Frequently Asked Questions

Your fertile window is the six days leading up to and including ovulation. Sperm can survive for up to five days in fertile cervical mucus, while the egg lives for only 12–24 hours after it is released. Your very best chances are the two days before ovulation and the day of ovulation itself.

This is why knowing which cycle day you ovulate on is so valuable — it tells you exactly when to focus your efforts.

A positive OPK does not mean you are ovulating. It shows a rise in luteinising hormone (LH), which is detected approximately 34 hours before ovulation, give or take 4 hours.

So when you get a positive OPK, you know that in roughly one and a half days you will ovulate. It's great to have such warning time so you can get prepared. You can then enter your details into the interactive program, find out whether you have a high chance of conceiving a boy or a girl when you do ovulate, and plan your romantic evening accordingly.

A test is positive when the test line is equal to or stronger than the control line. A faint test line simply means LH is present at a lower level — it isn't a positive yet.

Test once or twice a day between about 10am and 8pm — the LH surge often doesn't show up in first-morning urine. Try to hold your urine and limit fluids for about two hours before testing so the sample isn't diluted.

For a 28-day cycle, start testing around cycle day 10. If your cycles are shorter, start a few days earlier; if they are longer or irregular, start earlier and keep testing until you see a positive. Day 1 is the first day of full bleeding.

The urine test strips at 25 IU/ml sensitivity are the sweet spot. More sensitive strips (10–20 IU/ml) and less sensitive strips (40 IU/ml) can either give you multiple positives or miss your LH surge altogether, which makes it hard to pinpoint your first positive.

25 IU/ml is also the basis for our gender selection system, so using these strips each cycle gives you the most accurate results from the interactive program. They are inexpensive too, so you can test twice a day around your fertile window without worrying about cost.

There are many ovulation prediction tools available, but the Smart Stork interactive program is built around the LH surge. Most women ovulate approximately 34 hours after their first positive LH test, give or take 4 hours either side, and it is this predictability that makes your results possible.

Some high-tech gadgets look enticing, but many of them test for a rise in estrogen or look for a ferning pattern in your saliva, rather than the LH surge. None of these will give you accurate results with the Smart Stork interactive program.

Save your money: buy 25 IU/ml urine OPK test strips and keep your chances of success at their highest possible level.

As you approach ovulation, rising estrogen changes your cervical mucus (CM) from dry or sticky to creamy, then to clear, slippery and stretchy — much like raw egg white. This egg-white mucus helps sperm survive and swim to the egg, and it's one of your body's best natural signs that ovulation is near.

Checking your CM alongside your OPKs gives you a much clearer picture of your fertile window.

Every day or every second day during your fertile window is ideal. This keeps a healthy supply of sperm waiting for the egg without putting too much pressure on either of you. Outside your fertile window, there's no need to schedule — enjoy each other.

A positive OPK tells you the LH surge has happened, which usually means ovulation will follow. To confirm ovulation, look for a rise in your basal body temperature (BBT) of about 0.2–0.5°C that stays up for at least three days, and for your cervical mucus to dry up again. Recording your positive OPK each cycle in the interactive program builds a picture of your ovulation pattern over time.

The luteal phase is the time between ovulation and your next period. It is when progesterone rises to prepare your uterine lining for a fertilised egg to implant. A healthy luteal phase is usually 10–16 days.

A luteal phase shorter than 10 days may not give an embryo enough time to implant, so it's one of the things we look at closely when you track your ovulation day each cycle.

Cycle day 1 is the first day of full, actual bleeding — not spotting. If your bleeding starts in the evening, many people count the next day as day 1. Whichever you choose, be consistent every cycle.

Yes. Irregular cycles simply make it harder to predict when you'll ovulate, which is why OPKs are so important for you. Start testing earlier in your cycle and keep going until you get a positive. Working on the basics — sleep, diet, exercise and stress — often helps cycles become more regular over time.

Your BBT is your resting temperature first thing in the morning. After ovulation, progesterone raises it by about 0.2–0.5°C until your next period. Take it with a BBT thermometer at the same time each morning, before getting out of bed, talking or drinking anything. BBT confirms ovulation after it has happened, so it works best alongside your OPKs.

For the most reliable result, test on the day your period is due, or from about 14 days after ovulation. Testing earlier can give a false negative because pregnancy hormone (hCG) may not be high enough yet. First-morning urine gives the strongest result.

Every couple is different, but most couples conceive within the first six months of trying, and around eight in ten within a year. It is very common for it to take a few cycles, so please don't be disheartened. Tracking your cycles and following the program recommendations helps make every cycle count.

