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Ovulation is the name given to the moment of the menstrual cycle when the egg is released by the ovary and is ready to be fertilized, normally occurring in the middle of the menstrual cycle in healthy women.
To find out what day your next ovulation will be, enter the data into the calculator:
If the egg is penetrated by a sperm during ovulation, fertilization occurs, marking the beginning of a pregnancy. However, if the egg is not fertilized until it reaches the uterus, it will be eliminated by menstruation and start a new menstrual cycle.
Possible symptoms of ovulation
Ovulation generates some characteristic symptoms that include:
- Transparent, viscous, egg-like vaginal discharge;
- Slight increase in body temperature, usually around 0.5ºC;
- Increased libido and appetite;
- There may be pelvic pain, similar to mild colic.
Many of these symptoms can go unnoticed by most women and, therefore, end up being difficult to identify. So, the best way to know if a woman is ovulating is to calculate when the next ovulation will be.
It is important to remember that women who take contraceptives do not ovulate and, consequently, have no symptoms, nor can they become pregnant.
How is ovulation day calculated?
The day of ovulation takes place in the middle of a woman's menstrual cycle and is therefore easier to calculate for women who have a regular cycle. This means that, if the woman has a 28-day cycle, for example, ovulation will happen around the 14th day. This 14th day is calculated from the date of the first day of the last menstruation (day + 14 days), which marks the beginning of the new menstrual cycle.
Since in each cycle, the day of ovulation can vary between 1 to 2 days, it is generally more appropriate for the woman to take into account the fertile period instead of the date of ovulation. That's because, the fertile period is the set of 6 days that are around ovulation and that help to compensate for the cycles in which ovulation arrives sooner or later.
In the case of women with an irregular cycle, the day of ovulation cannot be identified with such precision and, therefore, it is recommended that the fertile period be calculated. See how to calculate the fertile period in the irregular cycle.
Are ovulation and fertile period the same thing?
Although they are often used interchangeably, ovulation and the fertile period are not the same thing. Ovulation is the day when the mature egg is released from the ovary, ready to be fertilized. The fertile period, on the other hand, is a set of days that are calculated around the possible day of ovulation and that mark the period when the woman is most likely to become pregnant, once the egg has already been released. That is, without ovulation there is no fertile period.
Better understand how the fertile period works:
What is the best time to get pregnant?
The best period to get pregnant is known as the "fertile period" and is considered the set of 3 days before and 3 days after ovulation, that is, the period between the 11th and 16th days after the first day of the last menstruation. Women who are looking to become pregnant should then have unprotected sex during this period. Women who are trying to avoid pregnancy should be careful to avoid having unprotected relationships during this period.