How Do I Know if I am Ovulating?

What is Ovulation?

Ovulation is when the ovary releases an egg, which happens about 2 weeks before you get your period (on Day 14 of your menstrual cycle for a regular 28 day cycle). The egg then has two possible fates:

1. It becomes fertilized by a sperm and implants into the uterus to begin a pregnancy

2. It doesn't become fertilized by a sperm and slowly breaks down, and you get your period

Ovulation and Fertility

Ovulation is necessary to become pregnant - if you aren't ovulating, you aren't able to conceive. So how do you know if your ovulating? There are a few methods to help you better understand your cycle and whether or not you are ovulating regularly - read below to know more.

---

Quick Guide to Ovulation Tracking Methods

Method	What It Is	Pros	Cons
Blood Test	Measures progesterone levels in the blood, as progesterone rises in the two weeks after you ovulate.	More accurate than other methods Free if done through medical doctor (covered under OHIP), and relatively cheap if done through Naturopathic Doctor	Requires a requisition from a medical or naturopathic doctor Must be done 7 days after ovulation Only tells you after the fact if you ovulated (when you can no longer become pregnant if you aren't already)
Ovulation Strips (aka. LH Strips)	Measures LH levels (a hormone) in urine, which increase 1-2 days prior to ovulation.	​Predicts ovulation 1-2 days in advance (i.e. the most fertile time of your cycle) Easy at-home test with no requisition required	Can give false-positives in certain populations (PCOS, older patients, certain IVF medications) Can become expensive with months of use
Cervical Mucous	Monitoring cervical mucous for a raw egg-white consistency, which occurs 1-2 days prior to ovulation.	​Predicts ovulation 1-2 days in advance (i.e. the most fertile time of your cycle) Good accuracy Free	​Can take a few cycles to understand and improve accuracy Can give false-positives in certain populations
Basal Body Temperature (BBT)	Monitors body temperature during sleep (or immediately upon waking), which rises after ovulation due to progesterone and remains elevated until your period.	​Relatively accurate Can be cheap if using thermometer	​Only tells you after the fact if you ovulated (when you can no longer become pregnant if you aren't already) Can be expensive if using a temperature wearable (e.g. Oura ring, iFer Tracker) Can be labour intensive to measure temperature with a thermometer every morning