When Am I Ovulating? Fertility Signs in Ovulation Symptoms

“When am I ovulating?” is the question to ask if you want to get pregnant! There are fertility signs in your ovulation symptoms - they help you identify the best time of month to get pregnant. These ovulation symptoms can be an alternative to ovulation predictor kits (which can get expensive).

“Your menstrual cycle can basically be divided into three phases: the pre-ovulatory infertile phase, the fertile phase, and the post-ovulatory infertile phase,” write the doctors in Our Bodies, Ourselves: A New Edition for a New Era. “You can determine which of the phases you are in by observing the three primary fertility signs: waking temperature, cervical fluid, and cervical position.”

Watching for your natural symptoms of ovulation can help you get pregnant because they reveal the most fertile time of the month. Yes, you can get pregnant at other times during your cycle (we all know women who have!), but your chances of pregnancy are increased if you focus on certain times of the month. 

These three natural symptoms of ovulation can help you get pregnant…

When Am I Ovulating? Fertility Signs in Ovulation Symptoms

Waking body temperature. When you’re not ovulating, your waking body temperature is about 97.0 to 97.5 Fahrenheit. When you are ovulating, your body temperature should rise to about 97.6 to 98.6 degrees.

“The important concept to understand is the pattern of lows and highs that your temperatures exhibit,” write the doctors in Our Bodies, Our Selves. “The sustained rise in waking temperature almost always indicates that ovulation has occurred. It does not reveal impending ovulation, as do the other two fertility signs (cervical fluid and cervical position).”

Cervical Fluid. Before you ovulate, your body produces cervical fluid. This fluid encourages the sperm to reach the egg – it creates an alkaline environment. Cervical fluid nourishes the sperm and acts as a filtering mechanism.

As you approach ovulation and your estrogen rises, your cervical fluid will become more evident. It’s first a sticky, and then a creamy, discharge. The final phase of cervical fluid is a clear, slippery, stretchy substance (similar to raw egg white). This is a sign of fertility — and recognizing these signs quickly can help you get pregnant faster.

Cervical Position. This is the hardest-to-spot sign of ovulation; you might need to practice finding the cervical positions that indicate optimal fertility. You cervix prepares for pregnancy every month by becoming soft and “mushy”, rising a little higher, and opening up. Increasing estrogen levels cause the cervix to change angle as well, and to emit fertile cervical fluid.

To determine if your cervical position is indicating ovulation, you need to become familiar with your body. Before you know it, you’ll be able to physically feel when your body is fertile and ready for pregnancy!

These ovulation symptoms will help you recognize signs of fertility, but they do take practice!

For easier, less messy, and perhaps more effective ways to predict ovulation, read Ovulation Predictor Kits — The Best Way to Tell When You’re Ovulating.

Category: Female Infertility Tips, Fertility Charting & Tests, Health & Wellness, Male & Female Infertility