What is Ovulation? When are you most fertile!

What is ovulation?

Ovulation is the process of release of an egg from ovary under the influence of hormones, this happens once in every menstrual cycle. The ovulation happens usually 12-16 days before the first day of the next period. You can get pregnant only if the sperm meet the egg as soon as it is released or within the next 24 hours.

While preparing for ovulation the follicle produces a hormone called estrogen in the body which starts thickening of the uterus lining to prepare for probable pregnancy.

The increase in the level of estrogen triggers the sudden increase in the level of Luteinising Hormone (LH), which causes the release of an egg from the ovary called OVULATION.

The ovulation starts 24-36 hours after the LH level surge, so predicting LH surge in the menstrual cycle will be a good predictor for ovulation and peak fertility days.

The egg can only be fertilized for up to 24 hours post ovulation. IF not fertilized the egg will be reabsorbed in the body and uterus lining will shed marking the start of the next periods and menstrual cycle.

How long do you ovulate?

Ovulation is the process of release of an egg from the ovary to the fallopian tube, so basically it is an instant process were the follicle will burst and release the egg.

The only chance of pregnancy is the fact that the egg spends 12-24 h in fallopian tube after ovulation and is the time when the fertilization can happen.

When do you ovulate?

The average length of the menstrual cycle is 28 days which makes ovulation day on 14th days but the length of menstrual cycle vary from women to women and cycle to cycle but is usually 23-36 days.

Irrespective of the cycle duration the ovulation happens 12-16 days before the first day of next period. This means that the women ovulate on different days of the menstrual cycle.

Some women claim to notice some kind of pain at the time of ovulation and others will have no symptoms at all. If you have regular periods then you can identify the length of your menstrual cycle by marking dates from the first day of the period to the first day of next period also known as Calendar Method. Use our fertility Calculator to identify Ovulation Day.

If you have irregular periods then it is difficult to know the menstrual cycle duration by marking on the calendar but there are other methods which can help you identify the same.

Fertile Days or Fertility Window

The ‘fertile days’ or ‘fertile window’ are all the days in a menstrual cycle where you have the ability to become pregnant if you have unprotected sex.

An egg will survive only for 24 hours while the sperm in an ideal situation will survive for 5 days. For the egg to fertilize the sperm needs to be available in the fallopian time during ovulation (i.e. release of an egg from an ovary). Taking this information into account even if couples have sex 4 to 5 days before ovulation there is a fair chance of fertilization and hence chance of pregnancy.

So considering all the above factors ‘fertility window’ becomes around 6 days accounting for the lifespan of the egg and the sperm. 

Identifying fertile days can help a couple planning to have a baby more flexibility and more success rate for conceiving.

Most Fertile Days

The fertile window of 6 days gives you a fair chance of getting pregnant. Any sex outside this fertile window will have very low to zero chances of pregnancy.

Within this fertile window, the most fertile days are the day before ovulation and the day of ovulation where the chances of getting pregnant are the highest in the entire menstrual cycle. These 2 days are of peak fertility and are called as the most fertile days.