5 Signs You Are Ovulating | EWmums.com
 

5 Signs You Are Ovulating

Your body is talking to you.

Posted on

18 July 2017

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5 Signs You Are Ovulating

If you are trying to get pregnant, knowing when you are ovulating is essential information.

Generally speaking, ovulation occurs between 10-16 days before the first day of your period. The exact day will be dependent on your cycle, so it may be difficult to pinpoint unless you are charting your fertility each month. When you ovulate, at least one mature egg is released from the ovary. If the egg gets fertilised, you are pregnant. If it is not fertilised within 12-24 hours, it will start to disintegrate.

A typical cycle is 28 days long, and if your cycle too is 28 days long, you will start ovulating on day 14. To work out when you are likely to ovulate, look at the expected date of your next menstrual period. Count back 14 days, and then another five days. Those five days are your fertile period, with ovulation likely to occur 14 days before your next period is due.

And while there are ovulation calendars and ovulation sticks to tell you when you are ovulating, there are other signs that your body gives you to tell you that your most fertile time of the month has begun.

  • Mittelschmerz: Mittelschmerz is the pelvic and lower abdominal pain that some women experience during ovulation. Ovulation generally occurs about midway between menstrual cycles; hence the term mittelschmerz, which comes from the German words for "middle" and "pain." The pain of ovulation can range from a mild twinge to severe discomfort and usually lasts from minutes to hours. It is generally felt on one side of the abdomen or pelvis and may vary each month, depending on which ovary is releasing the egg during that cycle.
  • Vaginal discharge that is clear and slippery, much like the texture of egg whites.
  • Your breasts will feel tender.
  • Increased basal body temperature. This is not to be confused with your normal body temperature. Your basal body temperature (BBT) is your temperature when your body is at rest
  • Increased sex drive. It's your body's way of telling you to go make that baby!