Ovulation

The magic!

Whether it’s natural or nurtured via IVF, the ovulation phase is pretty incredible. A lot goes on to trigger ovulation. During this phase, we will uncover how the follicular phase and the ovulation phase are pretty close mates.

Once everything has communicated perfectly to our ovaries, one of our fallopian tubes makes its way over to the ovary carrying the dominant corpus luteum (sack containing egg) ready to scoop it up. The fallopian tube will cover the ovary ready for the corpus luteum rupture and capture the release of an ovum aka egg.

Yes, our fallopian tubes are not attached to our ovaries AND can flip/switch sides if they like.

Here a ripe ovum, is released and waiting to be fertilised by sperm in the fallopian tube. It only survives for 12 - 24 hours, leaving a small amount of time to be fertilised. This is why they say you are most fertile in the three days leading up to and on the day of ovulation.

It only takes one sperm to fertilise an ovum, and from the second the sperm breaks through, the complete DNA structure of the future human being is determined… eye colour, sex, hair colour, mum’s toes… all of it.

Sounds easy, but with each cycle, women under 35 years old have a 25-30% chance of successful conception. Out of what is approximately 300 million sperm, only one makes it… or 2 if you release and conceive fraternal twins.

How do I know I ovulate?

There are a few ways you can gauge, as mentioned in the cycle overview, you usually ovulate around 14 days before your period. Now you can only really gauge that once your period arrives as our cycle lengths are not always consistent. Keep a diary of your cycle lengths and you’ll begin to notice a pattern. Mine for example is anywhere from cycle day 7 - 12, so I know the best time to be having intercourse or use contraception is on those days plus a few on either side.

One of the more reliable steps we can do from home is measuring your Basel Body Temperature (BBT). Your BBT dips a bit just before your ovary releases an egg. Then, 24 hours after the egg's release, your temperature rises and stays up for several days. Before ovulation, a woman's BBT averages between 36.1°C (97°F ) and 36.4°C (97.5°F). After ovulation, it rises to 36.4°C (97.6°F) to 37°C (98.6°F).

Now before you say “oh that’s easy”, it’s not. To get an accurate temp read you need to take your temperature at the same time every morning before getting out of bed, stretching or giving your partner a kiss or cuddle in bed. Throw kids in the mix and it’s pretty much impossible. There are some gadgets on the market that use wearables to record this for you, but they’re expensive.

Another great device to help, which I really like, is Ovulation Predictor Kits. These are sticks that you use in conjunction with your urine to measure either estrogen and Luteinizing hormone (LH) or just LH. Both these hormones are present pre-ovulation, with LH surging 12 - 36 hrs before ovulation, giving you a pretty good indication that ovulation is coming right up.

If you have been trying everything and it’s just not working, you’re at ~8 months of dedicated trying, you can get a series of blood tests that measure the exact timing of your hormone release for the best prediction of ovulation. This is called “ovulation tracking” and is offered through IVF clinics. Some are free with a GP referral, some are not. Have a read here for more info here through Genea.