Ovulation symptoms are not hard to notice. When you know what you should look for, you’ll be very surprised how easy it is.
Everyone who’s trying to conceive wants to know when the actual ovulation day is. Ovulation is when the ovary releases an egg. When that egg is ovulated, you’d want sperm to be waiting in your fallopian tubes to fertilize that egg.
So ideally, an intercourse should happen before ovulation to increase your chances of conception. You are most fertile in those days leading up to your ovulation.
How can you know which your most fertile days are? How do you know if it has already occurred? Perhaps more importantly, how can you tell if you’re not ovulating?
When Do Women Ovulate?
On average, a woman who has regular cycles ovulates sometime between days 11 and 21 of her cycle. That means the most fertile days will be somewhere between day 8 and day 21. If your cycles are relatively short, you are likely to ovulate closer to day 11 but if you have longer cycles, it may be closer to day 21. We know that the period between day 11 and day 21 is quite long so you could just aim to have sex every day or at least every other day during this period.
You can also look for ovulation symptoms and have sex when you notice signs of fertility. Here are some signs that tell you ovulation is coming or ovulation has occurred:
Fertile Quality Cervical Mucus
As you get nearer the day of your ovulation, cervical mucus increase and change into a consistency similar to a raw egg white. This quality of mucus helps sperm swim up all the way into the female reproductive system. It also makes intercourse easier. When you are not in a fertile stage, you would notice that your cervical mucus is stickier. The cervical mucus stages are as follows: dry to none, sticky, then creamy to watery and finally raw-egg-white-like. You can track these changes and predict your ovulation.
Increase in Basal Body Temperature
Your basal body temperature is the one that you have when you are at rest. You might think that your normal body temperature is 98.6 but it actually varies throughout the day and of course, throughout the month. It goes up and down depending on your activities, the food you eat, your hormones, your sleeping habits, and whether you are sick or not. After your ovulation, your progesterone levels rise and that causes your temperature to go slightly higher. Tracking your BBT can tell you when you ovulate, too.
Breast Tenderness
Do you sometimes notice your breasts feeling tender and at times they are not? Your body’s hormones can be causing this. It’s a way of knowing that ovulation has already happened. While you can’t predict your ovulation this way, it can be somewhat reassuring if you’re wondering whether you have ovulated this cycle yet or not.
Signs You May Not Be Ovulating
If you are not ovulating , that means you cannot get pregnant. An irregular ovulation also makes conceiving harder. Here are some signs to look out for:
- Irregular Cycles
- Months without Menstrual Cycles
- Very Short or Long Cycles
- No Basal Body Temperature Rise
- Negative Positive Ovulation Test Result or Multiple Positive Results
Your Doctor Can Help!
If you suspect that you are not ovulating or that it’s irregular, you should see Dr. Fay Weisberg from First Steps Fertility. If you have a fertility problem, it is highly important that you get everything checked out sooner rather than later. Even if you have fertility challenges, Dr. Weisberg may be able to help you with fertility treatments!
