How Do you Know When you are Ovulating?

Ovulation is an important part of the female menstrual cycle. This is the time when a single, mature egg from the ovarian follicle is expelled into the pelvic cavity and swept into the fallopian tube. Once released, the egg is capable of being fertilized for 12 to 24 hours before it begins to disintegrate. Thus if you are trying to conceive, your best chances lie during this window period which is why it becomes important to know when you are ovulating.

Increase in cervical fluid

Many women notice that roughly during the middle of their cycle, they are a bit more moist than usual. This makes having sex slightly easier and reduces the need for lubrication from external sources. What is actually happening is that your body is producing more cervical fluid as part of several changes that the cervix undergoes during the time of ovulation. The hormonal fluctuations in the body in this time make the cervical mucus clear, slippery, and stretchy just like raw egg whites. A common test to check for the right texture of cervical mucus is to get a sample of your cervical secretions, from the outer lips of your external genitalia, and stretch it between two of your fingers like the thumb and index finger. During ovulation the secretions will easily stretch between the fingers. contrary to this, during the time right after menstruation, there will be little or no discharge present. You will feel dryness around your vulva and this is your infertile period. The first cervical discharge that appears after menstruation is moist or sticky and white or cream in color. Also in the finger test, the mucus breaks easily. During the transition time, the mucus will become cloudy and slightly stretchy during the finger test which means that it will still break before the fingers are stretched all the way. As time progresses, the mucus will become thinner, clearer and more abundant during your cycle. The amount of this thin cervical mucus will steadily increase until you experience your ‘cervical mucus peak’. This occurs on the last day of your cycle where the chance of conception is high and shows that your body is ovulating.

A softer, open cervix

Yet another way to determine whether you are ovulating is to check for the position of your cervix. After you wash your hands, stick a finger or two inside your vagina and feel the cervix. During the infertile stage – that is when you are not ovulating – you will find that your cervix is harder and not open. Your cervix will feel about the consistency of the end of your nose. However when you are ovulation and your body is ready to conceive, the cervix is easier to reach. This is because your cervix is now softer and more open in order to receive the sperm. At this point if you check your cervix with your fingers, you will find it similar to the texture of your earlobe.

One-sided pain

This usually occurs just before ovulation as the ovarian follicle gets ready to release the matured egg into the pelvic cavity. The act of the expulsion is felt by many women as a one-sided pain from the position of one of the ovaries. This is known as middle pain or mittleschmerz and may not be noticed by every woman. However if you do feel this kind of aching during the middle of your cycle, there is a good chance that you are ovulating.

Spurt in basal body temperature

To use this way of tracking your ovulation, you will need to take your basal body temperature right from the beginning of your cycle. To do this you will need to buy a special basal body thermometer. In order to get the most accurate results, it is best that you take the reading before physical activity of any sort. In the early part of a woman’s cycle the basal body temperature is usually lower than after the day of ovulation and for the rest of the cycle. The day ovulation occurs the basal body temperature rises from 0.4 to 0.8 degrees. If you find this kind of spurt in your basal body temperature, it may be a good day to have intercourse if you are looking to get pregnant. From the day of ovulation until the end of the period the basal body temperature will stay higher. It will drop back down again at the beginning of the cycle if no pregnancy occurs or remain higher if conception took place.

Check for LH surge

Ovulation brings about certain changes in the hormonal levels of a woman’s body. One of the hormones to be most significantly affected is the Luteinizing Hormone (LH). At the beginning of the menstrual cycle, the body begins to produce follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). This facilitates the formation of a follicle on one of the ovaries and the follicle in turn contains and nurtures the ovum. When a follicle has adequately matured, a surge of Luteinizing Hormone (LH) causes the follicle to burst and release the ovum into the fallopian tube which forms the moment of ovulation. Even though throughout the menstrual cycle, a small amount of LH is produced, during the middle of the cycle LH briefly and dramatically increases and this is known as LH surge. Ovulation tests kits work by checking for this spurt in the LH levels. The sensitive testing membrane of the ovulation test kit contains anti-LH antibodies which signify whether the level of LH in the sample is high enough to indicate ovulation. If the result on an ovulation test is positive, it means that the woman will most likely become fertile over the next three days – with peak fertility at 36 hours following the LH surge. Ovulation test kits usually come in two types – the test strip and the midstream tests. While making use of ovulation test kits is an effective way of detecting ovulation, they cost money and need to be used on the right day and right time since the LH surge is rather brief.