Baby Making

Ovulation is vital for getting pregnant. Without ovulation it would be impossible to conceive a child. Let me explain a little bit, how it occurs and how it influences your odds of conceiving a baby and getting pregnant.

Simply defined, ovulation is the time of the month when your body releases a mature egg for fertilization. Usually the largest and most mature egg is released into your pelvic cavity where it travels to the fallopian tubes. 

Your left or right ovary can release a mature egg. In some women this may vary from month to month, while in other women the same ovary tends to release an egg month after month.  Your doctor can determine when ovary released an egg, using an ultrasound. This means that he can determine when you are ready to get pregnant.

Ovulation is the central force behind pregnancy and conception. While ovulation seems a simple process, it is a complex process involving multiple stages.  Ovulation is affected by multiple factors including health, well-being, stress levels, hormone levels and more.  Even a minor illness can affect ovulation, delaying it or sometimes even preventing ovulation in a given month.  While most women ovulate regularly, you never know if something in the month may delay your ovulation or result in early ovulation.

Sperm cells generally live longer, allowing enough time for fertilization and resulting in pregnancy.  The egg once released however, has a much shorter life cycle than the average sperm.  Most of the time if not fertilized the egg will start disintegrating within 12- 24 hours after ovulation has occurred.  You will not get pregnant in such a case.

The following are the ways to detect ovulation

Cervical Mucous Changes - A change in cervical mucous may suggest that ovulation is approaching.  Cervical mucous monitoring is a common method of detecting ovulation.  As the cycle progresses the quality and consistency of cervical mucous changes, affecting fertility.  Generally rising levels of estrogen during the early half of your cycle result in more abundant cervical mucous.  Some women may find in fact that their cervical mucous stretches several inches between their fingers during their fertile periods.  Many women consider this cervical mucous the consistency of raw egg whites as a comparison.  Why is cervical mucous so important to the process of conception?  It helps nourish sperm, protect them, keep them alive longer and helps them move more easily toward the mature egg once it is released.

Body temperature changes - In many women, their temperature dips the day of ovulation, only to rise 2 degrees or more right after ovulation.  If you routinely chart your basal body temperature you will notice that if ovulating regularly, your temperature will rise after ovulation and stay high until your next period. 

This is because of rapidly rising levels of progesterone that occur after ovulation.  Your cervical mucous will also dry up; become creamy then sticky and less abundant after ovulation. Some women however have abundant cervical mucous throughout their cycle.

Pain or twinges in the abdomen - Many women report that during or around the time of ovulation they feel pain and discomfort in their lower abdomen.  This may be one-sided pain, suggesting the ovary is preparing to release an egg. The egg if fertilized will make you pregnant. 

Proper detection of the ovulation days has proved helpful to make you pregnant fast.