also be said to be irregular if the distance between cycles varies from month to month. For example, if this month your menstrual cycle is 23 days, last month it was 35 days, and the previous month it was 30 days, it means you have an irregular menstrual cycle.

It's normal to have occasional irregular menstrual cycles. Stress or illness can cause a delay in ovulation or menstruation, which can make your cycle longer, or sometimes faster, than usual. So, if you only have 1-2 irregular menstrual cycles in a year, don't worry too much.

However, if your cycle is naturally irregular, you experience it more often, or your menstrual spacing is long enough, you should see a doctor for a checkup.

Why does having irregular menstrual cycles affect my chances of having children?

For pregnancy to occur, it requires an egg in your uterus. Irregular menstrual cycles can indicate that you are not ovulating consistently or, in some cases, not ovulating at all. So, the less often you ovulate, the less chance you have of getting pregnant.

What can be done to increase the chances of getting pregnant with irregular menstrual cycles?

Supplementing your diet with fertility-enhancing supplements fortified with prenatal vitamins and hormone balancing agents may be just what you need to get your cycle back on the right track. Every woman who is trying to get pregnant is obliged to take prenatal vitamins to ensure that you absorb all the essential nutrients your body needs to support a successful pregnancy and healthy fetal development.

In many cases, irregular menstrual cycles can be "tricked" by lifestyle changes (obese women who lose less weight and eat healthier are shown to have more regular cycles) or fertility drugs such as Clomid or letrozole. However, it is still important to run an evaluation to rule out other conditions causing your ovulation problems, such as thyroid disorders or adrenal or pituitary gland disorders.

The next step that is also important is to determine the period of your fertility in each cycle. Remember that in order to get pregnant, sperm must wait in your fallopian tubes when an egg is released from the ovary. And because sperm can only live up to 5 days in the female reproductive tract, it is important that you can predict when you will ovulate so that you can time sexual intercourse precisely.

How do you know the ovulation period for irregular menstrual cycles?

If you are ovulating, but not regularly, you will have to dig a little deeper to detect your most fertile time. You can track ovulation with irregular periods by:

Mark on the calendar. Use a calendar to record your menstrual cycle data, and the longer you do this, the clearer your menstrual pattern will be. For example, marking your calendar lets you know that your menstrual cycle is every 45 days or every two months. This not only helps you to satisfy your curiosity about the D-day of your ovulation, but also as a track record to take to the doctor at a later date, if needed.
Check the uterine mucus. Cervical mucus is a common vaginal secretion, and can be a good indicator of ovulation. After the menstrual cycle is over, you will experience no mucus, and it will appear in large amounts before ovulation. During ovulation, this mucus will be clear, transparent, thick, and elastic - a texture similar to egg white. Your most fertile days are marked by the brightest, slippery, and stretchiest mucus.
Check basal body temperature. To do this, you will need a special thermometer that is a digital basal thermometer. This thermometer is able to calculate body temperature in great detail, up to a tenth of a degree or more. You should check your basal body temperature on your forehead the day you wake up but before doing anything, including getting out of bed. Even the slightest amount of physical activity can change your body temperature. Record your temperature every day and watch for any spikes, which indicate when you are ovulating.
Urine test. Ovulation check kits available in the market function to check for excess hormones in the urine that indicate you are ovulating. You can also purchase a fertility monitor, which is a small machine to collect urine regularly to determine when you are ovulating based on your hormone levels.
Blood test in the lab. Routine blood check in the lab so you can know exactly when you ovulate. Your doctor may recommend blood tests that determine hormone levels and function on different days of your cycle. These tests can help determine whether or not you are ovulating, and will be especially useful for women who are trying to get pregnant. Your doctor may also order tests on your uterus and other reproductive systems to help determine ovulation.

When and how many times do I need to have sex to get pregnant if I have irregular menstrual cycles?

To increase your chances of getting pregnant, you not only need to understand when you are most fertile, but you also need to know how long your fertile period is, and how often you should have sex. Studies have found that a woman's fertile period starts about five days before ovulation and ends the day she ovulates, with the greatest chance of getting pregnant being 2 days before ovulation.

In women who have irregular menstrual cycles, you can still find out when your fertility window may be wide open by tracking your cycle over several months. To find your average fertile period, subtract 17 from your shortest cycle and 11 from your longest cycle. For example, if your cycle is 28 days in this month, 21 days for the following month, and 32 days in the month after that, then subtract 17 from your shortest cycle (21) and 11 from your longest cycle (32). This means that your most fertile days are located between day 4 and 21 of your menstrual cycle.

Reporting from Baby Med, a number of studies show that you can increase your chances of getting pregnant successfully if you have sex once every 2 days a month if you don't know exactly when you ovulated, or during your fertile period: once a day, 3-4 days before and during the day of ovulation - as long as the sperm is healthy, without other male fertility factors. A woman's egg can only survive about 24 hours after being released from the uterine follicle, while sperm can live in your reproductive tract for three to five days, depending on the quality and quantity of your cervical mucus. So, it's important to have sex a day or two before you ovulate so that a fresh supply of healthy sperm is still stuck in the fallopian tubes, waiting for the eggs to be released.

Research has shown that it takes about 48 hours for sperm volume to maximize in the human body, so it is important not to have sex too often, for example twice a day. Most experts agree that, for most couples, having sex two or three times each week, and once a day around ovulation, is the most effective way to maximize your chances of getting pregnant.