After ovulation when will i get my period

When planning a baby, a couple needs to make sure that they are having regular intercourse and that it is at the correct time in a woman's menstrual cycle. Awareness of your fertility window increases your chances of conception.

Table of Contents Show

How to track your cycle
Signs of ovulation
How to Track Your Ovulation Cycle:
The Ovulation Cycle Divided Into Two Parts:
From the Menstrual Period to Ovulation (the details you may not know!)
Help Achieving Conception

The so called fertility window is the days in the menstrual cycle when conception is possible. This is from the day the egg is released (ovulation) and the five days prior.

The reason for this is that sperm can survive for up to five days and the egg for only 12-24 hours. We recommend tracking your cycles and aiming for intercourse at least every second day during this time.

If you have irregular cycles, we recommend you aim for intercourse every second to third day.

How to track your cycle

Working out your fertility window can be helped by tracking your menstrual cycle. You can simply mark your periods on a calendar or try some of the many apps available online (none of which are proven or endorsed by Fertility PLUS).

The average menstrual cycle is 28-35 days. Ovulation usually occurs 14 days prior to your period starting. We recommend you track two to three cycles and work out the average length of your cycle. From this you can work out the average time you are likely to ovulate.

If your cycle is 28 days, ovulation should occur on day 14. Therefore aim to have regular intercourse from 10 days after your period has started.
If your period is 35 days, then ovulation should occur at 21 days and intercourse should be from 17 days after your period started.

Ovulation

There are bodily signs that change over the month that can help you to identify if you have ovulated.

Signs of ovulation

Change in cervical mucus: Just before ovulation your cervical mucus changes to become clear and slippery, this is to allow the sperm to pass through the cervix. After ovulation the mucus becomes thicker and changes to a white/yellow colour, and hinders sperm transport.
Changes in bodily hormones: Measuring a woman's luteinising hormone (LH) can help indicate ovulation, as the LH increases one to two days prior to ovulation. LH can be measured in the urine and is the basis of commercial ovulation kits. These are generally used for five to six days prior to your expected ovulation day. Commercial ovulation kits should be used with caution as there is limited evidence of the effectiveness in improving fertility outcomes.
Changes in body temperature: Measuring your 'basal temperature' has been used to help identify if ovulation has occurred. Fertility PLUS does not recommend this technique as it is often inaccurate and can increase your stress levels. It is a retrospective test, so once your temperature has increased, you have already ovulated, potentially missing your fertility opportunity.

Ovulation is when a mature egg is released from the ovary, pushed down the fallopian tube, and is made available to be fertilized. Approximately every month an egg will mature within one of your ovaries. As it reaches maturity, the egg is released by the ovary where it enters the fallopian tube to make its way towards waiting for sperm and the uterus. The lining of the uterus has thickened to prepare for the 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 Facts:

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
Some women may experience some light blood or 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 experience pain/aching near ovaries during ovulation called ‘middle pain’
If an egg is not fertilized, it disintegrates and is absorbed into the uterine lining

How to Track Your Ovulation Cycle:

A woman’s monthly cycle is measured from the first day of her menstrual period until the first day of her next period. On average, a woman’s cycle normally is between 28-32 days, but some women may have much shorter or much longer cycles. Ovulation can be calculated by starting with the first day of the last menstrual period (LMP) or by calculating 12-16 days from the next expected period. Most women ovulate anywhere between Day 11 – Day 21 of their cycle, counting from the first day of the LMP. This is what many refer to as the “fertile time” of a woman’s cycle because sexual intercourse during this time increases the chance of pregnancy. Ovulation can occur at various times during a cycle and may occur on a different day each month. It is important to track your cycle and fortunately, there are a number of free fertility charting tools available to help women identify their peak fertile days.

The Ovulation Cycle Divided Into Two Parts:

The first part of the cycle is called the follicular phase. This phase starts the first day of the last menstrual period (LMP) and continues until ovulation.

This first half of the cycle can differ greatly for each woman lasting anywhere from 7 days to 40 days.

The second half of the cycle is called the luteal phase and is from the day of ovulation until the next period begins. The luteal phase has a more precise timeline and usually is only 12-16 days from the day of ovulation.

This ultimately means that the day of ovulation will determine how long your cycle is. This also means that outside factors like stress, illness, and disruption of normal routine can throw off your cycle which then results in changing the time your period will come. So the old thought that stress can affect your period is only partly true. Stress can affect your ovulation which ultimately determines when your period will come, but stress around the time of an expected period will not make it late—it was already determined when it would come 12-16 days earlier!

Fertility Awareness is one way to track when ovulation occurs, and it includes noticing the changes in cervical mucus and using a basal thermometer. Cervical fluid will change to a wet, slippery substance that resembles “egg whites” just before ovulation occurs and until it is over. A basal thermometer helps track a body temperature rise, which signals that ovulation has just occurred.

Another way to track your cycle is through ovulation kits and fertility monitors. Tracking can help a woman get a better idea of when pregnancy can and cannot occur during her monthly cycle. Once ovulation has occurred, there is nothing you can do to increase your chances of pregnancy. Your next step is to begin watching for early pregnancy symptoms. View and print an Ovulation Calendar to better understand your cycle.

From the Menstrual Period to Ovulation (the details you may not know!)

When your menstrual cycle begins, your estrogen levels are low. Your hypothalamus (which is in charge of maintaining your hormone levels) sends out a message to your pituitary gland which then sends out the follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). This FSH triggers a few of your follicles to develop into mature eggs. One of these will develop into the dominant follicle, which will release a mature egg and the others will disintegrate.

As the follicles mature they send out another hormone, estrogen. The high levels of estrogen will tell the hypothalamus and pituitary gland that there is a mature egg. A luteinizing hormone (LH) is then released, referred to as your LH surge. The LH surge causes the egg to burst through the ovary wall within 24-36 hours and begin its journey down the fallopian tube for fertilization. Ovulation Predictor Kits (OPKs) work by detecting this LH surge. The follicle from which the egg was released is called the corpus luteum, and it will release progesterone that helps thicken and prepare the uterine lining for implantation. The corpus luteum will produce progesterone for about 12-16 days (the luteal phase of your cycle.)

If an egg is fertilized, the corpus luteum will continue to produce progesterone for a developing pregnancy until the placenta takes over. You can begin looking for pregnancy symptoms as early as a week after fertilization. You can also begin testing for pregnancy as early as 7-10 days past your ovulation date with an Early Detection Pregnancy Test.

If fertilization does not occur the egg dissolves after 24 hours. At this time your hormone levels will decrease and your uterine lining will begin to shed about 12-16 days from ovulation. This is menstruation (menstrual period) and brings us back to day 1 of your cycle. The journey then begins all over again.

The timing of ovulation is one of the most important things a woman should understand about her body since it is the determining factor in getting pregnant and preventing pregnancy.

Help Achieving Conception

Our Ultimate Fertility Resource Guide provides the information you need on fertility, tips on how to get pregnant faster, and how to boost fertility through sometimes simple tweaks to your lifestyle and approach. The guide is easy to read and meant for anybody wanting to increase their ability to conceive. It’s a free download and includes coupon codes for essential products. Even free Nightfood Nighttime Ice Cream.