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Ovulation test

What is an ovulation test?

Once the desire to have a child has been established, many couples can't move fast enough. But many months can pass before pregnancy occurs. To speed things up, couples should take advantage of the fertile days, of which there are about 6 per cycle. To find out when the fertile days are, a fertility test called an ovulation test is helpful.

What are the fertile days?

A woman's cycle starts with menstruation on the 1st to the 4th day. From the 5th to the 14th day, a follicle with an egg matures and the lining of the uterus is built up. Between the 12th and 14th day of the cycle, the hormones LH and FSH cause ovulation. The follicle bursts and the egg from the ovary now reaches the uterus. It remains there. This process is called ovulation. The follicle matures into a corpus luteum, which produces the hormone progesterone. Progesterone prepares the lining of the uterus for pregnancy. The mature egg can be fertilised for about 12 to 24 hours before it dies. Sperm can survive for up to 5 days. Therefore, it is not necessary to have sexual intercourse on the day of ovulation in order to become pregnant. The fertile phase begins about 4 to 5 days before ovulation and ends 1 to 2 days after. This results in the 6 fertile days.

What does the LH surge mean?

The hormone LH is produced by the pituitary gland and triggers ovulation. During the cycle, the concentration of LH is normally low. However, it increases rapidly as soon as the egg in the follicle has reached a certain stage of maturation. The increase in LH usually indicates that ovulation is imminent. However, this is not always a guarantee. Therefore, a fertility test is not always 100% reliable.

How does an ovulation test work?

The fertility test works in a similar way to a pregnancy test. There is an increase in LH 24 to 36 hours before ovulation. The concentration of LH can be measured in the urine using the ovulation test. To get pregnant quickly, it is helpful to know your cycle well. If you have a very irregular cycle, it is advisable to document it in detail for a few months. In this way, ovulation can be narrowed down a little. The fertility test is taken a few days before ovulation is expected. If it is posIf it is positive, there is a higher chance that sexual intercourse on this day will lead to pregnancy.

The advantages of an ovulation test

A woman's menstrual cycle usually lasts between 26 and 36 days. Only about 15% of women have a 28-day cycle, which is still considered the norm. In addition, there are irregular cycles that are longer or shorter or can have variations of up to 9 days. About one in five women is said to have an irregular cycle. In addition, more than 80 % of the cycles fluctuate altogether. In these cases, a simple ovulation calculator can do nothing. To be sure if you are having a fertile day, you need to measure your LH levels. This can be done with an ovulation test. Women with a very irregular cycle may want to choose a pack with more test strips so they can test more often.

After the age of 30, it can also take longer to get pregnant because the female body has fewer eggs. While a young woman still has 400,000 eggs at the beginning of puberty, from the age of 35 there are about 35,000 of them left. That is still enough. However, cycles without ovulation can occur from time to time. That is why it makes sense to be able to limit the possible days as precisely as possible and to use them accordingly.