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Can You Ovulate More Than Once Per Month?

You can ovulate more than once a month if you have a short menstrual cycle; this is solidly known. However, there is controversial evidence that it's also possible to ovulate more than once in a cycle.

  1. How Ovulation Works

    • Ovulation happens after hormones trigger a wave of egg follicle growth within one of the ovaries. One of 15-20 growing follicles releases an egg, and the rest die off. This usually takes place 14 days before your period.

    Short Cycles

    • Some women have short cycles. Because a calendar month is 28 to 31 days, if your cycle is shorter than that, you will occasionally ovulate more than once in a calendar month.

    Fraternal Twins

    • Fraternal twins can be conceived when two eggs are released during a single menstrual cycle. These eggs, usually released within 24 hours of each other, are part of the same wave of follicle growth, and thus part of a single ovulation.

    Multiple Waves of Follicle Growth

    • Forty percent of women have more than one wave of follicle growth per cycle, and this could lead to multiple ovulations per cycle and different conception dates for some fraternal twins, according to the study "A New Model For Ovarian Follicular Development During The Human Menstrual Cycle," led by Roger Pierson of the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon and printed in July 2003 in Fertility and Sterility. However, upon ovulation a hormone diminishes the chances of a second ovulation.

    One Ovulation Per Cycle Probable

    • According to "The History Of Natural Family Planning In America," an October 3, 2003, presentation by Paula Viterbo at Bryn Mawr College, "No woman in the Canadian study was found to ovulate more than once in a cycle. For each woman, only one of the follicular waves resulted in ovulation each month."

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