The moment my boobs start hurting when I take my bra off at the end of the day, I know one thing — my period is coming. (It's like Jon Snow said it, but not.) And if I'm feeling especially turned on, I know something else — my body wants me to make a baby. OK, so that doesn't happen every time you want to have sex, but it turns out your fertility and horniness are kind of related. So can you ovulate and be horny? Absolutely. Your body was designed for it.
Dr. Kameelah Phillips, an OB-GYN in New York City, tells Romper that an increase in your sex drive can actually correlate with your fertility. "Many women experience a natural increase in their sex drive during the time of ovulation," Phillips says. "This is nature's way of making sure that sperm are waiting for the egg when ovulation occurs. The egg is only viable for 12 to 24 hours, so it makes sense that a women's sex drive is increased during this time to maximize her chances of becoming pregnant."
In fact, the American Pregnancy Association noted that an increased sex drive is actually one of the signs and symptoms of ovulation. If you notice that you're feeling more turned on at a certain part in your cycle (approximately two weeks before your period is due to start), it might be because your body is either gearing up to ovulate or already ovulating.
But while it's totally normal and natural to ovulate and be horny, it's not enough to simply be horny in order to get pregnant. According to Phillips, it is the timing of the ovulation, not the sex drive alone, that drives the chances of pregnancy. "If the sex drive is increased in correlation with the timing of ovulation, than that increases the likelihood of pregnancy because the egg and sperm have a greater chance of meeting," she says. "If the sex drive is increased and the woman is not scheduled to ovulate, then enjoy it, but it is less likely a pregnancy will result."
Biology — pretty mind-blowing, right? It's incredible all of the things that happen so that you have the best chance at procreating. So if your body is telling you yes, listen to it. It might be telling you yes at just the right time. (Unless you don't want to get pregnant and then your body's just trying to trick you.)
