About Ovulation

What is Ovulation, When It Happens, and Why It Matters…

In order to understand when it is possible to get pregnant you need to know a bit about ovulation. By understanding what it is and how it works, you will be ready to take full advantage of the fairly short ‘window of fertility’ women have each month.

What is Ovulation?

Each month, an ovary releases one egg (occasionally, more than one) and it enters the Fallopian tube, ready for its short (4-inch) trip to your uterus, a process called ovulation.

The time from just before ovulation to just after (usually totalling about 3 to 4 days) is when you can get pregnant each month.

For this to happen, healthy sperm must meet up with that egg, and one of them must bond with it. But sperm live for only two or three days, while an egg will survive for only a day after ovulation, unless a baby is started (called fertilization).

One way of getting pregnant sooner is to time intercourse with ovulation, which is possible because there are several ways to tell when you are ovulating and even ways to help you predict when it will happen next.

(Some couples have also used predicting ovulation times to attempt to avoid pregnancy; you may have heard this practice referred to as the “Rhythm Method” of family planning or birth control. However, simply not having sex around the time of ovulation is considered to be among the least effective ways of protecting from an unwanted pregnancy – it is famously unreliable.

Unfortunately, very much wanting to get pregnant – or desiring the opposite – doesn’t seem to have much effect on if you will – or won’t – conceive.  There ARE effective changes you can make in your life that do make you more likely to conceive, detailed in Prince or Princess, a guide written by a midwife that tells you what to do to get pregnant AND to have the girl, or boy, you are hoping for.)

How To Tell When You Are Ovulating

If your periods are regular (or fairly regular), mark a calendar with the probably first day of your next period and count back 12 days to 16 days. These are the probable days of your next ovulation.

Another method that works is to notice your cervical mucus, which changes each month as levels of the hormone estrogen increase (it will become clear, slippery and slightly stretchy).

Normally, this mucus is the natural enemy of sperm; but during ovulation it helps sperm get where they want to go, up through the uterus, into the fallopian tubes for a date with your egg.

And here is a third change in your body just before ovulation: your basal body temperature will rise very slightly. You aren’t likely to notice this unless you use a basal body temperature (BBT) thermometer (inexpensive and available at pharmacies or chemists’ shops).

One warning about using them – by the time your temperature ‘spikes,’ ovulation has already taken place and it may already be too late for fertilization to happen. If you choose to use a BBT thermometer, keep track of your temperature for a month or two so that you will be able to predict the two days just before it is about to spike in your next cycle.

About Ovulation – Use a Predictor Kit

Ovulation Predictor kits are available (at pharmacies and chemists’) without a prescription or buy an ovulation predictor kit online.

They can accurately predict ovulation, but usually only if you have a regular period of 28 to 34 days.

These kits cost about $25 to $40 and are easy to use (similar to an at-home pregnancy test).

Can A Woman Tell The Exact Moment of Ovulation?

Yes, some women can. Researchers say about 20 % of healthy adult women feel a twinge, a mild achiness or a few hours of pain or cramps signalling ovulation.

To get a fuller picture of how your body works, and what you must do to get pregnant AND to influence the gender of your child, read mother and midwife Alicia Pennington’s guide for parents trying to get pregnant, Prince or Princess – Plan Your Baby. You can also read our Prince or Princess Review here.