Fertility, signs of ovulation and symptoms of ovulation can be a confusing subjects and leave you quite frustrated. If you are planning to conceive, it is important that you understand more about ovulation symptoms. This will help you plan your pregnancy better.
It is important for any woman trying to get pregnant to be familiar with their ovulation cycle. You need to be aware of the fact that signs of ovulation vary from woman to woman. It is possible that you may not even experience any of the listed signs!
What exactly is Ovulation?
To put it in simple terms, ovulation is the release of an egg from your ovary. Unless fertilized this egg will live only up to about 24 hours. You only ovulate about 400 times in your entire lifetime! So you better be aware of the signs to tell when you are ovulating.
During the menstrual cycle, ovulation is the most fertile period. Ovulation takes place when a matured egg is released from the ovarian follicle. Once the egg is released, it remains active with a time span of 24 hours. This is the time when conception is likely to take place.
Read More: Mittlelschmerz or Painful Ovulation: Signs and Symptoms
When is your ovulation period?
Time of ovulation is different for every woman. For some it happens like clockwork and for others it may vary each month. Generally most women ovulate 15 days before their next period.
Read More: How To Use An Ovulation Stick
11 Signs of Ovulation Every Woman Should Know
There are certain signs that your body gives to let you know when you are ovulating. Once you learn to read these symptoms you can increase your chances of getting pregnant by timing your intercourse right.
Here are 11 signs of ovulation that you can look out for.
1. Ovulation Pain or Mittelschmerz
Some women are known to feel a sudden and constant pain in their lower abdomen. This is ovulation pain or mittelschmerz. This is a German word meaning mid (mittel) pain (schmerz). It is important to understand that a mild sensation of pain is normal, but a painful ovulation is not. Severe pain may be an indication of ovarian cysts or adhesions from previous abdominal surgery, or other heath issues. Investigate painful ovulation immediately in consultation with your doctor. Proper and timely diagnosis is paramount in case you are trying to conceive. You could try some natural home remedies as well to overcome the ovulation pain.
2. Change in Cervical Fluid
Cervical fluids that resemble “egg whites” is a sign that you are near ovulation or are ovulating. During each cycle your cervical mucus goes through a pattern of changes under the influence of hormones. At peak fertility, your CF should resemble raw egg white in consistency. Using a finger and thumb you should be able to stretch it more than an inch. This is really fertile CF, it provides the best environment for sperm and is the best time to conceive.
Read More- 7 Quick Ways to Increase the Fertility of Your Cervical Mucus
3. Position change of cervix
Change in the position of the cervix is another important sign of ovulation. Your cervix connects your vagina to your uterus and acts as a barrier which opens to allow sperm to enter your uterus when you’re fertile and stays closed at other times. You can learn when you’re approaching ovulation by identifying the changes your cervix goes through. Your cervix position, opening and texture changes during the fertile phase of your cycle. These changes can be observed by feeling your cervix.
The changes are easy to learn, but should be observed over a few cycles to ensure you are confident in identifying the changes. As you enter your fertile window and approach ovulation your cervix will change. It will feel softer (like your lips), higher, open and wet (due to the presence of cervical fluid). This is known as ‘SHOW’ (soft, high, open, wet).
4. Rise in Basal Body Temperature
Tracking your Basal Body Temperature (BBT) is definitely one of the best ways to detect if and when you are ovulating. Here is how you can track your BBT.
- Starting from the first day of your period take your temperature each morning at the same time, as soon as you wake.
- Take your temperature in your mouth by inserting the tip of the thermometer under your tongue and push it toward the back where the tongue meets the bottom of the mouth.
- Do this each day and record the temperatures on a chart
- You will notice the temperature shifts and it stays higher until the end of your cycle. The shift happens about one to two days after ovulation.
It’s important to take your temperature before it naturally increases from movements, so it’s a good idea to set an alarm and take it before even sitting up in bed.
Read More: 11 Home Remedies to Overcome Painful Ovulation
5. Slight Spotting
Ovulation Bleeding is another prominent symptoms of ovulation. Some women experience slight spotting during ovulation. This happens due to a drop of estrogen at the time of ovulation. The drop in estrogen causes the endometrium (uterus lining) to decrease a little, causing slight spotting known as ovulation bleeding.
6. Increased Sexual Desire
Some women have noticed increase in sexual drive during ovulation. This is definitely one sign of ovulation. However, keep in mind that your libido can be enhanced by any number of things. It may be that you are just in the mood for it.
Read More: Best Position to Get Pregnant
7. Feeling Wetter
Not only does your cervical fluid become thinner and stretchier as ovulation approaches, it also becomes more abundant. You may not be able to tell whether or not if your cervical fluid has changed to the right consistency, but you should be able to observe how your body feels. When you are ovulating you are more likely to feel wetter. Your vagina is also likely to be more lubricated during sexual intercourse. This is not to be confused with the arousal fluid that your body makes. During ovulation you are likely to feel wetter throughout the day and not just during sex.
