ovulation tests

Ovulation Tests

"Ovulation tests and fertility monitors allow you to predict ovulation and pinpoint your most fertile time of the month for conceiving..."

To use the iBabydust.com Ovulation Calendar, click here.

Ovulation tests allow you to predict ovulation and anticipate the best time to have intercourse and conceive a baby. There are several different varieties of ovulation tests. Some women use one ovulation testing format, while other women combine different testing methods to best pinpoint fertility. Testing results are then written down on your fertility chart of ovulation calendar.

Varieties of Ovulation Tests

Saliva Ovulation Tests (or Ovulation Microscopes)
Lh Urine Tests (OPKs or Urine Ovulation Test Sticks)
Fertility Monitors

Saliva Ovulation Tests

A “personal ovulation microscope” allows you to predict fertility by observing the visual changes that take place in your saliva throughout your cycle. When a woman is about to ovulate, her saliva begins to form a distinct fern-like pattern (when viewed under a microscope) due to an increase in the level of estrogen present. This ferning pattern begins to appear around 3 days prior to ovulation.

With the ovulation microscopes, you simply apply saliva to a slide or lens and wait for the sample to dry. The sample is then viewed through a microscope allowing you to identify the fern-like pattern and predict ovulation. This ferning pattern can be easily identified when examined under the power of the microscope, helping you predict fertile or infertile times in your cycle.

Urine Ovulation Tests (LH Tests)

Ovulation tests work by detecting luteinizing hormone (LH). Just preceding ovulation, women experience an "LH surge" - a sudden, dramatic, and brief rise in the level of luteinizing hormone. Ovulation tests detect the LH surge, allowing you to accurately predict when you will ovulate. A positive result on an ovulation test means that the woman will most likely become fertile over the next three days - with peak fertility at 36 hours following the LH surge.

At the beginning of the menstrual cycle, the body begins to produce follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). FSH facilitates the formation of a follicle on one of the ovaries. The follicle contains and nurtures the egg. When a follicle has adequately matured, a surge of Luteinizing Hormone (LH) causes the follicle to burst and release the egg into the fallopian tube - the moment of ovulation.

The LH surge is brief; in order to detect the LH surge, a woman needs to test at the right time of the month. Once the LH surge has been detected, successful fertilization is most likely to take place one to three days following the LH surge - with peak fertility 36 hours after the LH surge (or positive result). Since this ovulation "window" only opens once per month (and the unfertilized egg has a short 24-hour life-span) predicting ovulation accurately is very helpful when trying to become pregnant.

Fertility Monitors

Urine-based fertility monitors work by detecting the levels of key hormones present in urine which can indicate ovulation. The most popular urine-based fertility monitors work by tracking the LH (Luteinizing Hormone) and Estrogen levels in urine through the use of fertility monitor test sticks.

Based on the start of the menstrual cycle, the monitor "asks" you to perform a test stick reading for 10 or 20 consecutive days depending on the length of your cycle and the timing of your Luteinizing Hormone (LH) surge.

The test sticks are read by the monitor which then informs you of your fertility level - Low, High, or Peak. Intercourse during High and Peak fertility days help to maximize chances of becoming pregnant. The monitor identifies 6 days (on average) of fertility. Most women will get 1-5 days.

To use the iBabydust.com Ovulation Calendar, click here.