Ovulation is the final maturation process of the ovum (oocyte). At ovulation, the mature egg leaves the ovary and enters the fallopian tube. Conception occurs when that egg is fertilized by sperm in the middle of the fallopian tube. Because the lifespan of the mature egg is limited to about 18 hours after ovulation, the arrival of the sperm must be precisely timed.
In a normal human menstrual cycle, therefore, there are only 1-2 days in which conception is possible , although sperm normally survive up to 72 hours in the female reproductive system. Therefore, it is crucial to time the contact between the sperm and the egg for these 1-2 days.
How to use the ovulation test
Any of these tests are easy to use, you just have to buy an ovulation test, deposit the urine on the rod of the purchased device and wait for the result. The reading of the test result will depend on the type of test that has been purchased, whether it is analog or digital.
Types of ovulation tests
Digital Digital
tests, such as Clearblue , offer a clearer result to decipher since they show the result with a happy face when you are in one of the two fertile days to conceive. If when inserting the rod with the urine sample and the smiling face does not appear, ovulation is not forthcoming. The price of these tests is between 20-30€and includes up to 10 rods and is single use. It has no spare parts .
The analog ones :
There are many analog tests and many brands such as Acofar or Farmatest , and the price is much cheaper than those that are digital . Although the reading is much more complex , because to know if the result is positive and if it is in the fertile days, the color of the second stripe must be more intense than that of the control stripe. If it is weaker the result will be negative.
It is important to keep in mind that ovulation tests should not be done in the first urine of the day because the concentration of LH could be higher and give false positives .
When to do the ovulation test
The really difficult thing is not to use the ovulation test but to calculate when you are ovulating in order to do the test and what is positive and try to conceive, either naturally (maintaining or artificially, those two fertile days, where the probability of pregnancy is much greater.The
body of each woman is a different world but in those who usually have a cycle every 28 days , ovulation occurs after 14 days, with day 1 being the first of bleeding, therefore the test should be done a few days before that day or a few later, because the body does not always work like clockwork.
For those women whose cycles have a cycle every 30 days, ovulation occurs around day 16, so the tests must be done during the days before and after to ensure a future pregnancy; On the other hand, if they are taken every 32 days, the day of ovulation will be around the 18th, so the test will have to be performed on those days.
There are many women who are very irregular in terms of their cycle and one month they have it every 25 days and the next 32, it is best to perform these tests in the first days of the cycle to be able to have some kind of certainty.
What is the ovulation predictor
test
This test detects the surge of the hormone LH (luteinizing hormone) in the urine .or the increase in the hormone estrogen in the saliva. The urine test is the more commonly used and more reliable of the two methods. Approximately 24-48 hours before ovulation , the hormone LH rises and falls over a 24-hour period.
This is a signal for the egg to undergo final maturation, and also a means of predicting when ovulation will occur (hence the name prediction test). Conception by natural means ( sexual intercourse) or artificial means (insemination) must be timed by the LH surge detector until the day or the day after the LH test is positive.
That is why it is important to know what factors are involved in the whole process in order to know how to interpret an ovulation test. Here are some of the keys needed :
Basal Body Temperature (BBT) Chart
After ovulation , body temperature in women who normally ovulate rises by one-half degree to one degree Fahrenheit for two weeks . If pregnancy does not occur, the temperature drops to baseline at the time of menstruation. Basal body temperature remains elevated if pregnancy occurs.
Measurement of TB allows for retrospective confirmation of ovulation.Intercourse or insemination should occur just before the temperature rise . The temperature should be taken immediately upon awakening , before any movement of the body, after at least two hours of sleep. The thermometer may be a digital oral thermometer or a special basal oral thermometer available at many pharmacies.
Ultrasound monitoring
After ovulation, the fluid-filled cavity (follicular cyst), which contained the egg, collapses. This collapse is presumptive evidence of ovulation and can be detected by serial daily ultrasound scans .. This method, however, is expensive and labor intensive. Ovulation can also occur even without follicular collapse. For these reasons, this ovulation detection method is not used routinely.
Progesterone level
After ovulation, the hormone progesterone gradually increases until it reaches a maximum 7 to 10 days later. High progesterone level, when done 7-10 days after ovulation, confirms that ovulation has occurred and that progesterone production for that cycle is normal. A low level of progesterone indicates that ovulation has not occurred or that there is inadequate production of progesterone (luteal phase deficiency).
endometrial biopsy
The lining of the uterus changes predictably after ovulation . Testing a small sample of the lining (endometrial biopsy) can determine if ovulation has occurred and if progesterone production is adequate.
The test involves taking samples from inside the uterus , usually with a thin plastic suction tube, 7 to 10 days after ovulation. Because the test is painful and expensive, and because a single level of progesterone in the blood can provide similar information, biopsies are rarely done to study ovulation.