8. Heightened Senses
During ovulation the hormone’s in your body can influence heightened senses. These can include senses of smell, taste, oe vision. In the fertile phase of ovulation your body is primed to be more attracted to the male pheromone androstenone.
9. Bloating
Another sign of ovulation to look out for is abdominal bloating. You may notice slight bloating when you are ovulating. You may feel slightly bloated in the abdomen. This symptom can be caused by increased water retention due to a rise in the hormone estrogen. If you notice your clothes feeling a little tigher or a little extra bloat in your abdominal area, chances are you could be ovulating.
10. Breast Tenderness
Some women experience tenderness in their breasts just before or after ovulation. This is related to the hormones in your body, getting ready for ovulation and the potential of pregnancy. Right after you ovulate, your progesterone levels go up. This increase in progesterone may be what causes your breasts to feel tender during ovulation.
In some women the breast tenderness is similar to that felt during premenstrual period. This can be noticed by some around the time they ovulate. However, some women ay not notice this until after they ovulate. In either case breast tenderness is a good sign that you are ovulating or have ovulated recently.
11. Nausea or headaches
Some women feel nauseous or have headaches before ovulation. This may be due to the hormone changes occurring in your body. The hormone changes during ovulation are likely to leave you more sensitive to changes around you causing feeling of nausea or headache.
In case you aren’t feeling any of the above signs and symptoms of ovulation try finding out with an ovulation prediction kit (OPK). This is a popular choice for many women to find out whether they are ovulating.
There are two types of kit available, those that check urine, and those that check saliva. Select the type you are more comfortable with and follow the instructions to find out whether you are ovulating.
Knowing when you’re most fertile from your ovulation signs can increase your chances of getting pregnant sooner.
With a little bit of practice you’ll get to know the pattern of events that happen each cycle and be able to pinpoint when you’re ovulating.
The best time to have intercourse is in the two days leading up to ovulation day.
What is the best way to calculate the ovulation time?
Calculating ovulation timing is not as easy as it seems. Study of menstrual cycles and body composition is important for the same. Tracking periods, observing cervical fluid and noting basal body temperature are some of the ways of identifying ovulation time. In most of the cases, ovulation is estimated to take place between 11-21 days after the 1st day of latest menstrual period.
What might be the causes which lead to delay in ovulation?
There are many factors which contribute to delay in ovulation. Some of them include illness, taking certain kinds of medications, high stress levels, increased activity levels, etc. If you find that the ovulation is getting delayed and you want to conceive, it is recommended to get in touch with a gynecologist and seek suggestions.
Is monthly ovulation, common in all women?
No. All women do not ovulate every month. In some cases it has been seen that not ovulating every month indicates that there is some problem in the gynecological health of a woman.
Read more: Ultimate Guide for Infertility Treatment for Females
Should I be concerned if I experience pain and PMS symptoms from ovulation?
Ovulation pain and PMS symptoms might be common during ovulation. While for some women the period of ovulation might be normal, some might face quite rough challenges. There are many reasons for ovulation pain. If the pain becomes intolerable, it is always recommended to consult a gynecologist as there might be problems in the female reproductive system.
What is the luteal phase in ovulation?
The luteal phase is the time which commences with ovulation day and stretches through the remaining of the menstrual cycle. The luteal phase spans between 10-16 days. The general period of ovulation can be calculated by subtracting the length of luteal phase from the total length of the menstrual cycle.
When are the fertile days? Which days are considered as ‘peak fertility’ days?
The day before and the day of ovulation are considered as the most fertile days. The egg only survives for 24 hours and if you plan to conceive, the conception must take place in this extremely short phase only. Basically, the fertile period in a woman’s system begins about 5 days before ovulation and lasts up to 2 days after ovulation. More or less the time span is 7 days when a woman remains most fertile.
Read more: When is a woman most fertile?
Did you have any ovulation symptoms while on Clomid?
Clomid is a fertility medicine, which is non-steroidal in nature. The process of ovulation is stimulated with this medicine as the pituitary gland releases the required hormones. Women taking Clomid have high success rates of ovulation. Many women have successfully got pregnant with this drug. Though there are no side effects of this fertility drug, some women might have slight ovulation symptoms while being on Clomid. Some of the symptoms also match with early pregnancy signs.
How long after ovulation does implantation take place? When do you start to have symptoms?
This is a very important question that many women ask. Implantation is the process in which the egg implants itself on the uterine wall. An integral part of the conception process, it is actually the beginning of pregnancy. There might be some symptoms which might be seen once the implantation has taken place and these resemble early pregnancy symptoms only.
Does cervical position indicate when one is fertile?
Yes, cervical position is a great indicator that a woman is fertile. Right before the process of ovulation starts, levels of estrogen increase in the body and the cervix rises. Charting the cervical position is important after the menstrual cycle ends. The opening closes at this time. With fertility, the opening opens and becomes soft as well.
Hope you found this article useful! If you have any further queries around signs of ovulation or Ovulation in general, please feel free to leave a comment and our team will revert at the earliest!
