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Ovulation calculator
Some women have no idea when they’ve conceived, while others can tell the exact moment it happened. Either way, conception is a magical moment for a couple, especially a woman, whose body is beginning to grow and change in incredible ways.
If you’re curious about conception, here’s what you need to know in a nutshell. When you ovulate, one of your eggs is carried into the nearest fallopian tube. If a man’s sperm makes its way to the same spot within the next 12 to 24 hours, it may fertilize that egg. You’re not actually pregnant until the fertilized egg, called a zygote, travels the rest of the way down the fallopian tube and attaches itself to the wall of your uterus.
The catch: The average egg lives only 24 hours and the average sperm lives for 24 to 48 hours, so they have to get acquainted during the first few hours after sex if you’re going to conceive. The moral of the story: If your goal is to get pregnant, you should aim to make love at least every other day during the middle of your cycle.
Use the following tool as a quick way to get an idea of when you ovulate. Please note that ovulation is tricky to pinpoint; see our timing and fertility article for more information.
Using Ovulation Tests to Predict Fertility
Ovulation tests - or ovulation predictor kits (OPKs) - are excellent tools for predicting ovulation, a woman’s most fertile time during her menstrual cycle. Unlike BBT charting, ovulation tests anticipate ovulation - not just confirm that ovulation has taken place.
Ovulation tests work by detecting luteinizing hormone (LH). Just preceding ovulation, women experience an "LH surge" - a sudden, dramatic, and brief rise in the level of luteinizing hormone. Ovulation tests detect this LH surge, allowing you to accurately predict when you 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 LH surge.
How do OPKs Work?
Luteinizing Hormone, the LH Surge, and Ovulation
Ovulation Tests At the beginning of the menstrual cycle, the body begins to produce follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). FSH facilitates the formation of a follicle on one of the ovaries. The follicle contains and nurtures the egg. When a follicle has adequately matured, a surge of Luteinizing Hormone (LH) causes the follicle to burst and release the egg into the fallopian tube - the moment of ovulation.
Throughout the menstrual cycle, a small amount of LH is produced - but during the middle of the cycle LH briefly and dramatically increases. Elevated quantities of luteinizing hormone facilitate ovulation - and OPKs detect this LH surge through anti-LH antibodies contained in the sensitive testing membrane of the test.
The LH surge is, alas, very brief - and in order to detect the LH surge, a woman needs to test at the right time of the month - and the right time of day. As LH is produced by the body in the morning, mid-afternoon is considered the ideal time to test.
Once the LH surge has been detected, successful fertilization is most likely to take place one to three days following the LH surge - with peak fertility at 36 hours post-LH surge. Since this ovulation "window" only opens once per month (and the unfertilized egg has a short 24-hour life-span) predicting ovulation accurately is very helpful when trying to become pregnant. Below, you will find information on getting the most out of your ovulation tests (and visit our Ovulation Test FAQ for more testing tips).
About the author:
http://www.ovulation-calculator.com
http://www.pennhealth.com
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