Signs of Ovulation: 7 Ways to Detect Signs of Ovulation

Signs of ovulation aren’t difficult to notice, once you know what to look for. Some signs of ovulation help warn you that ovulation is approaching, allowing you to time sex for pregnancy. Other signs of ovulation let you know that ovulation has passed. While there are many methods below, don’t think that you should use them all. That would drive you crazy and have you thinking about getting pregnant even more than you probably already do. (Something I don’t suggest!)

If you don’t notice any signs of ovulation, or your periods are irregular, you should definitely let your doctor know. This information may help your doctor make a diagnosis of infertility.

Sign of Ovulation #1 — Cervical Mucus Changes

As ovulation approaches, your cervical mucus changes in amount and consistency. When you’re not ovulating, cervical mucus may appear sticky or creamy, or may be entirely absent. As ovulation approaches, cervical mucus become more abundant, takes on a watery to raw-egg-white-like consistency, and stretches up to an inch or more between your fingers.

Pros:

100% free.
Considered to be one of the most accurate indicators for timing sex for pregnancy.
Get to know your body better.

Cons:

Some people are grossed out by the idea.
Not a definite sign. You can have fertile cervical mucus, and not ovulate. (Common in women with PCOS.)
Clomid or antihistamines may dry up your cervical mucus, which may make detection difficult.
Sign of Ovulation #2 – Increased Sexual Desire

Turns out nature does know what it’s doing (sometimes, anyway.) Research has shown what many of us already notice: Women experience an increase in sexual desire when they are most fertile. This is a couple days before you ovulate, which is the right time to have sex if you want to get pregnant.

Pros:

Doesn’t require any know-how. Just being in tune with your feelings.
Worse comes to worse, if you have sex and you weren’t about to ovulate, you still (hopefully) had a nice time with your partner. Nothing lost!

Cons:

The stress of trying to conceive can squash sexual feelings. Also, depression or anxiety, common in couples coping with infertility, can lower sexual desire.
It’s not a definite sign of ovulation. You may notice an increase in sexual desire at any time in your cycle, including right before your period, or even after watching a great Johnny Depp or Pierce Brosnan movie. (Or maybe that’s just me.)
Sign of Ovulation #3 – Body Basal Temperature Changes

Body basal temperature charting is perhaps the most popular method of tracking ovulation among women trying to get pregnant. Your body basal temperature will rise by a few tenths of a degree, and stay elevated, after ovulation. This rise in temperature is caused by the hormone progesterone, which increases immediate after ovulation. By charting your body basal temperature, you can detect this increase in temperature. Pros:

If your temperature rises, you can be almost positive that you ovulated.
It’s low cost, and almost free (except for the purchase of a thermometer, which you probably already have).
May help your doctor make a diagnosis.

Cons:

Won’t warn you that ovulation is coming, but only confirm that it has passed.
If your sleep patterns are unusually erratic, or you work the nightshift, body basal temperature charting will probably not work for you.
Some women feel overwhelmed by taking their temperature every morning. Also, worrying about every little fluctuation in temperature can make some women more anxious than they already are. It can easily become a bit of an obsession.
Sign of Ovulation #4 – Changes in Cervical Position

Just as your cervical mucus changes as ovulation approaches, your cervical position also goes through changes. When you’re most fertile, your cervix will be higher, softer, and more open.

Pros:

It’s free.
Get to know your body better.
May help you figure out if you’re ovulating, even when your cervical mucus is drier from Clomid or antihistamines.

Cons:

Takes practice to get a feel (no pun intended) for the differences.
Some people are grossed out by the idea.
Not a definite sign of ovulation. Like with cervical mucus, you can have fertile cervical signs but not actually ovulate.
Sign of Ovulation #5 — Breast Tenderness

Some women experience tenderness in their breasts just before or after ovulation. This is related to the hormones rushing in your body, getting ready for the potential of pregnancy. For me personally, the last confirmation I have that ovulation has occurred is breast tenderness.

Pros:

It’s free.
Helps you get to know your body better.

Cons:

It’s by no means an accurate indicator of ovulation.
Breast tenderness may come before or after ovulation, as well as right before menstruation and as a side effect of some fertility drugs.
Getting too obsessed about how tender your breasts feel can lead obsessing over imaginary pregnancy symptoms.
Sign of Ovulation #6 – Positive Result on an Ovulation Predictor Test

Another common way of detecting ovulation is with an ovulation predictor test kit. Ovulation predictor kits, sometimes referred to as OPK tests, require you to either pee on a test stick, or dip a special paper into a cup of collected urine, once a day for a week before you expect to ovulate. There are two lines on the test strip. Whenever the test line is darker than the control line, the test has detected an LH surge. (This is the exact same hormone that causes fertile cervical mucus.)

Pros:

If body basal temperature (BBT) charting is not an option, an ovulation predictor kit can be used. Also, if cervical mucus is dried up from medications, OPK tests can help.
As opposed to BBT charting, you ideally only need to bother with the tests for a week before you expect to ovulate.
When BBT charting gives unusual or confusing results, some women use ovulation predictor kits as an additional confirmation of ovulation.

Cons:

Expensive compared to other methods of ovulation detection. An ovulation predictor test kit for one cycle costs anywhere from – 20 dollars. Over a year, that can add up.
Determining when the test line is darker than the control line isn’t always easy.
You can miss the LH surge and never see a darker line. For example, if you test Monday morning, and your LH surged Monday afternoon, by Tuesday morning, when you test again, it may be over already. (Some women test more than once a day for this reason – raising the cost.)
If you ovulate irregularly, you may need more than one kit per cycle.
Not a definite sign. You can have positive OPK results, and not ovulate. You can also have more than one LH surge detected per cycle, but only the last of those surges correlates to possible ovulation. (Common in women with PCOS.)
Sign of Ovulation # 7 — Saliva Ferning

A unique and uncommon way to detect ovulation, a ferning pattern of your saliva is another possible sign of ovulation. There are special microscopes sold for this purpose, but you could technically use any toy store microscope. A ferning pattern is a pattern that looks like frost on a window pane. The ferning pattern appears during the body’s LH surge, which occurs 24-48 hours before ovulation.

Pros:

Cheaper than ovulation predictor kits.
Unique! (Impress people at parties. “I was checking my saliva’s ferning pattern this morning, and…”)

Cons:

Uncommon. Won’t be easy to find people to ask advice from.
Many women find it difficult to detect the ferning pattern. (I’ve never tried it, but everyone I talked to that did couldn’t figure it out.)
Just as with tracking cervical mucus and using OPK tests, noticing a ferning pattern does not guarantee that ovulation will occur.

For infertility Patients:

There are several methods of reversing infertility in couples. The first resort I always give to my patients and has worked wonderfully for nearly 80% of them is the Pregnancy Miracle System. Pregnancy Miracle is an all natural holistic solution for infertility patients. Read more about it here.

Ovulation Symptoms. Visit tipstogetpregnantfast.org Learn about ovulation and some of the symptoms associated with it on your path to become pregnant.