Detecting your ovulation

Because the time, expense and emotional investment of fertility treatment are significant, ovulation detection is important work. It's one of the first steps a woman will take on her way to having a baby.

The key to detecting ovulation is paying attention to one's body. "Ovulation detection is all about learning and using all the signs of one's cycle in conjunction with a urine luteinizing hormone (LH) kit," says Choice Moms adviser Dr. Arthur Wisot (Los Angeles). "Learn all you can about cervical mucus, temperature charts and follow the instructions on the urine test carefully."

• Cervical mucus is the raw egg white-like or clear vaginal discharge that occurs at the time of ovulation.
• Sometimes it is accompanied or immediately preceded by mid-cycle pain called "mittelschmerz," which can occur when the ovaries release an egg into the fallopian tubes.
• Some women also notice increased libido at the time of ovulation. A heightened sex drive on the one or two days of the month that a woman is fertile is Mother Nature's way of encouraging reproduction.

Women who are using insemination with fresh or frozen sperm should do so the day following the LH surge, says Dr. Carolyn Givens (San Francisco). Women who are trying to conceive with a known donor through intercourse should have sex on the day of the LH surge as well as the next day.

There are tools to help women pinpoint ovulation. Some more effective than others.

• Ovulation predictor kits -- some are considered less reliable, says Dr. Givens, because they appear to be prone to false negative results (these include Answer, First Response and generic brands).
• Electronic ovulation monitors are more expensive than the kits, but Dr. Givens advises that they offer no significant detection advantage.
• Basal body temperature charting is frequently used, but not always effective in predicting ovulation, especially for irregular women, since it does not rise until after ovulation occurs.
• Clomid is a drug often prescribed by doctors to get a stronger sense of timing.
• Estrogen monitoring is another option, although medical literature has not adequately reviewed these products and their efficacy.
• Saliva testing identifies a 72-hour peak "zone" of fertility measuring the salt in one's system (the salt content in body fluids increases with a rise in estrogen). But these devices are most useful for couples who can have frequent intercourse during the three- to six-day zone of fertility.

For more details on ovulation detection, including a few other options as well as methods to improve on ovulation, see the "Choice Mom Guide to Fertility".

this information brought to you through the generous support of Pacific Fertility Center (Bay Area)