What Are My Symptoms And Signs Of Ovulation?
Last updated on July 28th, 2018 at 04:56 am
Are you trying to get pregnant or trying to prevent pregnancy? Then learning your signs of ovulation is the first step.
Women during their childbearing years will release an egg every month or menstrual cycle. If the egg is fertilized by the sperm, then you can get pregnant. If the egg released is not fertilized, then the endometrium is shred out as your period.
Why should i learn my ovulation symptoms?
- It helps you understand yourself better
- It helps you know your fertile window
- If you don’t want to get pregnant, then avoiding intercourse during your ovulation symptoms will prevent pregnancy
In this article, we will discuss ovulation meaning, when it occurs and the signs and symptoms you should know.
What is the meaning of ovulation?
Before understanding ovulation, you should know what menstrual cycle and period means. Your menstrual cycle is the difference in days between 2 of your menstruation. The first day of your last menstrual period is referred to as your LMP.
Therefore, if your last period started on the 24th of march, then your LMP is the first day which is 24th. Between 2 successive LMP is your menstrual cycle. This implies that, if you saw your period next on the 23rd of April, then you have a 30 day menstrual cycle.
Ovulation is the process during your cycle when ovarian follicles releases egg into the fallopian tube. It occurs 14 days prior to your next period.
Your menstrual cycle is made up of 2 parts. The part before ovulation which is the follicular phase and the part after Ovulation which is the luteal phase. Also, a normal menstrual cycle occurs every 21 days to 35 days. The luteal phase, which is after ovulation, is fairly constant in most women. It spans every 14 to 16 days before your next menstruation.
What happens in the follicular phase?
Your menstrual cycle starts from with the first day of your period. During this time estrogen level is low. This will cause the pituitary gland to increase FSH (Follicle stimulating hormone). FSH will stimulate the ovary to produce estrogen.
Ovarian follicles contain eggs that is released during ovulation. At birth, it is estimated that there are 2 million follicles in the ovaries. However, In your lifetime, only 500 egg on average may be released.
As estrogen level increases, it stimulates about 10 follicles to grow. Estrogen reaches its peak about 36 hours before ovulation resulting in surge in LH (Luteinizing hormone). LH surge reaches it peak at 12 to 24 hours before ovulation.
If you can detect your LH surge, you can tell when you will ovulate. This is because LH begins to surge about 36 hours before ovulation while it peaks 12 hours before you ovulate. Most OTC ovulation predictor kits use this hormone to predict your next ovulation.
What happens in the luteal phase?
During the follicular phase, many follicles will be stimulated. However, just one follicle will form the the dominant follicle which releases the egg. This release of egg is called ovulation.
After ovulation, if the egg is fertilized, it is transported back to the uterus for implantation. Implantation occurs about 10 days after ovulation. Also, the ruptured dominant follicle will form the corpus luteum which continues to produce estrogen and progesterone. This is important because these hormones prepare your womb for implantation.
If implantation takes place, then your corpus luteum will continue to produce hormones. However, if implantation does not occur, the corpus luteum breaks down about 4 to 5 days before your next period.
9 Symptoms of ovulation you probably don’t know
These are some of the symptoms and signs of ovulation you should know.
Change in your vaginal discharge
During your period and due to hormones changes that occur in your cycle, the texture or thickness of your discharge can vary. This will help detect when ovulation may occur.
After your period ends, women do experience dry vagina or thick white discharge that comes out. As estrogen level rise during the follicular phase, your discharge becomes creamy white discharge. Just around when you ovulate, it becomes clear watery discharge that can stretch between your fingers.
After ovulation, due to high level of progesterone, your discharge becomes copious and creamy again. About 4 to 5 days before your next period, you will notice your discharge is thick or your vagina is dry.
If you can detect the change in your cervical mucus, then you can detect your fertile period.
These are some vaginal discharge you can have before ovulation and what it means.
White stick discharge —Occurs before ovulation and it is difficult to get pregnant because sperm cannot swim in it. It is not a fertile mucus.
White creamy discharge (Milky white discharge) —This occurs in women before and after ovulation. It is also difficult for sperm to swim in this type of mucus. It is a less fertile than your ovulation mucus.
White clear discharge (Egg like discharge) —This type of discharge is clear and stretchy. It is your fertile mucus. Intercourse during this discharge will likely make you pregnant.
