You probably knew that sex was about timing. When you're trying to conceive there are added benefits to timing intercourse. The key is getting the timing right.

Now that you understand the mechanics of ovulation and your cycle, you will know what day you are mostly likely to ovulate. That is the day you are shooting for to fertilize that egg. However, this does not mean that you have to have sex on that day.

Remember that the egg is viable for about twelve to twenty-four hours. Sperm can live, however, for much longer in your reproductive tract. You will want to ensure that when you ovulate you have live sperm attempting to reach your egg. To do this you will want to have intercourse before, during, and after ovulation. This ensures that all of your bases are covered.

Let's say you typically ovulate on day 12 of your cycle. You want to cover your bases by having intercourse on days 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16. This ensures that the day of ovulation is covered, even if you've miscalculated the actual ovulation date.

Notice that in the previous example, you are not having sex every day. Having intercourse every day can be detrimental to your goals of achieving a pregnancy. The more often your partner ejaculates, the lower his sperm count will be. Therefore, it is recommended that you have sex only every other day, to give him a break.

Why do you need to have intercourse on so many days surrounding your ovulation date? You include the days before your cycle to ensure that sperm is present around the egg when it is released. You include the day of ovulation for perfect timing. Then you include the days after your intended day of ovulation to give the sperm another chance to get to the egg before it dies.