Yes, it can. Ongoing stress raises cortisol, which can disrupt the hormones that control ovulation and may lengthen or unsettle your cycle. You don't need to eliminate stress completely — that's impossible — but daily breathing techniques, fertility yoga and meditation help calm your nervous system and support hormone balance.

Absolutely. Male factors contribute to around half of all fertility challenges, and sperm take roughly three months to develop. Your partner's diet, alcohol intake, smoking, heat exposure (hot baths, laptops on laps) and stress all affect sperm quality, so it's worth him making healthy changes alongside you.

Many everyday lubricants can slow sperm down or damage them. If you need a lubricant while trying to conceive, choose a sperm-friendly one such as Pre-Seed.

It isn't essential — sperm reach the cervix within minutes. That said, resting for 10–15 minutes afterwards does no harm and many women find it reassuring.

Ideally three to four months. An egg takes around 90 days to mature before ovulation, and sperm take a similar time to develop, so the changes you make now nourish the egg and sperm that will be released in a few months' time. If you're already trying, it's never too late to start.

Yes. Start a good-quality prenatal at least one month before trying — ideally three. Look for folate (folic acid or methylfolate) and iodine (150 µg). If you have any medical conditions or are having fertility treatment, check with your health practitioner first.

It's best to avoid alcohol while trying to conceive, as there is no known safe amount in early pregnancy — often before you know you're pregnant. Keep caffeine to under 200 mg a day, which is about one to two cups of coffee.

Keep up your nourishing diet, gentle movement, breathing techniques and meditations, and try to stay busy with things you enjoy. Avoid testing too early — it often adds stress. Be gentle with yourself; this can be the hardest part of each cycle.

Click My Account and open the interactive program tab (below the fertility evaluation). Each cycle, select where you'll be at the time of ovulation, choose your program — the Fertility Program, Gender Selection Program or Twins Program — then enter your LMP date and the date and time of your first positive ovulation test.

You'll see a summary of your submission to check for accuracy, followed by your results for this cycle: your estimated mid-cycle ovulation, shown in your own local time, and your results for the program you selected.

LMP stands for last menstrual period. Enter the first day of actual bleeding — not spotting — as cycle day 1. Dates are entered and shown in the format YYYY-MM-DD, so 1 September 2026 appears as 2026-09-01.

You will ovulate approximately 34 hours after your first positive ovulation test, so the date and time of that first positive lets the program estimate your ovulation to within hours rather than days. Testing twice a day around your fertile window helps you catch that first positive as early as possible.

Your results are calculated for the location you'll be in when you ovulate, and your estimated ovulation is shown in that local time. If you'll be travelling around ovulation, choose where you'll be then rather than where you live.

The program can still calculate results, but they may not be accurate, because everything is based on the time of your first positive OPK. For the most reliable results, use OPK strips (urine test strips at 25 IU sensitivity) every cycle.

You have up to 10 submissions each cycle, and the program shows how many you have remaining. Always check your submission summary for accuracy — if a date or time is wrong, simply correct it and submit again.

Choose the Fertility Program if your goal is simply to conceive and understand your ovulation. Choose the Gender Selection Program if you are hoping for a boy or a girl, and the Twins Program if you are hoping for twins. You select your program each time you submit your details.

Submit as soon as you get your first positive OPK. That gives you your estimated ovulation time before it happens, so you can plan around it.

Enter the time of the test that first showed a positive, choosing the closest time in the list. If you only tested once that day, your surge may have started earlier, so the estimate is less precise — testing twice a day around your fertile window gives the most accurate results.

First, check that you are using OPK strips at 25 IU/ml sensitivity. Tests with a different sensitivity can throw off your results: more sensitive strips (10–20 IU/ml) and less sensitive strips (40 IU/ml) can either show positives over several days or miss your surge altogether. 25 IU/ml is the sweet spot, and it is the sensitivity our gender selection system is based on.

Always go with your first positive — the first test where the test line is equal to or stronger than the control line — and enter that date and time. Keep testing until you get a negative result; that way you'll know you have probably ovulated.

Keep testing twice a day until your next period, as some surges are short and easy to miss. If you have no positive by the time your period arrives, you may have missed the surge or not ovulated that cycle. One cycle like this can happen to anyone; if it happens several cycles in a row, please get in touch.

