Short Luteal Phase:
Is your period coming too early? Are you ovulating too late?

If you have a short luteal phase you may have some necessary hormones required for pregnancy out of sync.The luteal phase is the part of your cycle that takes place during the second half of your menstrual cycle. It kicks in after ovulation (which usually happens sometime around the middle of your cycle - typically around 14 days into it if you have a 28 day cycle).
Basically an egg begins by being carried through the fallopian tube towards the uterus where the egg becomes expelled from the follicle.
Once the egg isn't in the follicle anymore, the follicle becomes known as the corpus luteum which is responsible for producing the hormone known as progesterone.
It is this very hormone that helps to thicken your uterine lining and also help develop blood vessels in preparation for an embryo. Without this help from the corpus luteum the embryo is unable to attach to the wall of your uterus and begin growing.
What can happen though, particularly with women who suffer from having poly cystic ovaries, is the hormone called progesterone, which is needed to thicken the lining of your uterus to prepare for conception, may not be functioning correctly.

Here's a short video about what a good menstrual cycle should do:

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A lot of women who have trouble getting pregnant may not have enough of this vital hormone. Usually the progesterone hormone should remain elevated for at-least 10 or 11 days following ovulation to give you a chance at becoming pregnant.

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For some women, they may have progesterone, but it may not have enough of it. If this happens the uterus can't thicken properly and the uterus will still remain a hostile and unwelcoming environment for any embryo trying to implant itself into the wall.

Short Luteal Phase?
What Can You Do?

There are things you can do if you have a shortened luteal phase, to bring it back to a proper length that is good for allowing you to be able to conceive.
Firstly it might pay for you to visit a doctor to ascertain what your progesterone levels are, because most of the time it is this hormone that can interfere with your luteal phase.
If you don't have enough of this hormone the doctor may prescribe you with some progesterone therapy which will involve either progesterone injections (a needle in the bottom!), pessaries or suppositories (inserted into vagina), tablets (taken orally) or you can buy a cream that you rub onto a different area of your body each day (usually on more sensitive areas like the inner thigh, neck, chest or inner arm). Any of these are usually done after ovulation each month.
There are also remedies available over the counter that you can do to increase your progesterone production such as taking daily doses of Vitamin B6 throughout the entire month.
A herbal remedy for a short luteal phase which I can personally attest to is Vitex Agnus Cactus. I used it for 6 months and it actually normalized my cycle within this time, bringing me from a 34 day cycle back to 28 days.