Doctor Facts: Looking at statistics, 50% of TTC couples will conceive within six months of actively trying and more than 4/5ths will fall pregnant within 12 months. Of course, there are methods to increase your odds, and our articles section deals with these methods in detail: The key is to time lovemaking during your most fertile time of the month – right before you ovulate. If you know – or can predict – when you ovulate every month, then you should be able to get pregnant much sooner than the “random” procreative sex method.

According to John R Sussman, MD, an OB/Gyn in New Milford, Connecticut, and co-author of The Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby, babymaking is simply a numbers game:

* You ovulate about 14 days before you get your period. “If your cycle length varies from 24 days to 30 days,” says Dr Sussman, “then you can count on ovulating somewhere between Day 10 and Day 16.”
* An egg only lives for 12 to 24 hours; intercourse after ovulation is usually too late.
* Sperm can live up to 72 hours; intercourse as much as three days before ovulation could still result in pregnancy.

Dr Sussman sums it up: “Your window of opportunity opens about three days before the earliest possible ovulation and closes about a day after the latest possible ovulation.”