During the second week of your menstrual cycle, the follicles start maturing and contain a mature egg. The body is under the influence of certain hormones during the second week of the menstrual cycle.

About your body
With the start of the eighth day of the menstrual cycle, estrogen hormone is produced by the follicles which affect the release of hormones by the pituitary gland. LH or luteinizing hormone is released during the second week of the menstrual cycle which leads to ovulation phase. During the initial week of the menstrual cycle, progesterone is in low levels. During this phase of the menstrual cycle, the cervical canal is slightly open. The mucus appears in liquid consistency leading to easy transportation of the sperm. The increase in progesterone levels increases the thickness of uterus lining allowing the easy implantation of the egg in the matured phase. The cervical mucus increases in terms of quantity appearing more elastic and clear during the ovulation phase.

During the second week, you may experience nausea, fatigue, slight cramps, mood swings, food cravings, constipation, headache, increased basal temperature, dizziness, and lightheadedness. Some women might have slight bleeding due to implantation, in case pregnancy occurs.

Chances of getting pregnant
The highest chance of getting pregnant during the ovulation stage occurs during the end of the second week. So if you plan on conceiving, do sexual intercourse without any precautions during this stage.

Tips about increasing the chance of conceiving
• Start consumption of prenatal vitamins
• Perform sex every day during the fertile window if you plan on conceiving
• Record the frequency of your menstrual cycle. The first day of your menstrual cycle should come after an equal number of days each month.
• Monitor the ovulation phase, it usually occurs two weeks prior to the next menstrual cycle. However, if you suffer from irregular periods then it’s difficult to predict the ovulation phase of the menstrual cycle.
• Home-prediction ovulating kits are also available in the market which allows you to figure out the ovulation phase. With the help of this kit, you can identify the increased LH levels within the blood. The best time to do sexual intercourse to conceive is when this test appears positive. You can also predict the ovulation stage with the evaluation of cervical mucus in terms of appearance and its amount.
• Strive to maintain a healthy body weight. If you are too heavy, the chances of conceiving a baby are less likely when compared to women with normal weight.

• 26
• 2