Tracking Ovulation [Part 1] #47
The Ultimate Guide to tracking Ovulation
Happy Sunday!
How are you doing? We have officially made our tree 🎄. Please see below. I feel like this is something I need to share with you all ✌🏼.
Anyway, on a more serious note, I wanted to share The Ultimate Guide to Tracking Ovulation with you. I know it’s a bit of a black-box topic as sometimes we don’t know if we ovulate. Trying to measure it is probably a good start to learning if you are ovulating or not. Measuring when we ovulate is also extremely relevant if you are trying to get pregnant or trying to use natural contraception to avoid it
What is our ovulation?
I have covered this topic at length in other articles, so I recommend reading those if you want to catch up on how it works and what happens to women with PCOS.
For anyone new to the newsletter, women with PCOS don’t usually ovulate, hence why we have irregular periods:
How can we measure it?
In this newsletter:
Method 1: Temperature Changes
Method 2: Vaginal Discharge and Cervical Mucus
Method 3: Cervical Positioning
In next Sunday’s Newsletter:
Method 4: Ovulation Predictor Kits (OPKs)
Method 5: Mood and Cognitive Changes during Ovulation
Method 6: Apps
Let’s jump into it:
Method 1: Temperature Changes
Minor changes to our body temperature happen during the menstrual cycle. When it’s almost time to ovulate, a slight increase in our overall body temperature can be seen. This seems to occur due to the release of progesterone after ovulation.
Before you’re ovulating, a woman's average resting temperature is between 36.1°C- 36.4°C. After ovulation, there’s a slight increase to between 36.4°C - 37°C.
How do you track temperature?
Take your daily temperature upon wakening (before you do anything else, including going to the toilet or drinking water)
You can use a regular thermometer or something more fancy like an Oura ring
If you use a regular thermometer, orally seems to be the preferred method
Try to take it more or less at the same time, within one hour or so, for accuracy
Keep track of the temperature for at least 5-6 cycles till you start seeing patterns. In time, you should see an evident change in your temperature (see below). You can keep track of the value in some of the popular period-tracking apps
If you record some odd random temperature values, take note if you are feeling unwell, you had a lot of alcohol the day before or experienced a stressful moment.
If you want to geek out on how to do this, I recommend Taking Charge of your Fertility (a great book).
However, interpreting temperature changes can always be tricky. Physical activity, stress, illness, and environmental conditions can influence body temperature, potentially leading to misinterpretation. Whilst this has been a pretty reliable way to detect ovulation, it shouldn’t be the only thing you use to determine ovulation.
Method 2: Vaginal Discharge and Cervical Mucus
I think this one is quite an easy one to pay attention to.
Throughout the menstrual cycle, vaginal discharge changes, making it a key indicator of fertility and ovulation. Hormonal fluctuations primarily influence these changes.
Around ovulation, the increase in Estrogen levels leads to more abundant, clearer, and more elastic mucus. It becomes stretchy and slippery, resembling raw egg whites. This consistency has its role because it helps sperm move easier throughout their journey to the cervix and survive.
I have found this to be somehow gross, to begin with, but the more attention I paid, the easier it was to spot these changes in my underwear. Scientists suggest monitoring the colour, consistency, and volume of discharge.
You can also keep track of these in the most popular period tracking apps.
Method 3: Cervical Positioning
I must admit, I am not sure about this one. However, I am here to give you the science sprinkled with my experience.
Your cervix tends to rise, soften and open during ovulation. It goes from feeling like the tip of your nose (when not fertile) to feeling soft like your lips as you approach ovulation. It goes through these changes, so it allows sperm to travel its way through our uterus to our eggs (so clever).
You can feel your cervix by reaching your finger inside your vagina. Use the index or middle finger and slowly slide your finger in as far as you can reach, in sort of an upward motion, till you find it. Record it somewhere and start looking for patterns.
—
All of the above requires a level of effort from our side. However, I think that our health deserves investment. Knowing our bodies is one of the most important things we can do to protect our future health.
I hope you have enjoyed this newsletter, and we will discuss more about identifying your ovulation in our next one.
See you next Sunday,
Francesca
1 Sources
Bellefonds, C.E. (2023) Ovulation symptoms: 10 signs of ovulation to know, what to Expect. Available at: https://www.whattoexpect.com/getting-pregnant/fertility/five-ways-to-tell-you-are-ovulating.aspx.
Steward, K., & Raja, A. (2023). Physiology, Ovulation And Basal Body Temperature. In StatPearls [Internet]. Retrieved from NCBI Bookshelf
Zapata, K. (2023) How to recognize ovulation signs when trying to conceive, Parents. Available at: https://www.parents.com/getting-pregnant/ovulation/signs/signs-of-ovulation/
Steward, K., & Raja, A. (2019). Physiology, ovulation and basal body temperature. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK546686/
Rachel Gurevich, R. (2022) What it means if you get egg white vaginal discharge, Verywell Family. Available at: https://www.verywellfamily.com/what-is-egg-white-cervical-mucus-ewcm-1960232.
Nazario, B. (2021) Charting your Fertility Cycle & Monitoring your fertility, WebMD. Available at: https://www.webmd.com/infertility-and-reproduction/fertility-tests-for-women
Chertoff, J. (2022) Cervical mucus: Stages, during ovulation, tracking, and more, Healthline. Available at: https://www.healthline.com/health/womens-health/cervical-mucus
Weschler, T. (2022) Taking charge of your fertility: The definitive guide to natural birth control, pregnancy achievement and reproductive health. London, England: Ebury Digital.