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.

Typically, ovulation takes place about 14 days after the beginning of a woman's menstrual cycle. There are different ways to calculate ovulation - and these methods are listed below. You can also maintain an ovulation calendar and calculate the time of ovulation within your cycle by subtracting the length of your luteal phase from the length of your cycle (see next question).

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

An OPK is a test that looks for luteinizing hormone (LH). Just prior to ovulation, women experience a short surge where the LH level rises to a higher level. The OPK will help you pinpoint this surge and help you predict when you will ovulate.

A woman ovulates about two weeks before the start of her period. But most cycles are at least slightly irregular, so be careful!

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.

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.

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The difference between the estimated cost of attendance and the expected family contribution is the amount of financial aid you will receive at Northwestern. The expected family contribution is the amount that parents and students are asked to contribute toward the cost of attendance. Actual expected family contributions and financial aid packages may vary based on individual family circumstances.