What is ovulation?
Ovulation occurs when a mature egg is released from the
ovary, pushed down the fallopian tube, and is available to be fertilized. The
lining of the uterus has thickened to prepare for a fertilized egg. If no
conception occurs, the uterine lining as well as blood will be shed. The
shedding of an unfertilized egg and the uterine wall is the time of menstruation.
Key things you should know about
ovulation:
- An egg lives 12-24 hours after leaving the ovary
- Normally only one egg is released each time of ovulation
- Ovulation can be affected by stress, illness or disruption of normal routines
- Some women may experience some light blood spotting during ovulation
- Implantation of a fertilized egg normally takes place 6-12 days after ovulation
- Each woman is born with millions of immature eggs that are awaiting ovulation to begin
- A menstrual period can occur even if ovulation has not occurred
- Ovulation can occur even if a menstrual period has not occurred
- Some women can feel a bit of pain or aching near the ovaries during ovulation called mittelschmerz, which means “middle pain” in German
- If an egg is not fertilized, it disintegrates and is absorbed into the uterine lining
Ovulation and conception go hand in hand. This means that for conception to occur there
must be ovulation. If you are looking up
to God for a baby, one of the things your doctor would want to find out is
whether you are ovulating. This is
because sex without ovulation will hardly result in conception. This is a fact.
So, have you
tried to find out if you are ovulating at all? Do not forget that menstrual cycle is different
from ovulation cycle. So, do not think the fact that you are menstruating
every month means you are ovulating.
If you waant
to know if you ovulate, there are modern technologies that can be used to find
out your ovulation period. Better still,
there is the do-it-yourself method of knowing your ovulation period. This has nothing to do with a chart or
calculating two weeks after your last day of menses.
This method
is known as LH Dipstick. Sounds
strange? Dr. Ezeibe Ezeribe, a
consultant gyneacologist explains that “you can know your ovulation without
seeing your doctor. And this has been
made possible by the use of LH Dipstick technology” which is available in most
pharmaceutical stores.
The product
comes in different brand names, there is the ovustick which is derived from the
word ovulation and so many others from different companies.
What should
a woman be looking for when conducting the self test? “what is being measured by this is the
elevation in blood LH; that is the trigger factor for ovulation.”
Normally,
ovulation occur within 35 and 45 hours after the beginning of LH increase and
about 24 hours after the peak of the LH surge.
In effect, the LH Dipstick tells you when to have sex for conception and
when to skip it to avoid unwanted pregnancy.
A good method of birth control, you would say. This is unlike the temperature chart, which
tells you that ovulation has already occurred.
What is the specimen for LH Dipstick?
Is it blood? “No! Urine of
course, your early morning urine and you can get the answer within a few
minutes. And the result is reliable.”
Ezeribe talks of other methods, if you do not want to go looking for
LH Dipstick.
Examining your cervical mucus: this
should be done during your monthly cycle.
At the beginning of the menstrual flow, the cervix is closed and little
of the cervical mucus is produced but by the 9th day of the cycle, the
cervical mucus begins to increase and the cervix begins to open slightly. Usually around day 13 and 14 in a normal
cycle, the cervix gives more gap and becomes optically clear with watery
cervical mucus flowing out. This is an
indication that ovulation is taking place.
Basal Body Temperature: this is
a method of keeping a daily basal body temperature (BBT) chart. The BBT is taken immediately on waking up in
the morning, before getting out of bed or before having any activity
whatsoever. Before ovulation, the BBT
should be about one half to one degree Fahrenheit lower than after
ovulation. It is the production of
progesterone which only occurs after ovulation that is responsible for the rise
in BBT.
This basal method is cheap and helps in planning for conception. But, bear in mind that you do not wait until
your temperature goes up. Intercourse
should occur a day or two before the rise of temperature.
Endometrial Biopsy: when the
lining of the uterus becomes hard and thinly by the second half of the cycle,
it means that ovulation did not take place.
But, when the lining of the uterus becomes soft and forms what is called
a secretory endometrium, after two weeks of menses in a normal cycle, it then
means that ovulations has occurred. It
is your doctor that can do this for you because he would have to examine a
small piece of the lining during the second half of the cycle under the
microscope.
The Ultrasound: this is helpful
if you want to know the development of follicles and ovulation. This cannot be done at home. It is effective in monitoring when ovulation
occurs, and it does not take time. It is
not painful. Your doctor will put a
rubber glove on the transducer machine, then add the ultrasonic lubricant and
then place the transducer probe gently into the vagina. The centre area is now displayed on the TV
screen on the ultrasound machine. You
can look at the left or right ovary and see any developing follicles. This is different from the scan you do when you
are already pregnant.
There are certain things that can hinder a woman from ovulating the
way she should. One of them is stress. How?
Ezeribe explains, “When a particular part of the brain, which is known
as the hypothalamus, is not functioning properly, the complicated cycling mechanism
will not work and the woman will not ovulate.
And what can stop the hypothalamus from functioning properly are stress,
anxiety, worry and lack of sleep, which would in turn affect ovulation.
Unless the hypothalamus is properly tuned and not burdened by anxiety,
ovulation may be disturbed. The role
emotion plays in menstrual cycle and ovulation cannot be overemphasised.
If a woman is not ovulating, is there any remedy? “Yes, for women who find it difficult to
ovulate, there is need to give them additional hormones to ensure ovulation.”
This post was written with resources from American Pregnancy
Association and an article published by Adaeze Amos in Sunday Punch of May 7,
2006.
Please share your experience in this matter to educate others and reduce
the damages suffered by many women due to ignorance.