Learn about your fertile cervical mucus and how to detect it
Your basal body temperature
Basal body temperature can also indicate when ovulation occurs. During the follicular phase (before ovulation), your body temperature is normal. However, after ovulation and due to progesterone effect, your body temperature rises.
If you monitor your basal body temperature regularly, you can notice a slight dip before ovulation. Having regular intercourse during this time may get you pregnant.
How to check basal body temperature in women
- Buy a basal thermometer that detects slight change in your body temperature
- Get at least 6 hours of night rest
- While you’re still on your bed, check your body temperature in the morning
- Chart your finding
- Record every morning before any activity
What your basal body temperature may imply?
- Normal body temperature after your period?- You’re not ovulating
- Dip in body temperature at the middle of your cycle?- Likely because of ovulation will soon occur.
- Increased body temperature just after the slight dip?- It normal in women and means you’ve ovulated
- Decreased body temperature before next period? Your period is about to start in few days
- Increased body temperature before your next period? You may be pregnant
Ovulation pain or cramps
During ovulation, some women experiences ovulation cramps that resolves in few hours. It is mild that should not affect your daily activities. However, if it becomes severe, then it may be a sign of endometriosis, ovarian cyst, pelvic inflammatory disease or adhesion after surgery.
If you notice severe pains after period, then you should inform your doctor.
Your cervix positions in your vagina
Understanding and examining your cervix before and after ovulation will let you know the difference.
Before ovulation and just after your period, you are infertile and your cervix is low in your vagina. At ovulation, your cervix becomes soft and high in your vagina. After ovulation, it becomes hard and low again.
Breast pain and swelling
During ovulation, due to effects of estrogen, you may feel slight pain in your breast. This is because estrogen causes proliferation of your breast ducts. After ovulation, progesterone will cause your breast lobules and alveoli to grow resulting in pain and swelling of your breast.
Breast pain and swelling due to ovulation usually occurs 10 days before your next period.
Increased desire for intercourse
Just before ovulation, it is natural for you to want intercourse. With your watery cervical mucus, you can easily get pregnant
Other signs of ovulation are
- Abdominal bloating
- Brown mucus discharge
- Increase sense of smell and taste.
FAQs about symptoms and signs of ovulation
These are some commonly asked questions about ovulation you should know. If you have more questions, then you can comment below.
What are my ovulation symptoms when trying to conceive?
If you’ve trying to get pregnant, then these are some of your ovulation symptoms you should know
- Egg white clear vaginal discharge that is stretchy and watery
- Abdominal bloating
- Brown mucus discharge in the middle of your menstrual cycle
- Ovulation cramps or pain in the middle of your cycle
- High soft cervix with watery like discharge
- Breast pain and swelling
What are signs of ovulation discharge or ovulation mucus?
During ovulation, your discharge is egg white discharge that becomes watery and clear.
Learn about the stages of ovulation discharge here
What are the signs of ovulation and pregnancy?
Most symptoms and signs of ovulation resolves before your next period. However, these are some ways you can detect if you’re pregnant.
- Your basal body temperature should fall just before your next period. If it is still high then you may be pregnant.
- If your experience pink discharge or dark brown discharge before period, then you could be pregnant. This is due to implantation bleeding that occurs in some women after 10 days of ovulation.
- You notice increased milky white discharge or creamy discharge just before your period. This
maybe a sign of pregnancy.
Still worried you may be pregnant? Then run a home pregnancy test.
When you ovulate do you have discharge?
Yes. During ovulation your vaginal discharge becomes clear and watery. If you stick your fingers into your vagina, your discharge during ovulation can stretch between your fingers without breaking. Intercourse during this time can make you conceive.
How long does ovulation last in girls?
Ovulation is the process of releasing your egg from the ovary. Normally, your eggs can survive for 12 to 24 hours. However, you can still get pregnant if you have intercourse 5 days before ovulation. This is because the lifespan of sperm is about 5 days.
What is online ovulation calculator
If you want to check your ovulation period or fertile window, you can use an online fertility calculator or ovulation calculator to check your fertile days. Preventing intercourse during this time will prevent pregnancy while intercourse during your fertile days will get you pregnant.
Now its your turn. Do you feel any watery stretchy discharge during your cycle? Are you still confused about your ovulation days? Let us know.
