How to Tell If You’re Ovulating
Whether you’re trying to conceive, or just working to understand and optimize your cycle, you must ask yourself one crucial question, “Am I ovulating?” Knowing if, and when, you ovulate is the best tool for understanding your period, addressing any concerns you may have about your hormones, or optimizing your chances of getting pregnant.Tracking ovulation/determining if you are ovulating is important not only for conceiving, but also for assessing your hormonal health.
If you’re currently taking the pill, this does not apply. The birth control pill, especially combination pills (which contain estrogen and progesterone), suppress ovulation, meaning you do not ovulate and you do not get a real period while taking them.
When you come off of the pill, especially if you’re trying to conceive, one of the first things you may starting doing is tracking your cycle using an app. These apps are great tools, but they cannot tell you if/when you ovulate… they just make guesses based on when you bleed. Tracking ovulation takes a little more specificity.
“If I get a period, then I must be ovulating… right?”
I get this question a lot. Yes, getting a period is a great sign, but the short answer is “not necessarily.” While a regular cycle is a great sign that you are ovulating, it’s not a definite sign, since it is possible to have anovulatory bleeds, which is really just breakthrough bleeding after a long follicular phase. The occasional anovulatory cycle is normal, but if they are consistent, it may point to a problem.
How to tell if you’re ovulating:
Basal Body Temperature
Your body temperature immediately upon waking in the morning is a key element for something called the Fertility Awareness Method (FAM), which helps you pinpoint when (or if) you ovulate so you can determine your 6 fertile days per cycle. This can be used both as a birth control method (by abstaining or using a barrier method on those 6 days) and as a very powerful tool for optimizing your chances of getting pregnant. I am not an expert in FAM, but I highly recommend the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility for in-depth guidance.
Your body temperature rises very slightly after ovulation when you produce progesterone, and it maintains that higher temperature until you get your period. With this method, you take your temperature upon waking every morning and if you ovulate, you’ll be able to see that shift in temperature. Temperature is a great way to check if you in fact ovulated. In terms of preventing pregnancy, temperature alone is not enough since it rises only after you ovulate.
The temperature rise is very slight, which is why a good quality thermometer is important, ideally a basal body thermometer. There are lots of them on the market market specifically for preventing pregnancy or increasing chances of conception, and I am currently trying one called Natural Cycles that I plan to review in the future. I have also heard good things about Daysy for another app and thermometer combo, and Kindara for charting.
Cervical Fluid
Cervical fluid is an important sign to track since it alerts you before you start ovulating! Fertile mucus is a type of vaginal discharge that looks and feels a lot like raw egg whites and is stretchy and slippery. You can usually find this type of cervical discharge on toilet paper after you wipe or at your vaginal opening. This special kind of discharge helps sperm travel through your uterus and make it to the egg, so it is a great sign that you’re entering your fertile window! It is also a helpful red flag if you are trying to prevent pregnancy.
Cervix Position
The final signs of ovulation are the softness and position of your cervix. When you are not ovulating, your cervix is low and hard to the touch. When you ovulate, however, it will be higher and softer!
Ovulation Test Strips (sometimes)
Ovulation test strips test for a surge in something called luteinizing hormone. This surge is another sign that ovulation is going to happen soon, and it can (usually) be detected with urine strips. When you get a positive LH test strip, it generally means you will ovulate in the next 24-36 hours.
This can be a helpful method when you are trying to conceive, but shouldn’t be used for pregnancy prevention. These test strips can and do miss spikes in LH. You can absolutely ovulate and never get a positive LH test strip. If you have PCOS, your LH readings may not line up with ovulation and you may see those surges more often than just when you ovulate. T
Other symptoms that can be associated with ovulation, but should not be considered definitive signs of ovulation include: a mild twinge pain in your ovaries when you release an egg, light spotting, bloating, fluid retention, and breast tenderness.
Knowing if and when you ovulate is essential for understanding your hormonal health
If you do ovulate, that is a positive sign for your hormonal health and health overall! If you do not ovulate, this is a great alert that something may not be right or may need attention. It could mean you’re not eating enough, it could mean you’re under serious stress that needs attention, it could mean you may have PCOS or a thyroid disorder and need to check in with your doctor for some testing.
Stay tuned for more on anovulatory cycles soon and what to do if you discover you are not ovulating!
Sources:
“Taking Charge of Your Fertility” by Toni Weschler
“Period Repair Manual” by Lara Briden ND
