What is Ovulation?
Ovulation
is when a mature egg is released from the ovary, pushed down the fallopian
tube, and is made available to be fertilized.
Approximately
every month an egg will mature within one of your ovaries. As it reaches
maturity, the egg is released by the ovary where it enters the fallopian tube
to make its way towards waiting for sperm and the uterus.
The
lining of the uterus has thickened to prepare for the fertilized egg. If no
conception occurs, the uterine lining, as well as blood, will be shed.
The
shedding of an unfertilized egg and the uterine wall is the time of menstruation.
If
you are trying to get pregnant, you should get a copy of the Essential Guide to
Getting Pregnant. This ebook is filled with the most up
to date resources, information, and tips you need to get pregnant.
Key Facts of Ovulation:
If an egg is not fertilized, it disintegrates and is
absorbed into the uterine lining.Click To Tweet
How To Track Ovulation:
A
woman’s monthly cycle is measured from the first day of her menstrual period
until the first day of her next period.
On
average, a woman’s cycle normally is between 28-32 days, but some women
may have much shorter or much longer cycles.
Ovulation
can be calculated by starting with the first day of the last menstrual period
(LMP) or by calculating 12-16 days from the next expected period.
Most
women ovulate anywhere between Day 11 – Day 21 of their cycle, counting
from the first day of the LMP.
This
is what many refer to as the “fertile time” of a woman’s cycle because sexual
intercourse during this time increases the chance of pregnancy.
Ovulation
can occur at various times during a cycle and may occur on a different day
each month. It is important to track your cycle and fortunately there are a
number of free
fertility charting tools available to help women identify their
peak fertile days.
The Ovulation Cycle Divided Into Two
Parts:
- The first part of the ovulation cycle is called the follicular phase. This phase starts the first day of the last menstrual period (LMP) and continues until ovulation.
This
first half of the cycle can differ greatly for each woman lasting anywhere from
7 days until 40 days.
- The second half of the cycle is called the luteal phase and is from the day of ovulation until the next period begins. The luteal phase has a more precise timeline and usually is only 12-16 days from the day of ovulation.
This
ultimately means that the day of ovulation will determine how long your cycle
is.
This
also means that outside factors like stress, illness, and disruption of normal
routine can throw off your ovulation which then results in changing the time your
period will come.
So
the old thought that stress can affect your period is only partly true. Stress
can affect your ovulation which ultimately determines when your period will
come, but stress around the time of an expected period will not make it late—it
was already determined when it would come 12-16 days earlier!
Fertility
Awareness
is one way to track when ovulation occurs, and it includes studying the changes
in cervical mucus and using a basal
thermometer.
Cervical
fluid will change to a wet, slippery substance that resembles “egg whites” just
before ovulation occurs and until ovulation is over. A basal thermometer helps
track a body temperature rise, which signals that ovulation has just occurred.
Another
way to track ovulation is through ovulation kits and
fertility monitors. These can be Purchased
Online
safely and affordably.
Tracking
ovulation can help a woman get a better idea of when pregnancy can and cannot
occur during her monthly cycle.
Once
ovulation has occurred, there is nothing you can do to increase your chances of
pregnancy. Your next step is to begin watching for early pregnancy symptoms. View and print an Ovulation Calendar to better understand
your menstruation cycle and ovulation.
From the Menstrual Period to Ovulation
(the details you may not know!)
When
your menstrual cycle begins, your estrogen levels are low. Your hypothalamus
(which is in charge of maintaining your hormone levels) sends out a message to
your pituitary gland which then sends out the follicle stimulating hormone
(FSH). This FSH triggers a few of your follicles to develop into mature eggs.
One
of these will develop into the dominant follicle, which will release a mature
egg and the others will disintegrate.
As
the follicles mature they send out another hormone, estrogen. The high levels
of estrogen will tell the hypothalamus and pituitary gland that there is a
mature egg.
