How to Calculate Ovulation Cycle

The ovulation cycle is the time in which it takes a woman's body to develop an egg in one of her ovaries, release the egg and produce the hormones necessary to allow her to become pregnant. If during this cycle the egg is not fertilized, the cycle starts all over again. Typically, the ovulation cycle takes 28 days from start to finish, although some women experience shorter or longer cycles. Using a basal body thermometer and charting your cervical mucus changes are two ways to calculate your ovulation cycle.

Things You'll Need

• Basal thermometer
• Fertility chart

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Instructions

Basal Body Temperature Method

• 1

  Keep the basal thermometer by your bed at night. This will allow you to reach the thermometer with a minimum of movement in the morning.

• 2

  Take your temperature at the same time each morning. Ideally, you should take your temperature after three hours of solid sleep and at the same time. Your basal body, or the temperature of your body at rest, will reflect the minute changes in your ovulation cycle that will help you know where you are in your cycle.

• 3

  Write your basal body temperature on a fertility chart to keep track of changes and see a pattern during the course of the month. During the beginning phase of your ovulation cycle, while your body is developing a mature egg, estrogen is the dominant hormone in your body. Estrogen has a cooling effect on your temperature. During ovulation, progesterone is produced and continues to be produced to sustain pregnancy if the egg is fertilized. This increase in progesterone causes your basal body temperature to rise as much as 0.5 degree Fahrenheit. After approximately two weeks, if the egg is fertilized, progesterone will start to drop and estrogen will raise again, allowing the shedding of the uterine lining and triggering the start of another ovulation cycle.

Cervical Mucus Method

• 4

  Write down the date of the first day of bleeding in your menstrual cycle. This is the beginning of your ovulation cycle. When you are bleeding, it is not necessary to check for additional cervical mucus.

• 5

  Begin checking your cervical mucus each day after your period ends. You can check your cervical mucus by making observations after wiping when going to the bathroom, or you can insert two clean fingers into the vagina closer to the cervical opening and then remove, making observations about the mucus you find on your fingers.

• 6

  Write down each kind of cervical mucus that you find, and you will begin to see a pattern that shows where you are in the ovulation cycle. During the first part of your cycle, while the egg is developing, the cervical mucus will be scant, creamy or dry. During the middle of your cycle, when the egg is released, the cervical mucus will become more watery and like egg whites. After ovulation, cervical mucus might dry up completely or be creamy because of the progesterone in your system. At the end of the cycle, another period will begin, signaling the start of a new ovulation cycle