One way you can identify your fertile window is by using our ovulation calculator and tracking your cycles. If your cycle is fairly regular, simply input the date your last period started and the length of your cycle into the calculator and it will tell you when your most fertile days are most likely to be. But if your cycles are sometimes irregular, don’t despair, there are other ways you find out if you’re ovulating, here are a few to consider:
1. Try an ovulation kit
Ovulation kits can be purchased at a pharmacy or online. These are used to detect a surge in the hormone called Luteinising Hormone (LH). The LH surge occurs around 24-36 hours prior to ovulation and is what triggers ovulation. So, when you chart your results, it will essentially be able to tell you if ovulation has happened in that cycle. Taking it is similar to how you would take a pregnancy test, you pee on the test strip portion of the ovulation kit at the same time every day after you've finished your period to check your LH levels.
2. Track your Basal body temperature
Your menstrual cycle can affect your body temperature in a biphasic manner, that means it changes with the two phases of your menstrual cycle - the follicular phase and the luteal phase. After ovulation, your body temperature can rise by up to a degree (this is because of progesterone release). It’s difficult to detect this in a standalone measurement so you have to measure your temperature every morning to detect a rise.
Read next: How to measure your Basal body temperature
3. Monitor your cervical mucus
Throughout your menstrual cycle, the changes in your hormone levels affect your cervical mucus. As your oestrogen levels rise, your body produces more cervical mucus and the consistency changes.
Around 1-2 days before you ovulate your cervical mucus becomes stretchy and a similar consistency to egg whites so that it is easier for the sperm to move towards the egg. Having sex on a day when your cervical mucus is like this, is associated with the high pregnancy rates in comparison to the dry mucus seen at the beginning and end of your cycle.
4. Ovulation pain
Some women experience pain around the time of ovulation or Mittelschmerz. Although this doesn’t happen to everyone or in every cycle, people usually report experiencing it as a one-sided, lower abdominal pain. It shouldn't be overly painful, so if it feels like more than mild discomfort, you should visit your GP.
5. Saliva ferning pattern
The rises in oestrogen levels can affect the concentrations of electrolytes in your saliva. By changing the levels of sodium chloride and potassium in your saliva, the fern or pattern it makes on a slide changes. There are specific saliva ferning kits, similar to LH-based ovulation kits that help you spot the distinct ferning pattern associated with ovulation.
Before you start tracking your ferning patterns though, it's worth knowing that ferning shouldn’t be used on its own to detect ovulation as it can be affected by many things such as smoking, brushing your teeth or the foods you eat. A small study in 2020 showed that this actually had 53.7% sensitivity, although when used together with basal body temperature it could be a powerful indicator of ovulation.
6. Listen to your body
There are other signs of ovulation that are not specific to ovulation as well such as tender breasts, bloating, spotting and increased sexual desire. These all occur as a result of the fluctuations in your hormone levels that occur with your menstrual cycle. For example, in the days leading up to ovulation as oestrogen levels rise and trigger the eventual release of LH it's common to notice an increase in sexual desire - just another way your body is telling you it's time to start trying.
As you begin tracking your cycles you may spot more tell-tale signs that you're ovulating and begin to get a greater awareness of the subtle ways your body communicates with you.
What can affect ovulation?
Sometimes lifestyle factors, such as a particularly stressful month at work or changes to your weight or exercise routine can affect your cycle regularity by directly impacting ovulation. This means it is extremely important to track your cycles and look out for the signs of ovulation to be able to time your attempt at conception accurately.
If you notice any irregularities after three months or if your cycles occur more often than 21 days or less often than every 35 days, you may want to seek advice from your GP. Hertility recommend taking a hormone and fertility test - to help give you an insight into the inner workings of your cycle.