How do I know if I am ovulating?

Calculate the fertile cycle helps to plan the pregnancy and also to have prenatal care. There are several methods to calculate your ovulation date: basal temperature and cervical mucus, among others.

Ovulation occurs when the ovary releases the mature egg. This is heading toward the fallopian tubes, which is the place where fertilization takes place.

In women with regular cycles of 28 days, the egg release occurs at day 14, but if you have an irregular period, how far you can go you could ovulate between days 12 and 16. To use this method and know when is your fertile time, you must have complete clarity on the length of your cycle.

One of the clearest physical signs that you are ovulating is pains in the belly. A fifth of women feel pain in the lower abdomen, which may last a few minutes, or even a few hours. These occur days before menstruation and due to the activity of the ovaries.

BBT:

During ovulation occurs the hormone progesterone, which increases body temperature between 0.5 ° and 1.0 °C.

To take this approach, you must be rigorous, and it is recommended that the temperature measurement is performed in the morning, barely awake, because any movement can increase the temperature. Experts advise that you always use the same thermometer and take the form of either oral or rectal thermometer staying with about three minutes.

You must have a sheet to record your measurements daily and see your progress as well, allowing you to see the pattern that follows your cycle and ovulation date.

It is normal if the day before ovulation occurs at low temperature, do not worry, because the day of release of the egg increase. A couple of days after ovulation has occurred, the temperature will be equal to the pre ovulatory period, if it remains high it’s likely due to a pregnancy.

Advantages of the method: its cost, plus the ease and convenience that meet the control at home. You can know the date of ovulation clearly and duration of the second period of the cycle, ie, when it will arrive menstruation.

Disadvantages: sometimes the couple is unsure, because there may be errors in the registry.

If you want to have a baby, experts advise having sex at least two days before the temperature rise, because progesterone can take up to 48 hours to appear on the amount sufficient to raise and the egg only lasts one day.

Cervical mucus (Billings method):

In the days before ovulation, the amount of flow increase significantly also change its texture. These changes occur due to increased estrogen levels.

Some people compare the flow that occurs during ovulation with the white of a raw egg, because the mucus becomes clear, flexible and slippery.

During ovulation, the flow that acted as protection, favors the transport of sperm through the cervix to reach the fallopian tubes.

Ovulation Tests:

Working through measurement of luteinizing hormone (LH), you can find this type of testing in pharmacies , which predicts up to 36 hours before your fertile days. This type of analysis is more practical than the baseline measurement and greater effectiveness, moreover, also be performed at home.

It is important to follow carefully each package directions. Although it is not recommended to use the first urine of the day, is best done with the second, because at night this hormone tends to concentrate, causing a false positive.

There are other methods that can make your doctor to see if you are ovulating, if you continue fertility treatment:

  • UltrasoundThis test is done generally through the vagina. The doctor will assess follicle growth found in the ovaries until it disappears.
  • Endometrial biopsy:It is an analysis which involves the extraction of a percent (minimum) lining the endometrial epithelium. It should be a couple of days before menstruation and is very effective, because the hormones produced by the ovary change daily. This sample is evaluated by a pathologist and also effective whether the endometrium is well prepared for a baby. The problem is that it’s too annoying.