Are You Ovulating?
Learning Your Body
If you want to get pregnant, you'll need to learn to read your own body.
It's essential to spot the signs that you are ovulating, since, without
ovulation, there's no conception. Here are some tips for determining if and
when you ovulate.
Basal body temperature-Make a chart and keep a sensitive thermometer
next to your bed. Take your temperature the minute you wake up before moving
around or going to the bathroom. If you do this over the course of a month, a
pattern may emerge which can indicate your time of ovulation. There's a catch:
your temperature shows a change only after you ovulate. Still, if you chart
your temperature for a few months, you should be able to spot when ovulation
will occur.
Cervical mucus changes-Around the time of ovulation your cervical mucus
changes in texture, color, and amount. Watch for stringy, clear, and copious
amounts of cervical mucus.
Track cervical changes-A high soft cervix is a good predictor of
fertility around the time of ovulation. When the cervix is low and hard, you
are at an infertile point in your cycle. You can reach into the vaginal canal
and check for the position and texture of your cervix on a regular basis so as
to track your fertility.
Ovulation test strips or monitors-Forty-eight hours before ovulation,
there is a surge of luteinizing hormone (LH) which peaks just before ovulation.
Monitors and test strips can track your LH levels. The monitors are expensive
but easy to use. The test strips aren't always accurate and may produce false
negatives.
Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) may have elevated levels of
LH even when they aren't in ovulation. If you have repeated positives over the
course of 48-72 hours, it's a safe bet that this is your situation.
Saliva scope-A saliva scope can help you to track changes in your saliva
around the time of ovulation. There is a characteristic feature of saliva
during ovulation known as "ferning," and this can be seen with the
help of a saliva scope.
Save Time and Money
While any of these methods can help you track ovulation, none of them
can give 100% proof of ovulation. The only way to prove ovulation is with a
blood test. The tools for tracking ovulation are best used over a period of several
months. Keep trying to conceive when you think you may be about to ovulate as
well as just after probable ovulation. If 6 months to a year go by with no
pregnancy to show for your efforts, bring your charted results to a doctor for
a consultation. Your diligent tracking methods may just save you time and money
in solving your fertility issues.
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