Signs Ovulation Is Over: Post ovulation Symptoms for Every Woman
I got an email recently from one of my readers asking what are the signs ovulation is over. She was worried because she has had two abortions in the past six months.
She is 23 years old, single, and has a history of regular unprotected sexual intercourse. She is not on any known contraceptive, and she rarely uses a condom.
Here’s the truth. There is no better way to prevent pregnancy besides using one of the reliable contraceptive methods. Nevertheless, if you can understand the timing of ovulation, it is quite easy to know when your ovulation period is over.
In other words, if you can determine your post ovulation symptoms there is little or no chance of getting pregnant after unprotected sexual intercourse.
Then again, for women trying to conceive, the post-ovulation period is very important. If you can understand the common post-ovulation signs, you can quickly tell if you are pregnant even before your next period arrives.
This post explains in details signs of the ovulation period and signs that show you are past your ovulation.
What is ovulation?
To understand your post ovulation symptoms perfectly, it is important you know that ovulation is all about.
Ovulation can be defined as the release of an egg from a burst matured follicle into the fallopian tube. This happens naturally in most women. In fact, if you get a regular menstrual period, it is likely that you ovulate.
Now, it is quite difficult to tell when you will ovulate because no two women are the same. This means, while it is easy to predict ovulation for some women, it might be difficult to tell when others will ovulate.
One easy way to understand your ovulation period is to chart your menstrual cycle for a while. That is, over the span of three to six months, you chart the length of your menstrual cycle.
Your menstrual cycle is the number of days between 2 of your periods. More specifically, if you have a 28 days menstrual cycle, it means there are 28 days in between.
For instance, if your period started on the first of April and then showed up on the 29th of April, you have a 28 days menstrual cycle.
But menstrual cycle length can vary from time to time. That is, some months you may have a slightly shorter or longer cycle. This happens because of the alteration of hormones in your body affected by external factors like stress, physical injury, sleepless night, and so many other factors.
When is your ovulation period?
If you’ve successfully identified the length of your menstrual cycle, you can also tell easily when you will ovulate.
Your ovulation period is not the day you ovulate but days in your menstrual cycle that you have a chance to get pregnant.
This period is also described as the fertile window and its about 5 or 6 days within your menstrual cycle.
But here’s the thing. It is quite difficult to tell when your next ovulation will take place.
However, if you’ve identified your menstrual cycle length and your menstrual cycle is regular, you can predict when your next ovulation will occur.
In a regular 28 days menstrual cycle, you are likely to ovulate somewhere around day 14. But that’s not your ovulation period. Your ovulation period is day 9 to day 15.
Your ovulation period or fertile window is 5 days before ovulation and the day ovulation occurs. This timeline results from the lifespan of a male’s sperm and a female’s ovum.
Sperm can live about 5 days in the female genital tracts. However, the females egg released during ovulation only last about 24 hours.
This means you can get pregnant if you have intercourse during this period.
Signs of ovulation period
If the above calculations is really a concern, there are other ways to tell if you are in your ovulation period. Here are some signs to watch out for.
Your vaginal discharge
You can tell if you are about to ovulate or ovulating just by examining your vaginal discharge for its texture, consistency, and color.
It is quite an easy technique to know your fertile period. What you need is an experienced eye to identify what ovulation discharge looks like.
First of all, wash your hand with soap and water then get a sample of your discharge with your fingers.
Ovulation discharge is non-smelly, whitish, egg-like, somewhat watery during ovulating, and stretchy.
If you get this type of discharge, you should avoid unprotected sexual intercourse. If you do not, you will get pregnant.
Having said that, the color of ovulation discharge may vary. If you experience a small gush of blood during ovulation it is possible for your discharge to look reddish, pinkish or yellowish.
This is not usually common. But if your discharge looks brownish or pinkish and slimy, that’s a sign that you are ovulating or already ovulated.
Ovulation timing
Another way to tell you are in your ovulation period is the timing. If you have a regular menstrual cycle, ovulation period usually begins about 3 to 4 days after the end of your period.
Most ladies have normal menstruation that spans about 3 -7 days. So, after the end of your period count about 4 days more and avoid any form of sexual intercourse for the next 6 days.
For instance, if I were to be a lady (which I’m not) and my period started on the Ist of April and ended on the 5th of April, I will count another 4 days, that’s 9th of April, right?
Now, from this time, you have to abstain from sexual intercourse or at least use a condom.
This is not a reliable way to determine you fertile period.
There are other signs that show you are already in your fertile period. This guide explains all in details.
Signs ovulation is over
There are numerous signs you can detect on your own that shows you are past your ovulation period. Here are a few;
Your vaginal discharge
Your discharge is an easy way to tell that you are already past your ovulation period. As previously mentioned, you only need to get a sample and examine what it looks like.
During your ovulation period, you should have a watery discharge that looks thread like and feels slippery. This type of discharge happens because of a spike of estrogen in the first part of the menstrual cycle.
Just after ovulation, there is a spike in the progesterone hormone. This hormone changes your discharge to a creamy, sticky, or thick discharge. In some case, you will experience vaginal dryness during this period.
I’ve written a comprehensive guide on what vaginal discharge looks like after ovulation. You can check it out.
Breast Pain
It is not abnormal to feel pain in both breasts during your menstrual cycle. Menstrual breast pain is cyclical and can occur during your ovulation and post-ovulation periods.
Having said that, most women complain of pain in their breast after the end of ovulation. This also happens because of the effect of progesterone.
Post ovulation breast pain usually happens at the peak of the progesterone hormone. This spike happens between 7 to 10 days before your next period.
So, if you get this type of pain with an increase in breast size, ovulation is over, and you are now preparing for your next period.
Your cervix position
The position of your cervix after ovulation is another sign ovulation is over. During ovulation, you will notice your cervix disappears or, you may find that its located high up in your vaginal canal and soft.
After ovulation ends, the cervix feels a little more hard and low in the vagina.
Basal body temperature
Another easy way to know if you’ve ovulated is by checking regularly your basal body temperature. Your basal temperature simply means the temperature of your body before any activity.
In other words, your body temperature just after sleep before embarking on your daily activities or getting up from the bed.
To check your basal temperature, you will need a very sensitive thermometer. Thermometers are instruments used to check body temperature.
Now, to simply identify your post ovulation period, you must check every morning for at least three months.
Normal basal body temperature may vary among individuals but usually ranges from 97.8-98.2 degrees Fahrenheit.
Just after ovulation occurs, there is a spike in the level of the basal body temperature about 0.5 to 1 degree Fahrenheit.
If you see this spike in your BBT chart in the middle of your menstrual cycle, it means you’ve ovulated. After this point, it is unlikely you will get pregnant after unprotected intercourse.
Are you still confused? Let me know below.
