Ovulation is the release of an egg by the woman's ovary. In almost every menstrual cycle, the woman's ovary releases an egg. There are thousands of eggs inside the woman's ovaries. The natural chemicals in her body trigger the development of one of these eggs every cycle. When the egg is ready to be fertilized, it comes out of the ovary and travels down the woman's tubes to her uterus. If the man's sperm has fertilized it, the egg can attach itself to the uterus and the woman is pregnant.

The signs of ovulation can be any of the following, although many women may only notice one or two of these:

The CAP provides information and instructions on how to synchronise the ovulation to your lunar fertile time if you decide you want to. We also provide information to help you make that decision.

Ovulation status is assessed by noting menstrual cycle length and regularity. If you have a cycle length shorter than twenty six days, it is useful to do a basal Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) test on the second day of your menstrual cycle to see your egg reserve. If you have intervals between menses of longer than 34 days, poly cystic ovarian disease (PCOD) is suspected. This is confirmed be finding a ring of small follicles in your ovaries on ultrasound scanning.

Knowing your time of ovulation is crucial to successful conception. Your fertile period starts about 4-5 days before ovulation, and ends about 24-48 hours after it. For more information, see Ovulation and Pregnancy.

German for "middle-pain", Mittelschmerz is a pain on one side located in the lower abdominal area. Mittelschmerz may occur before, during, or after ovulation and the pain may last, on average, from just a short time (a few seconds) to as long as an hour or two.

Predicting ovulation is key to successful conception. The four most common methods, listed below, are BBT Charting, maintaining an ovulation calendar, ovulation testing, and cervical mucus analysis: Basal Body Temperature: The BBT method requires you to monitor your temperature every morning. Thermal changes are due to the increase of progesterone in your system. At the onset of ovulation, your body temperature will rise between 0.4°F and 0.8°F.

Ovulation kits are tools for predicting ovulation, a woman's most fertile time during her menstrual cycle. Unlike body temperature charting (see FAQ on Fertility Awareness Method), ovulation tests anticipate ovulation before it takes place.

Just preceding ovulation, women experience a surge in Luteinizing Hormone (LH). LH is the hormone that facilitates ovulation by causing the egg to separate from the ovarian surface. Ovulation tests work by detecting LH, allowing a woman to accurately predict when they will ovulate. A positive result on an ovulation test means that the woman will most likely become fertile over the next three days, with peak fertility at 36 hours following the onset of the LH surge.

Yes, if there are no reproductive problems with the couple, intercourse happens within the suggested time frame, and the couple just needs the knowledge of ovulation timing, these tools are extremely effective at improving the odds of conception.

The ovulation predictor kit is designed to detect luteinizing hormone, or LH. In elevated quantities, LH causes ovulation. During the menstrual cycle only a small amount of LH is made, but in the middle of the cycle LH briefly and dramatically increases. This increase is called the "LH surge" and precedes ovulation. Conception is most likely to occur within thirty-six hours following the LH surge.

If you have at least one fallopian tube which is not blocked, and if your husband's sperm concentration is at least 5 million per ml, and if you have not already tried this treatment method, three cycles of ovulation induction may be tried. You will take one tablet (50mg) of clomiphene citrate (Duinum) from day 3 to day 7 of your menstrual cycle.

Unlike pregnancy tests, morning is not the ideal time to take ovulation tests, as LH is synthesized in your body early in the morning. It will not show up in urine until later in the day. The ideal time to test is in the afternoon, around 2pm, though testing may safely take please from 10am to early evening.

To determine when to start testing, you must first determine the length of your menstrual cycle. The length of the menstrual cycle is the number of days from the first day of menstrual bleeding to the day before bleeding begins on the next period. Determine the usual length of the menstrual cycle over the last few months. Then, refer to the Cycle Chart to determine on which day of the menstrual cycle to begin testing.

Generally, ovulation will take place 12-48 hours after the LH surge is first detected (using afternoon urine samples), though 36 hours is considered to be the average length of time following the LH surge.