Ovulation gives you symptoms that can help you predict when ovulation will begin. The symptoms of ovulation include an increase in the amount of cervical mucus and an increase in body temperature. Some women may notice additional, less frequent symptoms of ovulation, such as spotting or sore breasts. How to predict when ovulation begins based on signals from the body?

Ovulationgivessymptoms , which tell you when the egg leaves the ovary and begins its journey through the fallopian tube. Based onovulation symptoms , you can predict when a woman is having fertile days, and therefore possible conception and pregnancy.

Ovulation: when does it occur and what is it?

Ovulation( ovulation ) is one of the stages of the menstrual cycle when the egg is released from the Graaf follicle in the ovary. This is where his journey through the fallopian tubes towards the uterus begins.

Ovulation is the moment when the egg is released. The period just before and just after ovulation isfertile days . Fertile is considered to be 5 days before ovulation, the day of ovulation itself and 4 days after ovulation (10 days in total). This is because sperm can survive in a woman's genital tract for up to 5 days, so when the egg is released, it may still be fertilized. In turn, four days after ovulation is considered a margin of error, because ovulation may be slightly delayed.

Determining when to ovulate is important both for women who wish to become pregnant and for those who wish to avoid it. See how to mark the day of ovulation by observing mucus, body temperature, and other symptoms.

Common ovulation symptoms

During the period around ovulation, the body gives various signals that herald the onset or the onset of ovulation. Some appear before ovulation and some appear after. In order to accurately determine the fertile days on their basis, observations must be made for at least 3 months. Only on their basis, one can notice certain regularities that will give a relative certainty that a given symptom marks the beginning of ovulation.

There are2 basic ovulation symptomsthat all women experience and help determine whenovulation:

  • changing the appearance of the mucus to a more thin, sticky, transparent,
  • increase in body temperature by a few lines after ovulation.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned ovulation symptoms may be disturbed by many factors, such as illness, lifestyle changes, hormonal changes, alcohol consumption, taking certain medications. Therefore, even the most meticulous observation of the body's signals cannot give 100% certainty when exactly ovulation will occur. The reliability of the calculations is greater when several factors are taken into account simultaneously (mucus, temperature and pain symptoms) and when menstruation is regular. Hence, before calculating fertile days with natural methods, you need to know your cycle very well.

Ovulation - less frequent symptoms

The jump in temperature and changes in the appearance of mucus are, with some individual differences, characteristic of all women. The remaining symptoms of ovulation only occur in some people. These can include:

  • ovulatory pain - pain on the right or left side of the lower abdomen ( alternately in subsequent cycles) caused by the rupture of the Graaf follicle. It may feel like a stab or stab that lasts a few seconds, and may last for hours, even days. If we have never felt ovulation pain, and suddenly it appeared in one of the cycles - then it is worth performing an ultrasound and checking if it is not a cyst on the ovary.
  • ovulatory spotting - these are the skimpy traces of blood in the vaginal discharge. Such spotting can last from several hours to even 4 days.
  • hypersensitivity of the nipples and sore breasts - these symptoms are associated with increased estrogen levels in the body.
  • cervical changes - during the fertile days the cervix is ​​soft and bent forward (normally during the infertile days it is hard and directed backwards); this symptom can be examined by yourself by inserting your fingers into the vagina, but the condition of the cervix is ​​best assessed by a gynecologist.

In addition, there are women who are prone to acne lesions before and during ovulation. Sometimes it is also reported that the symptom of ovulation is increased libido and particular sensitivity to odors and male pheromones, including androstenol.

Ovulation - how long does it take?

In fact, the term "ovulation" describes only the moment when the egg leaves the ovary, so it lasts no longer than 1 day. However, the fertile days last longer, i.e. the period when the egg travels through the fallopian tubes to the uterus and fertilization can take place (provided that during this time the woman has unprotected intercourse witha man, and sperm will enter her genital tract). Fertile days are set for 4 days before ovulation and 5 days after ovulation - a total of 10 days.

Fertile days calculator

Are you trying for a baby? The fertile days calculator will show you the days when you have the best chance of getting pregnant.

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Ovulation - determination by thermal method

The thermal method measures body temperature every day and records the results on a cycle observation card. In order for the measurements to be as accurate as possible, you need to follow a few rules:

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  • we measure the temperature every morning at the same time (the difference cannot be more than 1 hour);
  • we start measuring immediately after waking up, without getting out of bed for a while;
  • sleep duration before measuring must be at least 3 hours (therefore, after a long night, the results may be unreliable);
  • the thermometer should always be placed in the same place (mouth, armpits, vagina, rectum);
  • the time of measuring the temperature in the armpit, vagina or rectum should be at least 5 minutes, and in the mouth 8 minutes.