A
luteinizing hormone (LH) is then released, referred to as your LH surge. The LH
surge causes the egg to burst through the ovary wall within 24-36 hours and
begin its journey down the fallopian tube for fertilization.
Ovulation
Predictor Kits (OPKs) work by detecting this LH surge.
The
follicle from which the egg was released is called the corpus luteum,
and it will release progesterone that helps thicken and prepare the uterine
lining for implantation.
The
corpus luteum will produce progesterone for about 12-16 days (the luteal
phase of your cycle.) If an egg is fertilized, the corpus luteum
will continue to produce progesterone for a developing pregnancy until the
placenta takes over.
You
can begin looking for pregnancy symptoms as early as a week
after fertilization. You can also begin testing for pregnancy as early as 7-10
days past your ovulation date with an Early
Detection Pregnancy Test.
If
fertilization does not occur the egg dissolves after 24 hours. At this time
your hormone levels will decrease and your uterine lining will begin to shed
about 12-16 days from ovulation.
This
is menstruation (menstrual period) and brings us back to day 1 of your cycle.
The journey then begins all over again.
The
time of ovulation is one of the most important things a woman should understand
about her body since it is the determining factor in getting
pregnant
and preventing pregnancy.
The
process can be confusing and somewhat overwhelming when trying to understand.
The
Association recommends using an ovulation kit or fertility
monitor
to maximize your chances and to confirm when your ovulation is occurring. There
are many frequently asked
questions
about the ovulation process, and the Association has attempted to address those
for you.
If
you still have further questions regarding ovulation, we encourage you to
either talk with your healthcare provider or contact the American Pregnancy
Association for more information.
Being
informed on what your body does can help you feel more in charge of your
health. If you need assistance in tracking ovulation, you can order ovulation
kits or ovulation monitors online here: Order
an ovulation kit now
Doesn't sound like much of an opening? Consider, then, that sperm are able to live to fertilize for a lot longer than an egg is willing to hang out, anywhere from three to six days. Which means that even if you have sex a few days before ovulation, there may be plenty of sperm still around to greet the egg when it emerges. (And remember: It only takes one sperm to make a baby.) Of course, having sex the day you ovulate would be ideal. After ovulation, that window tends to slam shut till the next cycle. Clearly, knowing when the Big O occurs is key when doing the Baby Dance. Here are five ways to help you pin down the big day.
When does ovulation usually occur?
Ovulation usually occurs halfway through your menstrual cycle — the average cycle lasts 28 days, counting from the first day of one period (day one) to the first day of the next period. But as with everything pregnancy-related, there's a wide range of normal here (anywhere from 23 to 35 days), and your own cycle may vary slightly from month to month.SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF OVULATION
1. OVULATION CHART/TIMING: Keep a menstrual calendar for a few months so you can get an idea of what's normal for you — or use tools that can help you calculate ovulation. If your periods are irregular, you'll need to be even more alert for other signs of ovulation.2. LOWER ABDOMINAL PAINS: about 20 percent of women experience, a twinge of pain or a series of cramps in their lower abdominal area when ovulating, it is usually localized to one side of the body where the woman is ovulating. This is called mittelschmerz — German term for "middle pain" — this monthly reminder of fertility is thought to be the result of the maturation or release of an egg from an ovary.
3. TEMPERATURE VARIATION: That is, your basal body temperature, or BBT. Taken with a special thermometer (yes, you guessed it, a basal body thermometer), your BBT is the baseline reading you get first thing in the morning, after at least three to five hours of sleep and before you get out of bed, talk, or even sit up. Your BBT changes throughout your cycle as fluctuations in hormone levels occur. During the first half of your cycle, estrogen dominates. During the second half of your cycle (once ovulation has occurred), there is a surge in progesterone. Progesterone increases your body temperature as it gets your uterus ready for a fertilized, implantable egg. Which means that in the first half of the month, your temperature will be lower than it is in the second half of the month, after ovulation.
