Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. If you are trying to get pregnant, it's helpful to know when you ovulate. Ovulation is when an egg is released from an ovary. Your ovulation period lasts for 12 to 48 hours. However, since sperm are hardy and can survive in the female reproductive tract for around 72 hours, you can get pregnant anywhere from five days before you ovulate to a day after you ovulate.
This period is known as your fertile window. Timing sex during this six-day fertile window makes you significantly more likely to conceive, according to research. There are many methods of tracking and predicting ovulation so you can try to figure out when you are most fertile. An ovulation day calculator may provide an estimate, but isn't always the most accurate of methods, especially if you have irregular periods.
Some ways to try to pinpoint your ovulation period at home include over-the-counter ovulation predictor kits , body basal temperature charting , and checking for fertile cervical mucus. Each kit comes with five or so test strips or sticks, and manufacturers typically recommend you test your urine for several days leading up to your suspected ovulation day.
This makes this method can potentially costly, especially if you have somewhat irregular periods and you have to test for many days or months on end. Among no-cost home ovulation-tracking methods, checking the texture of your cervical mucus may work best. According to research, people who had sex when they had slippery, egg-white-like cervical mucus associated with your ovulation period were two to three times more likely to conceive than those who had scant or absent mucus secretions typical at the very start of your menstrual cycle.
Unfortunately, there's no completely accurate method to detect that you are about to ovulate. It's possible for an ovulation predictor kit, body temperature charts, and cervical mucus patterns to all indicate a slightly different ovulation day.
Researchers found a day spread of observed ovulation days even among a group of people with "clockwork" cycles, and a similar variation for people whose cycles were a little longer or shorter. Another group of researchers set out to pinpoint the most commonly fertile day in the menstrual cycle across the general population—including those with irregular cycles—using menstrual period surveys and ultrasound measurements rather than ovulation signs.
By day 25 LMP, the statistical probability of conception is zero, according to the data. Some people do not ovulate regularly, or at all. One in 10 people with ovaries experience anovulation, or periods in which an egg is never released during their menstrual cycle, at some point during their childbearing years.
Accessed Sept. Jennings V. Fertility awareness-based methods of pregnancy prevention. Hornstein MD, et al. Optimizing natural fertility in couples planning pregnancy.
Frequently asked questions. Contraception FAQ Fertility awareness-based moethods of family planning. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Hatcher RA, et al. Contraceptive Technology. New York, N. Products and Services Book: Obstetricks. See also Choosing baby's sex Birth control pill FAQ Ovulation Elective abortion and subsequent pregnancies Female fertility tips Fertility preservation Healthy sperm: Improving your fertility How to get pregnant Is a home sperm test useful?
Secondary infertility Sperm life span Show more related content. Mayo Clinic Press Check out these best-sellers and special offers on books and newsletters from Mayo Clinic.
Reprint Permissions A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. Here's how to prepare for ovulation and pinpoint the timing:. Keep a menstrual cycle 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 ovulation symptoms. Can you feel ovulation happening? If you're like 20 percent of women, your body will send you a memo when it's ovulating, in the form of a twinge of pain or a series of cramps in your lower abdominal area usually localized to one side — the side you're ovulating from.
Called mittelschmerz — German 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. Pay close attention, and you may be more likely to get the message. Your basal body temperature , or BBT, that is. Taken with a special, basal body thermometer, basal body temperature 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 before ovulation, estrogen dominates.
During the second half after ovulation, there's a surge in progesterone, which increases your body temperature as it gets your uterus ready for a fertilized, implantable egg. That means your temperature will be lower in the first half of the month than it is in the second half. Here's the bottom line: Your basal body temperature will reach its lowest point at ovulation and then rise immediately about a half a degree as soon as ovulation occurs.
Keep in mind that charting your BBT for just one month will not enable you to predict the day you ovulate but rather give you evidence of ovulation after it's happened. Tracking it over a few months, however, will help you see a pattern in your cycles, enabling you to predict when your fertile days are — and when to hop into bed accordingly.
Many women do find this approach a bit frustrating and it is important to know that studies have shown that the timing of ovulation does vary among women after the dip in temperature.
Ovulation predictor kits are more precise. Ovulation isn't an entirely hidden process, and there are some definite physical signs of ovulation. As your body senses the hormone shifts that indicate an egg is about to be released from the ovary, it begins prepping for the incoming hordes of sperm to give the egg its best chance of being fertilized.
One detectable sign of 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, firm 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 record of your observations.
The other cervical ovulation symptom you can watch for is a change in mucus. Cervical mucus, which you'll notice as discharge, carries the sperm to the egg 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 that of an egg white.
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