The Ovulation Cycle
Ovulation Cycle & Pregnancy
Ovulation is the release of an an egg that has matured in the follicle that has developed inside the ovary. When girls are born they will have all the eggs for her entire life already, they are stored in the ovary's. Each egg has is very own sac referred to as a follicle. At the time of puberty, a hormone is produced telling the body to mature the egg, this is when the menstrual and ovulation cycle will begin.
The monthly changes during your menstrual cycle are all controlled by hormones produced by the body. A woman's ovulation cycle on average is mainly for twenty nine days, with the time you ovulate being aroung day fourteen. In your ovualtion cycle you count the first day of your period as day one.
During the ovulation cycle when do you ovulate ?
Ovulation happens around the middle of your monthly ovulation cycle, around day fourteen. This is when the mature egg is realized from the follicle and breaks free and is expelled away from the ovary. The level of the hormone estrogen is increased by the ovaries and will causes changes to take place. You will find a difference in cervical mucus and your cervix should change to allow conception to take place.
Signs of ovulation
During your ovulation cycle pinpointing when you ovulate is not always easy to feel, symptoms if any are very subtle in some people and more easy to identify in others. There are a number of ways in which you could track your time of ovulation. There are changes in the cervical mucus, the mucus can be broken down in to four types. Attention should be taken of the colour, consistency, and amount, these are all crucial to finding the time of ovulation.
One- You will feel dry around your vulva, there will be little or no mucus . There will be very little chance of conceiving at this point in your ovualtion cycle
Two- Discharge should be cream or white, the texture will be moist and quite sticky. There will be a chance of becoming pregnant at this point in the ovulation cycle. Over the next day or two the mucous should increase in volume, it will become more cloudy in colour. The mucus should start to become more stretchy in texture, use your fingers or toilet tissue to check the texture.
Three- You should now be at the point in your ovulation cycle when you are ovulating at this point the mucus will become greater in volume.The mucus will now look like the white part of a raw egg, it should be clear and extremely stretchy. This is the time in your ovulation cycle you should have the best chance of conceiving. Over the next day or so the amount should continue to increase, at the point when the mucus is most abundant you will be at your most fertile period in the menstrual cycle. The mucus serves an extremely valuable role it will keep the sperm nourished and aid it on its journey to the egg. Research has shown the sperm at this point should be able to survive for 72 hours, this is a lot longer than normal.
Four- The mucus will return to a sticky texture again, your vulva will begin to feel dry and there is very little chance of conceiving at this point.
Once ovulation has taken place hormone named progesterone in your body cause the blood vessels and the glands in the endometrium to begin preparation for the now fertile egg to implant. If fertilization has not happened the level of progesterone and estrogen will begin to decline. The lining of the womb, which has been building up will begin to shed (period) and the ovulation cycle will start again at day one.
Physical symptoms in your Ovulation Cycle
There are physical changes that occur in the body during your ovulation cycle that can indicate when ovulation is expected to take place.
Basel body temperature
Using a chart you can keep a check of your Basel body temperature, the only equipment required to do this is a good quality thermometer. There are special Basel body temperature thermometers which can be purchased online or at a chemist. Over a few number of cycles beginning with the first day of your period you will need to track your temperature. The easiset way is to mark this down on a graph, you can then see what type of pattern is forming. Your temperature needs to be taken for at the mininmu three cycles to give you a pattern. The Basel temperature should have a slight rise of approximately four degrees, this should happen over a twenty- four hour period. This will indicate you are ovulating and there is a high chance of conceiving.
Middle Pain
This can be a common occurrence for some woman, whilst some do not experience middle pain at all. Statistics show that one out of five woman will generally suffer from this, although it is harmless it can be quite painful. It can cause pain in the lower abdominal, it can last from a few minutes up to forty eight hours. Some woman have reported that they have this on just one side, some woman report that it varies sides from cycle to cycle. The reason for middle pain is still unclear experts believe it could be due to the egg being expelled from the ovary. The pain should subside after at the most forty-eight hours, if more than this medical help should be sort just to confirm there is no underlying cause.
Ovulation testing kits
You can buy ovulation test kits from most chemist or online from reputable companies. They work by testing for the amount of Luteinizing hormone (LH), which is present in the urine. Just before ovulation is ready to take place there will be a rise of this hormone, this should give you a clear indication of ovulation. You should have intercourse for forty eight hours after this increase in LH to increase your chances of falling pregnant. The tests are usually in strips that you will need to urinate on it will give you a positive or negative result.
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