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Understanding Ovulation |
You've decided to have a baby! Understanding Ovulation is the key to getting pregnant faster! What is Ovulation? Ovulation is when an egg is released from your ovarian follicle. When does Ovulation happen? Ovulation is different for every woman and can also vary from cycle to cycle, however the average ovulation occurs around 14 days before the next menstrual period is due. How long does an egg live once it is released? Once ovulation occurs, the egg can live from 12 - 24 hours waiting to be fertilized. If it is not fertilized in this time, the egg will die, however, if a sperm entered the egg, it could result in pregnancy if it implants into the uterus. Am I only fertile for the 12 - 24 hours that that the egg lives? This is a common misconception. Yes, it's true that the egg only lives for 12 - 24 hours, however, the average male sperm lives from 3 - 5 days and has been known to survive up to 7 days! Therefore, you become fertile 5 days before your egg is released and you remain fertile for up to 48 hours after ovulation. So, even though your egg only lives up to 24 hours, you actually have up to 7 days per month that you could become pregnant. Predicting Ovulation Counting cycle days is the easiets way to determine when you are ovulating. The first day of your period is usually 14 days after ovulation. With this knowledge, you can track your cycles to learn when you are ovulating. Keep a record for 2 - 3 months before TTC (trying to conceive) then on your calendar count backward 14 days from the first day of your period, this will have been your ovulation day. Notice the pattern of your ovulation and how many days after your period starts that you usually ovulate. When you are ready to conceive, you will know fairly accurately when you will ovulate. If you have a regular cycle, this method works well, however, if you have irregular cycles, you may need to try other ovulation detectors. Basal Body Temperature After ovulation occurs, a slight temperature increase will occur of about 0.4 - 0.6 degrees F and will increase more for a couple of days after ovulation. Your temperature will remain at the new higher level until your next period occurs. You will probably not notice the very small increase on the day of ovulation, however, you will notice it a couple of days later when your temperature remains higher. Therefore, in predicting your ovulation, you will guess that it was 1 - 2 days prior to the noticable temperature change. This method will require observing your cycle and temperatures for 2 - 3 months before TTC. Start recording your temperature on the first day of your period. Keep a thermometer by your bed so that first thing every morning, you can take your temperature before you do anything else. You can purchase basal body thermometers from any pharmacy, be sure to use the same thermometer each time. Once you know the pattern, you can use it to TTC. Cervical Mucous Observation This is one of the easiest way to determine pre ovulation, which are signs that ovulation is approaching. This will require 1 - 3 months of observation of your cervical mucous. Each time you go to the bathroom, wipe your vaginal opening with a clean tissue and notice the cervical mucous. After your period, you will notice very little cervical mucous and you will feel dry. As you get closer to ovulation, your cervical mucous will increase slightly and will be whiteish in color and will be moist and sticky. Right before ovulation occurs, you will notice your cervical mucous resembles egg whites. It will be clearish in color, very stretchy and you will probably have a lot more of it during this time. This is your most fertile time. You will reach a cervical mucous peak soon after you see this egg white mucous. This is considered your ovulation day. After ovulation has occurred your cervical mucous will return to moist and sticky. With this information, you can pinpoint ovulation very closely. If you are having trouble conceiving, you might combine all of these methods in order to best determine your ovulation.
Use our interactive Ovulation Calculator to give you a better understanding of how your ovulation works. |