How Long After the Egg Is Released Can It Be Fertilized?

There are lots of things to consider when you are trying to conceive a baby. Every month there is a small window of opportunity for a man and women to conceive, so timing is very important. An egg can be fertilized for a maximum of 24 hours after it is released from the ovary, according to pregnancy and childbirth expert Sheila Kitzinger. Therefore, a woman needs to understand how her menstrual cycle works and make an educated guess about when she will release an egg, also known as ovulating. It is during this time that a couple needs to have intercourse to have the best chance of conceiving.

Ovulation

• Every month, a woman will produce an egg from one of her two ovaries. Halfway through her menstrual cycle, the egg is released from the ovaries into the fallopian tube to be met with a sperm for fertilization. Calculating when ovulation takes places helps to determine when is the best time to have intercourse each month. A woman can determine approximately when she ovulates by jotting a note of what day her period starts and ends each month. This will give her an indication of how long her cycle is; she can then gauge when the halfway point of her cycle is.

Sperm

• When a man ejaculates during intercourse, he releases millions of sperm into the woman's vagina to fertilize an egg. According to Dr. Miriam Stoppard, author of "Conception Pregnancy and Birth," a man's sperm can live up to a maximum of three days inside a woman.

The Egg

• With a maximum of 24 hours for fertilization once the egg is released from the ovary, it is best to have sexual intercourse in the days leading up to ovulation and the day of ovulation in order to meet this time frame. If the egg is not fertilized during this time, it will make its way down the fallopian tube and into the uterus, ready to be released as part of a woman's menstruation later that month.

Other Considerations

• Predicting when a woman ovulates can be difficult if her cycle is irregular from month to month. Therefore, it is advisable to have intercourse during the days before and after your estimated day of ovulation to improve your chances of conceiving, rather than confining yourself to a day or so on either side, says Baby World. The survival rate of a man's sperm can be affected, however, by his age, fitness and general health, so these things must also be taken into account when trying to conceive.