As a woman, it is very important to learn how to track your ovulation, especially if you are planning to get pregnant. Tracking your ovulation process will help you to know when you are fertile or not. Knowing how to track these things will increase your chance of getting pregnant. There are various ways a woman can track her ovulation period, which include counting the days of your cycle, checking how your cervical mucus looks, knowing your basal body temperature, using an ovulatory calculator, and using an ovulation kit.
If you have a healthy body and a regular cycle, then it won’t be difficult to calculate your ovulation period. What you need to do is to determine the length of your cycle. The menstrual cycle of most women starts from the first day of your menstruation to the day before your next menstruation begins. Most women and doctors, look at their menstrual cycle as a 28-day cycle. However, for other women with irregular periods, other techniques will help them in tracking their ovulation period.
Listen to your body
You can track your ovulation by knowing the nature of your body. The body usually sends you a signal when you are ovulating. The signals are always in the form of a pang of pain or cramps in your lower abdomen (usually in affecting one side, which is the side you are ovulating from). This monthly signal is usually as a result of the release or maturity of the egg from the ovary. This is why you should pay closer attention to your body, in other to make the tracking of ovulation easy.
Track your basal body temperature
Your basal body temperature is an effective way of tracking your ovulation period. The basal body temperature can be measured using a special basal body temperature. Your basal body temperature is the starting reading you get before you get out of bed, talk or sit up, which is usually very early in the morning, after sleeping for three to five hours.
The basal body temperature changes throughout your cycle as variations in your hormone level happen. The estrogen dominates during the first half of your menstrual cycle. There will be an increase in your body temperature, during the second half of your cycle. It is due to the surge in progesterone that gets the uterus ready for an implantable and fertilized egg. The temperature of your body will be lower during the first half of your cycle and slightly higher in the second half.
It means, your basal body temperature will be at its lowest point during ovulation and immediately rise to about half a degree as soon as ovulation occurs.You should also note that tracking your basal body temperature for only a month will not help you in your quest of tracking your ovulation period but should provide evidence that your ovulation has occurred. However, tracking it for some months will help in seeing your cycle pattern. It enables you to predict the days when you are fertile and when to have sex accordingly.
Get to know your cervix
In order to track your ovulation, it is important for you to know everything about your cervix. The cervix is the lower narrow part that connects your vagina and uterus that stretches to accommodate the head of a baby.The body senses when the shift in hormones that indicate when the egg is about to be released from the ovary. It begins by preparing for the incoming millions of sperms to give the egg the best chance to get fertilized.
Another technique used to track ovulation is the position of the cervix. Your cervix will be low, firm and closed during the beginning of your cycle. But, as you start ovulating, it pulls back up, softens a little, and opens a little, to allow passage of the sperm through it, on their way to their target. Some women might have a tougher time feeling these changes, while some can easily feel it. It is advisable to check your cervix each day using one or two fingers and record your observations.
Another technique used to track ovulation is to watch for changes in the cervical mucus. You will notice these changes as your discharge carries your partner sperms to the ovum deep inside you.A mucous that is fertile is clear, stretchy, watery, and it appears similar to egg white. It is caused by changes to the cells that encourage the smooth passage through the cervix towards the fallopian tube. A non-fertile mucous is more acidic than the fertile mucus, and a less acidic environment favors the sperm more rather than killing them off.
Buy an ovulation predictor kit
Another effective way of tracking your ovulation is by purchasing an ovulation tracking kit. Most women use these kits to identify their ovulation date 12 to 24 hours before the date by checking the levels of luteinizing hormone or the last hormones to reach its peak before ovulation. All you are required to do is to pee on a stick and wait for the indicator to identify whether you are about to ovulate or not. Another option is the saliva test; it measures the level of estrogen in your saliva as your ovulation comes nearer. All you are required to do is to look at your saliva under the test’s eyepiece when you are ovulating. It will reveal a microscopic pattern that looks like a frost on a window pane or the leaves of a fern plant. However, not all women get a good fern, but this test is reusable and can be cheaper than most kits.
In conclusion, you should note that none of these techniques can tell you when you are ovulating. They can only indicate when your ovulation might occur. So it is important to have patience no matter the method you choose. Just don’t forget to plan romantic meetings with your partner or whatever that puts you and your partner in the mood to have a baby.