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Ovulation is the process that the female body goes through when releasing an egg. A mature egg is released from one of the ovaries and it travels down the fallopian tube on its way to the uterus. If the egg becomes fertilized by sperm you become pregnant and if not you receive your periods.
This whole process happens regularly every month for a large percentage of women. It usually happens midway during the menstrual cycle so it can be predicted depending on the length of your cycle. Since a woman’s cycle can fall anywhere between 28 and 35 days finding out the exact time may be quite a process especially for those with irregular cycles.
There are some methods that have been tried and tested to help with determining when you will be ovulating next. You can use whichever method seems simpler for you or a combination so as to get good estimates.
Count backwards
Note down when you expect your next period and then count 14 days backwards. That should be when you will be ovulating. Ovulation occurs 14 days before your period and not 14 days after.
Mark the dates
Your calendar should become your friend around this time. Mark the day you get your period and keep at it until it ends. Then take note of when your next period starts. Keep doing this for a couple of months and if it is regular you should notice a trend. From this you can now find what counts as mid-cycle for you and that is when you should be ovulating.
Check your discharge
You would have noticed the discharge in your panties by now. This vaginal discharge can tell you when you are ovulating because it also changes during that time. The discharge becomes colorless and a little stretchy when pulled during ovulation. It may resemble raw egg white.
Mark your temperature
Your basal body temperature is taken when you are completely at rest, such as when you wake up. A basal thermometer is required since the changes in temperature are as small as half a degree. Take your temperature over a few months and you will realize that a temperature rise occurs at some point. That is when ovulation begins.
Use an ovulation test kit
You can use an ovulation test kit if these other methods seem tedious. It checks the level of luteinizing hormone (LH) in your urine since its levels rise a few days before ovulation. This may not be so reliable since a little LH is always present in urine.
The biggest mistake women make when trying to become pregnant is miscalculating when they’re ovulating. Don’t miscalculate again, try our Fertility Calculator.
