If you are a frequent Grace Health user then you know how important ovulation is - whether trying to conceive or not - but If you don’t, well, then you are in the right place! Grace advocates for learning about your menstrual cycle to be in control of your body. A great place to start is by learning about ovulation and how to track it; to either plan for or avoid pregnancy. To do this, we’ll need to learn what it’s all about.
So what is ovulation and when does it happen?
Simply put, it refers to the time in a woman's cycle when an egg is released from one of the ovaries and can be fertilized by sperm. The ovulation period takes place within your fertile window, approximately 13-15 days from the start date of your last period, and lasts about 12-24 hours once the egg is released. Since sperm can live in the body for up to 5 days, it is advised for those trying to conceive to have sex around 3 days leading up to your ovulation. Luckily, the female body will naturally notify you of the ovulation period using various signs and symptoms.
What symptoms should I look out for?
Determining the exact date of your ovulation might not be that straightforward but here are a few signs and symptoms that it’s occurred or is just about to occur:
Changes in basal body temperature (BBT)
The basal body temperature is your temperature when the body is at rest. Many believe that the normal body temperature is about 37.5°c but the truth is this varies during the day and the month. Certain activities like sleep habits, what you eat, hormone levels, exercise, and if you are sick can cause your temperature to change. Another cause is after ovulation where an increase in progesterone levels in your body will cause your temperature to rise. To identify this body temperature change, you must monitor it every day at the same time, so that you have an understanding of your normal.
Heightened sense of smell
Have you ever noticed that around the time of your ovulation you easily pick up on different scents some of which can perhaps disgust you? If you have, chances are that your ovulation day was around the corner. This is because high estrogen levels improve your sense of smell.
Tender breasts
For many women, their breasts become tender to touch and for some even around the nipple which is caused by changes in hormone levels. Though this is not a sure way of confirming ovulation it can be used to identify if the ovulation period has started yet.
Ovulation pain
If you’ve ever noticed a temporary sharp pain in your abdomen, mid-cycle you might have been experiencing ovulation pain. Some women go through this every month right before their ovulation day and can be an indication that they are most fertile. However, for some women, the pain might be severe and a hindrance which is a cause to seek medical attention.
Fertile cervical position
Think of your vagina as a tunnel where the cervix is a dead end. During ovulation, the cervix moves higher up, is tender to touch, and opens easily while towards your period the cervix will move lower and becomes harder and closed. Checking your cervical position is something you can learn to do to check for ovulation and also check for fertile cervical mucus while you’re at it.
Fertile cervical mucus
Before ovulation, your body increases the secretion of cervical mucus and it resembles slippery egg whites. This is to help the sperm swim up to the egg and also make sexual intercourse easier and more pleasurable. This is a vital ovulation sign for you to track.
Some other ovulation signs and symptoms include:
Heightened sense of taste and sight
Increased sexual desire
light spotting
Aside from knowing all these signs and symptoms the next step will be to learn how to keep track of them.
Where can I track ovulation signs and symptoms?
With the Grace app, you are spoilt for choice. There are 3 methods of tracking, and we'll teach you all of them.
Method 1: Tracking using the symptoms overview card
This method might not be so obvious for some but it serves the same function. On your home screen, you’ll see a collection of symptoms that you’ve tracked throughout your current cycle. On the top right is a plus sign button that on clicking directs you to the symptoms page. You can use this to track your ovulation symptoms and it will add to the other symptoms tracked.
Method 2: Tracking using the tracking button
Probably the most common way to track symptoms. This is done by clicking on the plus sign button at the bottom of your Grace home screen that then leads you to the page you see in the diagram where you can track symptoms.
Method 3: Tracking using the chat
Imagine you are in the chat and remember you forgot to track a symptom. You can do so right there in the chat, using a similar-looking button like the one in the homes screen that says track (you can’t miss it). The button will also lead you to the tracking page for symptoms.
After tracking what next?
If you tracked a symptom using either method especially 1 or 2 it is important to go back to your chat and get some small tips to help you manage your symptoms from the chat. If you pay attention you’ll notice that a small red button pops up next to the chat icon whenever you’ve tracked your symptom to prompt to check there. That’s Grace’s way of looking out for you.
The other thing you’ll need to do is head to the calendar feature that is located on the home screen. Now, this is where you get visibility on what symptom was tracked on which day of your cycle and how close or far this was from your predicted ovulation date.
In summary
Ovulation is when an egg is released from one of the ovaries and can be fertilized by sperm.
It takes place within your fertile window, approximately 13-15 days from the start date of your last period, and lasts about 12-24 hours.
Many signs and symptoms can be used to identify if ovulation has started or is about to start.
Using the Grace app you can track these symptoms in the symptom overview section, using the track button and through the chat
It is important to always go back to the chat to get tips for the symptoms tracked.
After that, you could go to the calendar feature to see when you tracked symptoms and how close it was to the predicted ovulation day
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