The truth is that women who haven’t been keen on ovulation, tend to believe that it takes place on the 14th day of their cycle. Let’s see what is really happening.
Most books make this sound so simple: Ovulation takes place in the middle of your cycle, which is the 14th day. If you are thinking about getting pregnant, you may have just started reading about the process of ovulation. So, if you have a standard 28-day cycle, yes, what you heard is true, ovulation happens on day 14. But women are not textbooks, and in fact, many of their cycles vary from month to month. Therefore, there are tons of books, bibliography, articles and of course ovulation tests to help you figure out when you really ovulate.
Let’s take things from the beginning:
What is ovulation?
Inside your ovaries, there are thousands of eggs. Ovulation is a process that happens every month. Your hormones tell your ovaries to release a mature egg inside the fallopian tube.
What is the difference between ovulation and fertile days?
Ovulation is a fact: the release of an egg. “Fertile days” is a window. Your most fertile window is a few days before ovulation and the day after. Sperm can survive in your body for up to five days, while the egg only survives for about 12-24 hours after its release. Sperm will wait for the egg to be released, so if you have intercourse in your fertile window, you increase your chances for conception.
When do you ovulate?
We could say that “ovulation on the 14th day” is a myth. The fact is that a woman ovulates about 14 days before the day her next period begins. The cycles have different lengths, so to track down your ovulation day, you need to get a calendar and an ovulation test kit. Remember: Don’t just depend on the calendar, as this can end up being frustrating if your cycles are irregular. Wait for your first positive ovulation test and get busy for 3 days!
