After deciding to have a baby, many women try to do whatever it takes to conceive in the next cycle. But it’s important to remember that getting pregnant can take time. A healthy 30-year-old woman has only a 20 percent chance of conceiving each month. It’s normal for it to take a few months or more. If you’re trying to conceive, there are a few steps you can take to make “trying” more effective. This is how you increase your chances. The basics Your high school health teacher probably made it sound like you could get pregnant anytime you have sex. But in truth, it’s a bit more complicated. Each month there are a number of hormonal changes in your body that cause an immature egg to grow and mature in the ovary. Every woman’s cycle is different. This process takes about two weeks on average and begins with a woman’s menstrual period. Once the egg is fully developed it is released from the ovary in a process known as ovulation. The egg then travels down the fallopian tube of the female reproductive tract toward the uterus. The egg is only viable for around 24 hours after it is released. If the egg is fertilized by a sperm cell during this period, the fertilized egg travels further down toward the uterus. It is then implanted in the lining of the uterus. The key is to have sex in the days exactly before and during ovulation. This way, when the egg is released, the sperm cells will be in the fallopian tubes. This facilitates fertilization. Sperm can survive in the female reproductive tract for around four to five days. Find the right time The best way to increase your chances of getting pregnant quickly is to make sure you’re having sex at the right time in your cycle. If you have regular cycles, you will ovulate about two weeks before your expected period date. This means your fertile window is around the seven days before you are expected to ovulate. If you have irregular cycles, it can be a little more difficult for you to predict when you will ovulate and when your fertile window will be Or it’ll be actually starting. There are a number of techniques you can use to more accurately pinpoint your ovulation and fertile window.