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Determining When You Ovulate
Most women ovulate one egg every month, or about every 28 days.
Usually only one egg is released during ovulation, but occasionally more than one egg will be released naturally. This can be an inherited trait, which can lead to dizygotic or fraternal twins. There are also medications given to help stimulate ovulation that can cause you to ovulate more than one egg at a time.
In the case of a typical 28 day cycle, most women ovulate on day 14 of their cycle.
For women who do not have 28 day cycles, predicting ovulation is a matter of counting backwards from the average number of days of your cycle. So if you have a 33-day cycle, you probably ovulate near day 19.
A more accurate way to predict ovulation is to use Basal Body Temperature charting, which uses your body temperature to predict ovulation. You can also use body signals in combination with Basal Body Temperature, a method known as the symptom-thermal method. Ovulation prediction kits are also available to help you determine ovulation.
In regard to fertilization, once you ovulate, the egg is only viable for 24 hours. However, sperm can live in a woman's reproductive tract for 72-plus hours. This means the window of opportunity for getting pregnant is expanded. So, for the best chance at pregnancy, sexual intercourse should take place just before ovulation or at the time of .
Not being able to predict when you ovulate will make it difficult to get pregnant. And, ovulation disorders can also prevent you from getting pregnant. . If you're trying to get pregnant, fertility specialists often prefer that you have several months of the sympto-thermal charting before the your initial visit because charting can help you get pregnant more quickly as well as help you identify any problems with your ovulation.
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