17 Ovulation Facts You Should Know

 Trying to conceive?  It’s worth knowing about your cycle and when your ovulating, so you can spot the signs and get your timing right.  Here are some tips to help you on your journey:

 

1.  The average woman’s’ cycle is 28 days, but it could be anything from 22 to 35 days long.  Ovulation normally happens about two weeks before your next period, so if your cycle is 28 days, you will ovulate around day 14, but each woman’s cycle is different and ovulation can occur anything between Day 9 - 25! 

 

2.  Your egg lives for up to 24 hours after leaving your ovary, so if you are having sex around your most fertile days, you’ll have the best chance of conceiving.  However, your partner’s sperm can live for up to five days, so it’s a good idea to also have sex before ovulation occurs if you are trying to conceive. 

 

3.  Your partner will release around 250 million sperm during ejaculation, however only a small proportion of these will be viable, and only around 200 - 400 of these sperm will make the ten-hour journey from your vagina, through your cervix and up the fallopian tube, where it can penetrate the egg.  Only one can burrow through your egg’s outer membrane.

 

4.  Ovulation can be affected by a number of different things including stress and illness.  If you’ve been trying for a baby for a while, it might be time to take a look at your job stresses, or workout routine. 

 

5.  Every woman is born with around 2 million immature eggs – most of these will be absorbed by your ovaries before you reach adolescence and the remaining 60,000 or so will sit waiting for your ovulation cycle to begin.  Only 300 to 500 of these eggs will become mature eggs in your lifetime and get released for fertilisation.

 

6.  You can have a period even if you haven’t ovulated and you can ovulate without having a period. 

 

7.  Some women experience some bleeding as their fertilised egg burrows into the lining of their womb, this is called implantation bleeding and can often be confused with a period.  Here's how to tell the difference between Implantation Bleeding and your period.

 

8.  If an egg is not fertilised by a sperm during the ovulation period, it will disintegrate and be absorbed into the lining of the uterus or pass out with the menstrual flow. 

 

9.  Ovulation happens thanks to two different hormones.  During the most fertile week of your cycle, your levels of luteinising hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) will rise.  FSH stimulates the production of follicles in your ovary, and an LH surge triggers one of the follicles to rupture and release the egg. 

 

10.  Each month, one follicle will become larger than the others and produce an egg.  Usually only one egg will be released during each cycle.  This follicle will also start to produce oestrogen, which tells your body to start thickening the lining of the womb for implantation. 

 

11.  Once the egg has been released, the same (now empty) follicle will produce another hormone – progesterone, which prevents the release of any more eggs this cycle.  The empty follicle is referred to as corpus luteum.  This level of progesterone remains high enough to prevent any more eggs from being released for the next 12 to 16 days, after which your cycle will start again.  It also helps the lining of your womb to thicken, in preparation for pregnancy.

 

12.  Your egg is smaller than the head of a pin when it is released during ovulation. 

 

13.  Although most women do not experience any physical signs of ovulating, one in five will experience lower abdominal pain, known as Mittelschmerz – a German word meaning ‘middle pain’. 

 

14.  When you are ovulating, the position of your cervix will be higher and it will feel “open” (like a pair of lips).  At other times in your cycle when you are not fertile, your cervix will be in a lower position and will feels harder and “closed” (liked the tip of your nose).

 

15.  Another physical sign you are ovulating is a clear, stretchy discharge in the days leading up to ovulation.  This fertile mucus is alkaline, which protects and nourishes the sperm while they are in the hostile and acidic environment around the cervix.  It contains “channels” that helps the sperm to make their difficult journey through the cervix, through the uterus and into the fallopian tubes. 

 

16.  Another great way to be really sure when you are ovulating is by monitoring your basal body temperature (BBT).  Your BBT is generally lower before ovulation.  It then dips at ovulation and then quickly rises and stays high after ovulation.

 

17.  Research has shown that your sense of smell increases when you are ovulating and science tells us you also look more attractive to your partner around this time!

 

www.barefoot-reflexology.co.uk/reproductive-reflexology/ is here to help you on your journey to conception - the natural way.

 

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