How to calculate the ovulation period of women most accurately

A healthy baby is formed by the combination of sperm and egg. If prospective parents want to get pregnant quickly, they must first know when women ovulate. So how can we calculate the ovulation period of women most accurately? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each ovulation period calculation method? The following editor will introduce you in detail.

How to calculate ovulation period

Menstrual period date calculation method

Advantages: 1. Convenient calculation; 2. High accuracy; 3. Strong practicality

Disadvantages: 1. Need to know the length of menstrual cycle; 2. Requires regular menstruation

Applicable people: Women with regular menstrual cycles

Measuring basal body temperature

Advantages: 1. Easy to operate; 2. No need to know the menstrual cycle; 3. Strong practicality

Disadvantages: 1. It takes many days to measure, and needs to be done every day; 2. It can only detect ovulation, but cannot predict when ovulation will occur.

Applicable people: Women with regular lifestyle

Ovulation test strips self-test method

Advantages: 1. Very easy to operate; 2. Can predict upcoming ovulation; 3. Strong practicality

Disadvantages: 1. Continuous testing is required for about a week; 2. The test results are not simply "yes" or "no"

Applicable people: Most women

Cervical mucus observation method

Advantages: 1. Easy to operate; 2. No need to prepare anything else; 3. Strong practicality

Disadvantages: 1. Generally, it takes 3 months of observation to master its own rules; 2. It may cause hygiene problems

Applicable people: Most women

B-ultrasound monitoring method

Advantages: 1. Highest accuracy; 2. Can monitor the details of ovulation

Disadvantages: 1. Need to go to hospital, operation is troublesome; 2. Cannot get the result in one time, need to test several times

Applicable people: some sick women

Menstrual period date calculation method

Women's physiology is affected by hormones and presents cyclical changes. Each monthly physiological cycle can be divided into menstrual period, ovulation period and safe period. Under normal circumstances, women with normal cycles will push 14 days forward from the first day of menstruation to be the ovulation day. The 5 days before ovulation, the 4 days after, plus the day of ovulation, a total of 10 days, is the ovulation period. The days other than the ovulation period and menstrual period are called the safe period. The safe period is divided into the safe period of ovulation and the safe period after ovulation. The period from the day when menstruation is over to the day before ovulation is the safe period before ovulation, and from the first day after ovulation to the day before the next menstrual period is the safe period after ovulation. The safe period after ovulation is safer than the safe period before ovulation.

Women's physiology changes periodically due to the influence of hormones

For example, if the menstrual cycle is 30 days, the first day of this menstrual period is September 15, then the next menstrual period will be October 15 (September 15 plus 30 days), and then subtract 14 days from October 15, then October 1 is the ovulation day. The ovulation day and the 5 days before and 4 days after ovulation, that is, the ten days from September 26 to October 5, are the ovulation period.

However, we need to remind everyone that to use this method to calculate the ovulation period, you must first know the length of your menstrual cycle. That is to say, you must have a very normal or regular menstrual cycle to calculate the ovulation period, so it is only applicable to women with normal menstrual cycles.

Measuring basal body temperature

Some women's menstrual cycles are not very regular. Their periods are sometimes early and sometimes late. It is often difficult for these women to use their menstrual cycles to calculate their ovulation period. So for women with irregular menstrual cycles, how should they find their ovulation period?

For women with irregular menstrual cycles, using the basal body temperature curve to find their ovulation day is a more practical method. When you wake up early in the morning, measure your body temperature immediately when you are not doing anything. This temperature is called "basal body temperature". The method of measuring ovulation with basal body temperature is to mark the basal body temperature measured every day on graph paper. Women with regular ovulation can find that the basal body temperature is often lower than 36.5 degrees Celsius about two weeks before ovulation, and the basal body temperature is often higher than 36.5 degrees Celsius about two weeks after ovulation. Under normal circumstances, the body temperature rises by 0.3-0.5℃ after ovulation. However, this method can only indicate that ovulation has occurred, but cannot predict when ovulation will occur. In addition, the measurement of basal body temperature requires repeated tests and connecting the points with lines to find the pattern.

Female basal body temperature change curve

It should be noted that the basal body temperature must be measured and recorded after 6 hours of adequate sleep and before waking up and doing any activities. Any special circumstances may affect the change of basal body temperature. If you have an irregular life, such as: night shifts, business trips, insomnia, mood changes, illness, etc., this method cannot be used to judge.

Ovulation test strips self-test method

For most women, using ovulation test strips to test ovulation is a relatively simple and feasible method. In fact, many women use this method to test ovulation. The principle of using ovulation test strips to test ovulation is that within 24 to 48 hours before female ovulation, the luteinizing hormone (LH) in the urine will reach a peak. The ovulation test strip predicts whether ovulation has occurred by detecting the peak level of luteinizing hormone (LH) in the urine. If a woman is about to ovulate, the result will be positive when she uses the ovulation test strip to test herself.

