Getting pregnant is one of the most wonderful feelings a woman could ever have. If you’re reading this article, you must be one who is very much eager to conceive. Trying to get pregnant may not be easy for some women. A busy schedule or an irregular menstrual cycle are some of the reasons that delay pregnancy. However, if you want to get pregnant fast, your body requires proper conditioning and you need to be intentional about it. That means you need to be in tune with your body—your menstrual cycle, body temperature, and even pain that accompanies ovulation. How do you achieve that? By the use of an ovulation calculator.

What Is Ovulation?

Ovulation is the process when the egg of a woman is released from her ovary. This takes place about 12-16 days before your next menstrual period. Making sure you know when you’re most fertile is crucial to getting pregnant fast. Usually, a menstrual cycle takes 28 days and you can likely get pregnant between days 10 to 14 — your fertile window. The egg (ovum) is viable inside your body for only 12-24 hours making the fertile window period very small.

Since ovulation is likely to take place on day 14 in a normal cycle, having sex every other day from the end of your period onward until day 14 is ideal, according to doctors because the chances of you getting pregnant are fairly high. Well, that’s easy if you have a normal 28-day cycle but what if your cycle is irregular? Let’s take a look at some of the methods for women to track ovulation even with an irregular menstrual period.

7 Best Methods For You to Track Ovulation

• Body checking: pains, menstrual cramps, mittelschmer
• Ovulation test (urine): test for luteinizing hormone (LH) surge
• Cervical mucus discharges: Cervical mucus becomes wetter, slippery, and stretchy when closer to ovulation.
• Checking your basal body temperature with the use of the digital basal thermometer, the same time in the morning throughout your cycle.
• Ovulation Calculator
• Ovulation Calendar
• Ovulation Tracker

What Is An Ovulation Calculator?

Since ovulation time varies from woman to woman, month to month, it may be difficult to identify your fertile days. Out of 5 women, 1 has irregular menstrual cycles that are either shorter than 24 days or longer than 38 days or also with a variation of 7-9 days from one cycle to the next. But with the use of an ovulation calculator, it would be easier to more or less determine your fertile window. However, it should not be used as a substitute for detecting bodily activities, but rather used only for information purposes. The ovulation calculator records your average cycle length and lists the date of your last period, estimating the day when you can most likely ovulate. You may also want to do calculations to point out symptoms of ovulation like abdominal bloating, spotting, slight cramps, breast tenderness, or increased sex drive.

Here Are 3 Simple Steps on How to Use an Ovulation Calculator

Step #1: Enter the date of the first day of your last period.

Step #2: Determine your average cycle length.
For example, in March, your first day is on the 14th and in April on the 12th, your average cycle is the number of days between the two dates which is 30. You can follow the same procedure up to 4 to 5 months to come up with a more accurate reading.

Step #3: Press ‘calculate’ to obtain your ovulation date, fertility window, and your next period date.
Please note that this is just an estimation.

Why Is It Important to Have An Accurate Ovulation Calculator?

Since about 99% accuracy can be acquired in detecting LH surge which happens 24-36 hours before ovulation, the ovulation calculation proves to be more accurate than calendar and body temperature methods in predicting which days you are most fertile. There are so many kinds of ovulation calculators available on the market, thus, it’s rather important that you settle for an accurate one.

What Is An Ovulation Calendar?

It is designed to predict your most fertile days by recording the beginning date of your last menstrual cycle; the general length of your cycle; the length of your luteal phase days between the day after ovulation and the end of your cycle. The use of the calendar can help highlight any irregularities. They are available in
apps. The calendar method, however, may not be reliable since it only gives you an idea of when ovulation is expected.

What Is An Ovulation Tracker?

Smart apps that track ovulation are available conveniently. They can track your period length, average cycle length, predict ovulation and fertile windows as well as PMS symptoms and other data related to ovulation. Other ovulation trackers record symptoms, sexual activity, day-to-day moods to increase your chances of getting pregnant. Some can even send alerts on your ovulation days. Some ovulation tracker apps even get ‘smarter’ the more you use them due to the statistical analysis that makes it more accurate over time.

When Does Ovulation Start and How Long Does It Occur?

Most women start to menstruate at ages 10-15. Ovulation then begins to take place and lead to conception. Usually, a woman’s menstrual cycle lasts between 28 to 32 days. The egg is released between 12 to 16 days before the next period arrives. On the ovulation day, the egg lives within 12-24 and dies if it does not get fertilized by a sperm which leads to another menstrual cycle about two weeks later. Since the sperm can survive for several days, frequent sex during the six-day window can still get the woman pregnant.

Ovulation still occurs until the woman reaches the menopause, between ages 50-51 on average. It is therefore important for you to be mindful and intentional about your fertility window and ovulation period. Make it easier for yourself. Use an ovulation calculator.