Signs of Ovulation

Signs of ovulation are very important. Ovulation has to happen for a woman to get pregnant; or if avoiding pregnancy, she should know ovulation has passed and that she is no longer able to conceive for that month. When the body releases an egg each month, it also gives off some clear signs to let us know what is going on!

The basal body temperature (BBT) can only confirm that ovulation has happened. So, this by itself is not a sign of impending ovulation. Many women feel physical changes; the experience a soreness where there ovaries are, deep in the pelvis, may or may not have a bit of spotting-and other varied and unique signs of ovulation that each woman may experience as well (for example, a headache, or even an emotional feeling.) Paying close attention to and charting what these signs are for you can be most helpful. Of course, the “signs” will likely only be signs in hindsight; so keep track of everything and see later if you can figure out what the signs were trying to tell you!

My personal experience (and I think that of many women) is that observing your cervical mucous is one of the most reliable signs of ovulation. I have gotten pregnant 5 times, very easily using this sign, and I can truly say that getting pregnant was not a surprise to me. For several of my pregnancies, my guess at ovulation (using the cervical mucous sign) was truly a guess because I hadn’t yet had a period following the birth of the prior baby. Conversely, I know many women who find it elusive to decipher their signs of ovulation after childbirth and get pregnant unexpectedly. When this has happened to a friend or women that I know, I always ask if they had noticed a lot of wet, stretchy mucous at any point, which is one of the signs of ovulation. Almost every woman says they have, but without the information to know what that means….well, woops! It often means another baby!