Unlike early pregnancy test strips, when using ovulation test strips to test ovulation, you cannot use morning urine, and you should try to test the urine sample at the same time every day. You should reduce water intake within 2 hours before collecting urine, because diluted urine samples will also hinder the detection of LH peak.

Women with regular menstrual cycles should measure their menstrual cycle for six consecutive days, starting from 14 days before the menstrual period (which is the expected ovulation day), the first three days and the last three days. Women with irregular or abnormal menstruation should generally start testing on the third day after the menstrual period ends. If the two bars on the test paper are the same depth or the second bar is darker than the first, it means that you will ovulate within 24 to 48 hours.

The color of the ovulation test strip changes as the menstrual cycle changes.

It should be noted that although the test strips are easy to use, the accuracy rate is only about 75% due to the production process and the self-tester. The test results are not simply "yes" or "no". Some people may have a strong positive result for several consecutive days, which may mean ovulation (usually after the last day of strong positive result), or no ovulation at all.

Cervical mucus observation method

As the female body undergoes periodic changes, the cervical mucus will also undergo certain changes. After the menstrual period is over, the cervical mucus is drier, thicker, and less, which is called the "dry period", indicating that the body is in a non-ovulation period. As the endocrine system changes, the cervical mucus increases and becomes thinner, and the vaginal secretions increase, which is called the "wet period". As the ovulation period approaches, the cervical mucus becomes clear, smooth, and elastic, like egg white, with a high degree of stringiness and is not easy to break. The last day of this mucus is between ±48 hours, which is the ovulation day. Therefore, when the vagina feels moist, it is the ovulation period.

Cervical mucus needs to be observed several times a day. Generally, you can use your fingers to take mucus from the vaginal opening after getting up, before taking a bath or before urinating, and observe the appearance and viscosity of the mucus on your fingers, as well as the stringing reaction with your fingers. After observing for more than three menstrual cycles, you can understand your own cervical mucus secretion pattern and ovulation period. Once you find that the vulva feels moist and the sticky mucus tends to become thinner, and the mucus can be stretched to several centimeters, it should be considered that you are in the ovulation period. The safe period after ovulation can only be entered on the fourth day after the peak day of stringy mucus.

Tips: Many women do not know the relationship between leucorrhea and cervical mucus. They think that leucorrhea is the common name for cervical mucus and cervical mucus is the scientific name for leucorrhea. Is this true?

In fact, leucorrhea is vaginal discharge, which is a mixture of vaginal mucosal exudate, cervical glands and endometrial gland secretions, containing vaginal epithelial exfoliated cells, white blood cells and some non-pathogenic bacteria. Cervical mucus is one of the main components of leucorrhea, which appears around the cervical opening and is a hydrogel containing glycoprotein, plasma protein, sodium chloride and water. Therefore, cervical mucus and leucorrhea are subordinate, and cervical mucus is a component of leucorrhea.

B-ultrasound monitoring method

Among all the methods of measuring ovulation, ultrasound monitoring is currently the most accurate method. Ultrasound monitoring of ovulation can be done by vaginal ultrasound or abdominal ultrasound. Vaginal ultrasound is more accurate among the two.

Although B-ultrasound monitoring can measure ovulation very accurately, in most cases, normal women do not need to do this examination, because B-ultrasound monitoring of eggs is not something that can be done once, but several times a month. Each time, you have to go to the hospital to register and queue up. Not only is the operation troublesome, it may also affect your mood and the quality of your eggs.

From a medical point of view, the following three types of women need to use B-ultrasound to monitor ovulation.

1. Women with endocrine disorders

The most common endocrine disorder among women is polycystic ovary syndrome. If patients with polycystic ovary syndrome want to get pregnant, it is best to use B-ultrasound to monitor ovulation.

2. Women with immune infertility,

For example, for women with high anti-sperm antibodies, after drug treatment, it is best to use B-ultrasound to monitor ovulation and increase the chance of pregnancy during the days of ovulation.

3. Women with menstrual disorders and irregular menstruation

If ovulation is irregular, you can also use B-ultrasound monitoring to understand the development of the egg. Generally, B-ultrasound is used to monitor the development of follicles from the 8th to 10th day after the start of menstruation.

B-ultrasound can monitor the process of follicles growing from small to large

Through B-ultrasound examination, experienced doctors can see the process of follicles being discharged from small to large. Vaginal B-ultrasound monitoring can not only detect whether there are dominant follicles in both ovaries, but also measure the size of the dominant follicles, the thickness of the endometrium, etc. For example, some women with ectopic pregnancy have had their left fallopian tube removed. In this case, if her left ovary ovulates, she cannot get pregnant. Therefore, B-ultrasound can be used to observe which ovary ovulates. When using B-ultrasound to monitor follicles, it is best to find a fixed doctor to monitor. When the doctor observes a dominant follicle from a certain angle, it will be better to monitor the development of the follicle from the same angle next time. Different medical institutions and different doctors may have different judgments.