The obtained result is put on the cycle observation card and at the end of the month we connect the markings with lines, thus creating a chart. If a given measurement was accompanied by any unforeseen symptoms (e.g. infection, change of the measuring time, or even change of the thermometer), it is essential to write it down. After plotting the graph, you can proceed to the interpretation of the results:

  • in the first half of the cycle, the temperature should be 36.6 degrees;
  • just before ovulation, a slight drop in temperature of 0.2-0.3 degrees (to 36.4 or 36.3 degrees Celsius) is noticed;
  • after ovulation, the temperature rises sharply by 0.2-0.4 degrees compared to the temperature in the first half of the cycle (i.e. it may be around 36.7-37 degrees) - if it remains at this level for a minimum 3 consecutive days, this means ovulation took place before the temperature spike.

It should be remembered that using the thermal method it is possible to determine the moment of ovulation onlyafter the charthas been prepared - it is not possible during the observation. Therefore, you should spend at least 3 cycles recording your symptoms. It is also important to pay attention to all additional factors that may disturb the reliability of the measurements, e.g.

  • cough
  • qatar
  • sore throat
  • muscle pains
  • stress
  • alcohol
  • high physical fatigue
  • use of painkillers orother medicinal preparations, etc.

When using the thermal method, it is best to use an ovulation thermometer - it has a more precise scale (down to hundredths of a degree) and you can read even slight temperature fluctuations on it.

--->WHAT IS THE Vaginal TEMPERATURE DURING OVULATION?

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Ovulation - determination based on mucus observation

The signal of the approaching ovulation is also a change in the appearance of the cervical mucus. In the first days of the cycle, it is thick, sticky, opaque and sparse (in some women it does not occur at all). However, about 6 days before ovulation, its appearance and consistency change: it becomes thinner, more slippery, stretches to form threads when touched, is more transparent and resembles the white of a hen's egg. The discharge gives a pronounced feeling of wet and slippery in intimate places - a sign of fertile days. At the time of ovulation, it is the rarest and clearest, and then it begins to return to its previous appearance, becoming dense, cloudy, and sticky again.

The mucus observation method is 72% effective, but only after one year of regular observations. If a woman has never checked the consistency of her mucus before or has an uneven cycle, this method may fail. You need skill and a good understanding of your physiology to use the Billings method. The chances of accurately determining the moment of ovulation are greater if both methods are used simultaneously: thermal and mucus observation (also known as the symptomatic method or the Billings method).

Observe the mucus every evening and only consider the discharge from the vaginal opening, not from the outside.

Ovulation cycle - when does it occur?

It may happen that in a given menstrual cycle the egg has not been released from the Graaf follicle - we are talking about an anovulatory cycle. Such a situation is usually one-off and occurs as a result of stress factors, but it can also be a recurring symptom that makes it difficult to get pregnant.

The anovulatory cycle can be identified by the fact that it is not accompanied by symptoms usually associated with ovulation - first of all, no increase in body temperature is observed after the expected date of ovulation. If this happens often, detailed diagnostics is necessary - there are many hormonal and gynecological diseases that cause anovulatory cycles (including diseases of the thyroid gland, ovaries, hyperprolactinemia, hyperandrogenism).

According to an expert

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Ovulation tests

A very helpful method in determining the time of ovulation is testing the concentration of luteotropic hormone (LH) in the urine. Ovulation tests, which can be purchased at a pharmacy, are used for this. An increase in the concentration of LH in urine indicates that ovulation will occur in the next 36 hours.

How is an ovulation test performed? You need to buy a pack of 5 testers in the form of strips. Then, in the instructions, you need to check on which day of the cycle the test should be done - it depends on the length of the monthly cycle. Detecting ovulation with this method consists in dipping the strips in the collected urine sample for the next 5 days.

However, it should not be morning urine, because its concentration may distort the result (the test is better to be carried out during the day, after 10 o'clock). The strip is immersed in the urine for approx. 10 seconds to the specified limit, then taken out, laid flat and waited for 5 minutes.

After this time, the tester shows stripes: 1 means that the test has been performed correctly, but the LH hormone is not present. 2 lines is a sign that there is luteinizing hormone in the urine, and its concentration depends on the intensity of the color of the strip. If there are no dashes, the test was either performed incorrectly or the result is inconclusive.

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Pregnancy