Ovulation Tracking
Ready to start a family? Understanding and tracking your ovulation is the first and most important step when you are ready to conceive. Ovulation refers to the timing of when the egg is ready to be fertilized after it has been released from the ovary and passed across the fallopian tube.
The majority of women have regular periods, meaning that they come very 24 to 36 days. So, even if the period is not super consistent to the exact day, women with normal cycles usually experience it within a week of when it’s supposed to arrive. Additionally, it’s worth noting, while the length and flow may vary from month-to-month, regular refers to the frequency in which it occurs. Once you establish if your menstruation is regular, you can begin tracking your ovulation to pinpoint a more exact time.
Women with regular periods will have an ovulation cycle that lasts 28 to 32 days. According to American Pregnancy Association, most women ovulate between day 11 and 21 of their cycle.
The following tactics can help you track your ovulation at home with minimal effort.
- Chart your cycle: Whether you prefer to make notes on paper, on your phone’s calendar, or through an app, charting refers to keeping track of the first and last day of each period. It’s helpful to document because it can help you pinpoint the most fertile days with regularity from month to month. Additionally, online menstruation tracking resources and phone apps can suggest your most fertile days once you’ve charted a couple of months.
- Cervical mucus: As your body begins to ovulate the egg, it produces a cervical mucus. For many women, the clear and slippery mucus will be plentiful by the time your body ovulates. The best time to try to conceive is during this window where you are experiencing the release of cervical mucus. One thing to point out, women on the pill typically do not ovulate, so this mucus will seem unusual for women who have recently gone off the pill.
- Basal body temperature: The basal body temperature will rise before a women’s fertile window. To track it, take your body’s temperature around bedtime—when the body is closest to a deep rest. Women are generally most fertile two to three days before their temperature rises, so women with regular periods can chart the rise on a monthly basis to help assess the best window to conceive.
While these simple steps will often work for women with normal periods, a host of outside factors, including stress and anxiety, can lead to irregular menstruation. If you want confirmation beyond your own tracking, ovulation home kit can help pinpoint the best time to conceive.
- Ovulation home kits: In addition to the changes mentioned above, your body releases a hormone called the Luteinizing hormone, which typically surges a couple of days before ovulation. By testing urine, the kit can detect this hormone and therefore pinpoint the most fertile window to conceive.
Trying to conceive can be a stressful time for many couples, but the best way to handle it is to stay healthy by drinking plenty of water, eating lots of fresh fruits, veggies and lean meats, and by performing moderate exercise 150 minutes per week. While scheduling a pre-conception doctor appointment is good, it’s best to try for six months before enlisting a specialist.
More
