MyFertilityGuide

Signs of fertility are signs of change within your body. Each one is a clear signal communicating new developments and hormonal shifts. By taking note of your fertility signs and tracking them on a calendar, you can better pinpoint your most fertile time and increase your chances of conception.

Ovulation and Hormones

Ovulation is the most fertile period of the menstrual cycle, a 36-hour time period that occurs about 14 days after the first day of menstrual bleeding. Specifically, it is during the maturation of the ovarian follicle that in the days immediately preceding ovulation that a woman is most fertile. Every woman’s cycle is different and so the shifts in hormones help decipher when ovulation will occur in the individual.

Estrogen

Estrogen increase, for example, is a vital sign of pending ovulation. The body signals estrogen increase by an increase in and thickening of cervical fluid into the consistency of egg whites. This fertility sign is relatively easy to track on your own.

Another sign of a surge in estrogen is a high, open and soft cervix. You may need a doctor’s assistance to help you ascertain this the first time.

Luteinizing Hormone

Luteinizing hormone is simple to detect with an over the counter ovulation prediction kit (OPK). Just like a pregnancy test, a line will appear in the test window to indicate that it’s working and if you are experiencing a surge in luteinizing hormone, a second line will appear as well. It may be dark or light, another sign that varies with the individual woman. Some women may show a light second line that grows darker each day. Other women will show no second line at all until a faint one appears the day ovulation occurs. Either way, the second line indicates that ovulation will occur within the next 48 hours.

Progesterone

The level of progesterone in the woman’s body correlates with her basal body temperature (BBT ): a rise in body temperature signifies a rise in progesterone release which only occurs after ovulation. When the BBT rises, ovulation has just occurred.

Tracking Fertility

By noting the rise in basal body temperature in relation to the shift in luteinizing hormone and increased estrogen, it is easier to pinpoint the most fertile time of a cycle. OPKs alone may help some women recognize the days that they are ovulating, but to increase the chances of success, it is more efficient to track the signs of fertility through hormonal shifts.