[Lia]

The Big O: The Best Way to Predict Ovulation
by Joelle Klein

Ready to have a baby? Experts agree that determining when you're ovulating is the single most important factor in getting pregnant quickly. But with so many methods out there — from charting your basal body temperature to using an ovulation predictor kit — where does a woman start?

The general rule of thumb is that women ovulate 14 days before their next period. A normal menstrual cycle will last between 23 and 35 days. (If your cycles are shorter or longer than the normal range, you might want to consult an expert.) But because a woman's body varies from month to month, few women have the exact same number of days in every cycle.
And because sperm can live for two to three days after intercourse and the egg can survive for only 12 to 24 hours after ovulation, the optimal time to have intercourse is one to three days before ovulation. So here's the tricky part: How can you predict ovulation if your cycle changes every month?

Here's a breakdown of the most popular free and over-the-counter methods available to help you predict ovulation. Not every method works for evry woman, so you might want to try a few to see which one is best for you.

Charting Basal Body Temperature (BBT)

A woman's body temperature drops slightly at the time of her luteinizing hormone (LH) rise, and then goes up significantly. This elevation in temperature indicates that ovulation has occurred. To chart your BBT, you need a basal body thermometer, available at most drugstores for $10 to $13, and a chart of some sort to track your temperature readings. You must take your temperature first thing every morning, before getting out of bed. You're looking for a slight drop or, more likely, a significant rise. Charting your BBT over a period of a few months will enable you to learn about your cycle so that you're aware of when you're ovulating in subsequent months.

Pros: It's inexpensive and can help women learn about their bodies and their cycle lengths.

Cons: It's hard for many women to remember to take their temperature every morning, and with this method, it's more likely you'll determine when ovulation has already occurred, which is not as useful in terms of getting pregnant.

Testimonial: "Charting my BBT helped us figure out when to have sex in subsequent months. I got pregnant after three cycles of charting." —Jody

Checking Cervical Mucus (CM)

As the estrogen level rises in the first half of your cycle, your mucus changes from sticky to creamy to a thin, watery, stretchy consistency. Ovulation occurs when copious amounts of this thin, stretchy discharge is present. To use this method, you simply check your mucus in the morning, or throughout the day, to determine the thickness and texture. Once you detect this watery CM, you should have sex every day, or every other day, until the slippery CM dissipates.

Pros: It's absolutely free, and it's a good indicator of when you're about to ovulate.

Cons: According to Christopher Williams, MD, author of The Fastest Way to Get Pregnant Naturally, the change in your mucus can last up to a week, and "it's a gross overgeneralization to say that all women have the same type of mucus."

Testimonial: "I tried charting my BBT but constantly forgot to take my temperature first thing in the morning. Instead, I started looking for a change in my CM. One week I noticed that my CM was obviously stretchier. We had sex every day that week, and I got pregnant." —Amy

Ovulation Predictor Kits (OPKs)
OPKs use special chemicals to recognize a surge of LH in your urine, indicating that ovulation will occur in about 24 to 36 hours. The kits, found in most drugstores, cost between $25 and $30. You simply follow the directions on the package and have intercourse on the day of the surge and the day after.

Pros: They're relatively easy to use and fairly accurate.

Cons: They don't work for everyone. According to Ricardo Azziz, MD, MPH, MBA, chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, 10 percent of women will have a false-positive test and 10 to 20 percent of women will get a false negative.

Testimonial: "I tried for six months before I bought an OPK. Even though my cycle was regular, I had a hard time figuring out when I was ovulating. I got pregnant after using the OPK the first time." —Carrie

Clearblue Fertility Monitor

At $200 to $250 per monitor, plus about $50 for test sticks, this is the BMW of ovulation predictor methods. It tests two hormones, estrogen metabolite and LH, to determine your peak fertility days. You simply urinate on a stick every morning starting at day six or nine of your cycle, then place the stick in the monitor for a reading of high, low or peak fertility. "It's very reliable, just more expensive than an OPK," says Dr. Williams.

Pros: It's very reliable and pinpoints your most fertile days.

Cons: It's expensive and, according to Dr. Williams, not accurate for women who have cycles longer than 35 days.

Testimonial: "I had tried other methods and was not having any luck. To me, it was well worth the cost to speed up the process. It was easy to use, and I got pregnant — with twins — after four months." —Marla

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