If youre looking to get pregnant, you may have heard at some point that tracking ovulation is a valuable tool. But, given that Sex Ed is kind of an awkward blur, you probably have some questions on exactly how to go about tracking ovulation.

Lets back up a sec: Ovulation is what happens when your ovaries release an egg. Ovulation usually happens in the middle of your menstrual cycle, which would be 14 days before the start of your period if you have an average 28-day cycle, according to the Mayo Clinic.

That said, not everyone has a 28-day cycle, so your ovulation point may be very different from your besties and even your sisters. In fact, its possible to ovulate anywhere from day 11 through day 21 of your cycle, according to the American Pregnancy Association.

Why does this matter? In order to make a baby, your egg has to meet up with your partners sperm. So, you want to time things so that theres actually an egg waiting to be fertilized when you have sex.

Tracking your ovulation can help you find the time when you are most likely to be successful conceiving, says Iris Insogna, MD, of Columbia University Fertility Center. Otherwise, it can be difficult to know when might be the most effective timing for your efforts. That can put added stress and strain on what may already be anxiety-inducing situation.

This can be most helpful for heterosexual couples trying to conceive, Dr. Insogna says. For single women or those in same-sex relationships, this can also be important for timing home inseminations with donor sperm, she adds.

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Not everyone has symptoms during ovulation, but you might have some, says Jessica Walter, MD, a reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist at Northwestern Medicine. During ovulation a folliclefluid-filled sacin the ovary breaks open to release the egg inside, she explains. This process can lead to some bleeding and release of inflammatory fluid into the belly from the rupturing follicle.

When this happens, you might have mild bloating, cramping, pelvic pain, breast tenderness, or changes in your discharge. Cervical mucus around the time of ovulation is often characterized as like egg whites, as it becomes slippery and stretchy in consistency and clear in color, Dr. Walter says.

Need more info? Read on

Again, ovulation usually happens on day 14 of your cycle but everyones cycle different. Because of this, when you should start tracking your ovulation really depends on the length of your cycle, Dr. Insogna says.

If you have a typical 28-day cycle, then starting to track ovulation around day 10 is a good idea, she says. Just to make sure you dont miss it. If your cycle length is shorter than that, you may want to start tracking earlier, like day six or seven, to make sure you dont miss your fertile window, she says.

You have a surprisingly large number of options for tracking ovulation. Here are the biggies:

Ovulation predictor kits are the most reliable method for women with regular cyclesand I strongly recommend them, Dr. Insogna says. They generally work by detecting a surge in luteinizing hormone (LH), which triggers ovulation, in your pee. When that surge happens, ovulation will follow soon after. Ovulation generally occurs 14 to 26 hours after detection of the LH surge and almost always within 48 hours, says Alexa Sassin, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Childrens.

Ovulation predictor kits are the most reliable method for women with regular cycles.

But, she notes, they dont work for *all* women, especially those who have a high baseline level of LH, which can happen in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) or in women with diminished ovarian reserve.

The calendar method is pretty simple: You just figure out your average cycle length and assume youre ovulating at the midway point. While its cheaper than testing your pee every month, its not necessarily the most reliable. This method may not be accurate, however, as many women have cycle variabilities that are not accounted for with calendar calculations, says Kjersti Aagaard, MD, PhD, professor in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine in in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Childrens.

3. Try an ovulation- and period-tracking app.

Ovulation tracking apps use the same concepts to help track ovulation and period cycle length as the calendar methodthey just remove the whole doing math thing for you. Some of the applications may apply an algorithm to help predict ovulation based on personalized information inputted into the app, Dr. Sassin says. However, the accuracy of such predictions remains unclear, she adds. Noted!

If you are hesitant to put your health data in an app due to uncertainty surrounding privacy practices, you can use the paper calendar method to track your cycle instead.

Your basal body temperature (or BBT) is your bodys temperature when you are fully at rest, says Lauren Demosthenes, MD, senior medical director with Babyscripts. In most women, the bodys normal temperature increases slightly during ovulation (0.51F) and remains high until the end of the menstrual cycle, she explains. The most fertile days are the two to three days before this increase in temperature.

This requires some legwork on your end, though: Youll need to take your temperature every morning after you wake up, before you do anything (including get out of bed or sip water). Then, record your daily temperature and, when you have an increase, youre likely ovulating, Dr. Demosthenes says.

This is a little tricky. This method cannot be used to predict ovulation. Rather, BBT can only predict that ovulation has likely occurred, Dr. Sassin says. Got it.

Some women have an increase in cervical mucus or vaginal discharge in the five to seven days before ovulation, Dr. Aagaard says. This increase in cervical mucus is due to fluctuations in ovarian hormones, she explains. During this time, the cervical mucus is noted to be more abundant, thin, slippery, and stretchy.

When you get that egg-white consistency, youre likely to be ovulating. Before ovulation, the mucus is more watery and slippery, which indicates a good time to try to conceive, Dr. Demosthenes says. After ovulation the mucus becomes more thick and sticky due to progesterone. This makes conceiving more difficult."

Foolproof? No. But "some women are attuned to their cervical mucus and can use this to help with timing intercourse," Dr. Demosthenes says.

Saliva ferning predicts ovulation by looking at the patterns formed by the saliva in your mouth. When the hormone estrogen increases near ovulation, dried saliva may form a fern-shaped pattern, Dr. Aagaard says.

This method can be performed at home with a microscope but may not work for all women, she notes. Some medications can change your saliva, making this especially tricky, she says. Also, do you really want to get a microscope? You may be better off using some of the other methods here.

Experts agree this is a really tough one to answer, given that factors like your age, reproductive health, and your partners reproductive health all play a role in your ability to conceive.

Approximately 80 percent of families or people will conceive in the first six to nine months of attempting pregnancy, with the probability of pregnancy greatest in the first three months, Dr. Sassin says. Family planning studies have shown that the likelihood of pregnancy is greatest when intercourse or insemination occurs the day before ovulation.

But, again, this is all variable and individual. If youve been trying to conceive for a year with regular sex and youre under 35, Dr. Demosthenes recommends talking to your doctor. And, if youre over 35, its recommended that you check in soonerat six months.

Meet the experts:

Iris Insogna, MD, specializes in obstetrics and gynecology, reproductive endocrinology/infertility at Columbia University Fertility Center.

Jessica Walter, MD, is a reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist at Northwestern Medicine. Lauren Demosthenes, MD, is an ob-gyn at the University of South Carolina, School of Medicine Greenville, as well as the senior medical director at Babyscripts, a virtual maternity care platform.Alexa Sassin, MD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Childrens.Kjersti Aagaard, MD, PhD, is a professor in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine in in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Childrens.

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How To Track Your Ovulation Most Accurately, According To Ob-Gyns - Women's Health

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