Every woman should know and be able to notice when she is ovulating. It is during ovulation that a woman is most fertile. These are the signs of ovulation:

1.The vaginal mucus of a woman can be used to determine ovulation.

There is normally some amount of cloudy secretions or mucus in the vagina. At ovulation time IT BECOMES CLEARER, MORE COPIOUS AND THICKER. It becomes sticky and stretches out between two fingers like chewing gum. These changes are noticeable only to the person who checks the mucus on a daily basis. The mucus can be checked early every morning by the woman herself or her husband.

2. Some women have a “pain of ovulation” known as mittelschmertz.

This pain occurs on one side or the other of the lower abdomen depending on which ovary is ovulating. This pain, if it occurs, can help a woman know that she is ovulating at that time.

3. The temperature of a woman rises by about 1°C on the day of ovulation and remains at that level till the end of the month.

The temperature can be taken every morning before the woman gets out of bed. This is the basal body temperature. You will notice the rise in temperature on the day of ovulation. It is important to note that the temperature recording may also be affected by a fever due to malaria or infections, for example.

NOTE:

(a). These methods are to help time ovulation, as the time of ovulation varies in some women because they do not have very regular cycles.

(b). When a woman’s cycle is a regular 28-day cycle, she ovulates on the 13th or 14th day.

(c). Day 1 is the first day of the monthly menstrual period, i.e the first day you notice blood.

(d). Please note: If your cycle is not a regular 28-day cycle , your ovulating day is not on day 13 or 14 but is actually 14 days before your next period. This makes it difficult to identify the day of ovulation in a very irregular cycle. A woman with an irregular cycle must use the other methods of detection to identify the exact time of ovulation.