All dates are shown in the format YYYY-MM-DD (year, month, day), so 15 September 2026 appears as 2026-09-15. If something is genuinely wrong, simply correct it and submit again — you have up to 10 submissions each cycle.

Your submissions reset at the start of each new cycle. Please avoid entering future dates as guesses for your OPK — when the time comes, you may need those submissions to get your actual result.

We use your date and time of birth to start your biorhythm cycle in our database, which is part of how your results are calculated. That's why it's important that these details are correct.

Your date and time of birth can't be changed from your account. We confirm these details within a few hours of you joining, so if you notice a mistake, please get in touch through our Contact Us page as soon as possible.

Yes. Your ovulation day can change from cycle to cycle, so enter your new LMP date and first positive OPK each cycle. Over time, this builds a valuable record of your cycle length and ovulation pattern.

Most women ovulate approximately 34 hours after their first positive LH test, give or take 4 hours either side. Your estimated mid-cycle ovulation is calculated from the date and time of your first positive OPK, and shown in the local time of the location you entered.

No, it's not an error. It means the gender prediction for your time of ovulation is 50/50, so we cannot predict whether a boy or a girl would be conceived if you ovulate at that time.

When you see this result, it is best to wait another cycle.

If you are following the Gender Selection Program, it is best to wait another cycle and try again when your result shows the gender you are hoping for. If you are simply hoping to conceive, this result doesn't affect your chances of falling pregnant.

If you are following the Gender Selection Program, only try in the cycles where your result matches the gender you are hoping for. When the result is the opposite of what you are trying for, or shows 'Unable to determine', it is best to wait until your next cycle.

No. The interactive program is based on your body's biorhythm cycle, which tells us that at the moment of ovulation, fractions within your cervical mucus are either alkaline — favouring the Y-bearing (boy) sperm to fertilise the egg — or acidic, favouring the X-bearing (girl) sperm.

When the interactive program says girl, only attempt conception of a girl. When it says boy, only attempt conception of a boy. When the result is the opposite of what you are trying for, it is best to wait until your next cycle. The O+12 method, Aci-Jel or Pre-Seed and the gender-sway foods work best alongside a matching result, not against it.

No. Your result shows the likelihood for your time of ovulation, but sex is ultimately determined at conception and no method can guarantee a boy or a girl. Combining the program with the guidance in 'Choose Your Baby's Gender – How to Conceive a Boy or a Girl' and my gender-sway recipe books gives you the best possible chance.

Your results show your estimated ovulation, which is approximately 34 hours after your first positive OPK — not the time of the test itself. It is also shown in the local time of the location you selected, which matters if you'll be in a different time zone.

Click My Account, then Your Tools. You'll find all of the books for the program there, including 'Boost Your Fertility Naturally and Get Pregnant Sooner', along with any additional books recommended in your Personal Fertility Report.

Absolutely. Starting now means that by the time you are ready, we'll already have a record of your period dates, cycle lengths and ovulation days. That history is tremendously helpful and means you can start trying with a clear picture of your fertile window.

Daily is ideal. They only take a few minutes, and the benefits build with consistency — calmer stress hormones, better blood flow to the reproductive organs and better sleep. Pick a time that suits you, such as first thing in the morning or before bed, and make it part of your routine.

Yes. Click 'Start over' at the bottom of your report to retake it at any time. Retaking it every few months is a lovely way to see how your answers — and your score — change as you work through the program. Remember to download your report each time so you can compare.

Yes. Natural fertility support can work beautifully alongside treatments such as IVF or IUI — nutrition, lifestyle changes and stress reduction can help support egg quality and your body's response to treatment. Please check any supplements with your fertility clinic before starting them.

Yes — Smart Stork is 100% risk-free with our 14-day money-back guarantee. If Smart Stork isn't right for you, just let us know within 14 days.

You don't need to say yes right now. Just say maybe, and see for yourself what's here for you.

Simply get in touch through our Contact Us page within 14 days of your purchase and let us know Smart Stork isn't right for you.

The programs are not downloadable — you access them anytime through My Account. The recipe ebooks, however, are downloadable, so you can keep them on your device or print them for the kitchen.

Click My Account, then Your Tools. Your recipe ebooks, such as Nourish to Flourish, can be downloaded from there.

If you have purchased the Next Steps program, you'll find it in the Courses tab. If you haven't, the page will simply be blank — nothing is wrong with your account.

Yes. As an existing member, you can purchase the Next Steps program for just $200 USD extra. Once purchased, it will appear in the Courses tab in My Account.

Please get in touch through our Contact Us page and we'll be happy to help.