Are You Ovulating?
Record Your BBT
It is highly recommended that you keep a daily record of your basal body temperature or BBT (your temperature when you wake up in the morning) and the texture of your cervical mucus. You need to chart your cycle for a few months so you can recognize your pattern and have a better chance of predicting your most fertile days.
How to check your temperature
When you ovulate, your body starts to provide a fertile environment for conception. As a result, your body temperature will rise. On the first day of your period, start keeping track of your temperature with a basal body thermometer. This will show minute changes in your temperature. Take your basal body temperature at the same time every morning if you can. When you have done this, mark it down.
It’s helpful to chart your temperature for a few months so you can see whether there’s a pattern to your cycle. If you’re sick or fail to take your temperature immediately upon awakening, any pattern you find may be inaccurate. Thermometers that remember the last reading are helpful if you tend to go back to sleep after taking your temperature. Fertility software can come in handy when it comes to interpreting your temperature charts.
Check Your LH Surge
Another sign that you are ovulating is when your Luteneizing Hormone surges. Ovulation midstream tests are a popular and easy way to detect the LH surge in your urine.
How to check your cervical mucus
There are three ways to do this. Using toilet paper, or your fingers, wipe across the opening of your vagina. Wearing a panty liner can also help in the collection of mucus. Lastly, you can try inserting a finger into your vagina. Note the consistency of your discharge. You may also want to monitor its texture throughout the day. Read more on Monitoring your Cervical Mucus.
When the two coincide, it’s time!
If your mucus looks and feels like egg white at the same time your BBT has increased, you are ovulating. This is your time to start making babies.
Revision date: July 3, 2011
Last revised: by Tatiana Kuznetsova, D.M.D.