Confused? Here's the bottom line: Your BBT will reach its lowest point at ovulation and then rise immediately and dramatically (about a half a degree) as soon as ovulation occurs. Keep in mind that charting your BBT for one month will not enable you to predict the day you ovulate but rather give you evidence of ovulation after it has occurred. Charting your BBT over a few months, however, will help you to see a pattern to your cycles, enabling you to predict when ovulation will occur in future months — and when to hop into bed accordingly.
4. CERVICAL SECRETION: Ovulation isn't an entirely hidden process. As your body senses the hormone shifts that indicate an egg is about to be released from the ovary, it begins to ready itself for the incoming hordes of sperm and give the egg its best chance of getting fertilized. One detectable sign of oncoming ovulation is the position of the cervix itself. During the beginning of a cycle, your cervix — that neck-like passage between your vagina and uterus that has to stretch during birth to accommodate your baby's head — is low, hard, and closed. But as ovulation approaches, it pulls back up, softens a bit, and opens just a little, to let the sperm through on their way to their target. Some women can easily feel these changes, while others have a tougher time. Check your cervix daily, using one or two fingers, and keep a chart of your observations. The other cervical sign you can watch for is the appearance, increase in quantity, and change in consistency of cervical mucus (the stuff that gets your underwear all sticky). Its more noble purpose is to carry the sperm to the ovum deep inside you.
After your period ends, you'll have a dry spell, literally; you shouldn't expect much, if any, cervical mucus. As the cycle proceeds, you'll notice an increase in the amount of mucus with an often white or cloudy appearance — and if you try to stretch it between your fingers, it'll break apart. As you get closer to ovulation, this mucus becomes even more copious, but now it's thinner, clearer, and has a slippery consistency similar to an egg white. If you try to stretch it between your fingers, you'll be able to pull it into a string a few inches long before it breaks. (How's that for fun in the bathroom?) This is yet another sign of impending ovulation — as well as a sign that it's time to get out of the bathroom and get busy in the bedroom. Once ovulation occurs, you may either become dry again or develop a thicker discharge. Put together with cervical position and BBT on a single chart, cervical mucus can be an extremely useful (if slightly messy) tool in pinpointing the day on which you are most likely to ovulate — and it does so in plenty of time for you to do something about it.
5. OVULATION PREDICTOR KIT: Don't want to mess around with mucus? You don't have to these days. Ovulation predictor kits (OPKs) are able to pinpoint your date of ovulation 12 to 24 hours in advance by looking at levels of luteinizing hormone, or LH, which is the last of the hormones to hit its peak before ovulation actually occurs. All you have to do is pee on a stick and wait for the indicator to tell you whether you're about to ovulate.
Another option is a saliva test, which takes a peek at levels of estrogen in your saliva as ovulation nears. When you're ovulating, a look at your saliva under the test's eyepiece will reveal a microscopic pattern that resembles the leaves of a fern plant or frost on a windowpane. Not all women get a good "fern," but this test, which is reusable, can be cheaper than those sticks you have to pee on. There are also devices that detect the numerous salts (chloride, sodium, potassium) in a woman's sweat, which change during different times of the month. Called the chloride ion surge, this shift happens even before the estrogen and the LH surge, so these tests give a woman a four-day warning of when she may be ovulating, versus the 12-to-24-hour one that the standard pee-on-a-stick OPKs provide.
The key to success in using this latest technology is to make sure to get an accurate baseline of your ion levels (currently, there's a device on the market that needs to be worn on the wrist for at least six continuous hours to get a proper baseline). No OPK can guarantee that you will get pregnant or that you're actually ovulating; they can only indicate when ovulation may be occurring. So no matter which device or method you choose, patience and persistence are key! Just don't forget to put together a candlelit dinner, draw a warm bubble bath, or plan a romantic weekend getaway — whatever it is that puts you and your partner in a baby-making mood.
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