Myths about Ovulation You Need to Stop Believing, Part 2

As promised, I want to finish addressing common misconceptions about ovulation so that you can have a better understanding of your health and fertility. Knowledge is power!

In case you missed it, be sure to check out last week's post first!

Once you're caught up on myths 1 to 3, keep reading below for myths 4-6, plus a bonus myth!

4. I have irregular periods, so I must not be ovulating.

   
   

Irregular periods are not necessarily abnormal or problematic! The pre-ovulatory phase of your cycle can be highly variable and this variation can cause a big swing in the length of time between periods. There are many biomarkers that your FertilityCare Practitioner will evaluate about your cycle to see if ovulation is likely occurring. Some of the things we look are are: Are you having a healthy mucus cycle? Are you having a regular and consistent length of the post-ovulatory phase of your cycle? Is your overall cycle is 21-38 days long? An inconsistent length of time between periods isn't abnormal in and of itself, nor is it necessarily an indicator that you're not ovulating.

5. I can only get pregnant when I ovulate.

   
   

False! Fun fact: in the presence of healthy cervical mucus, sperm can survive in the female reproductive tract for 3-5 days. So you can, in fact, be intimate on Monday and conceive on Thursday when you ovulate! This is one of the reasons that healthy cervical mucus is SO important to your fertility.

6. Ovulation tests work like pregnancy tests that tell me when I'm fertile.

It's not exactly that straight forward. There are a few different types of ovulation tests. Some test only your LH (luteinizing hormone) and some test a variety of hormones, including estrogen. Depending on your situation, these CAN be a useful tool. However, they only give you one piece of information - if that particular hormone level is over a certain threshold. This can be a useful piece of the puzzle, but it's not a complete picture and oftentimes doesn't help narrow down your window of fertility. If you're trying to achieve or avoid pregnancy, ovulation tests are best used alongside a trained FertilityCare Practitioner that can help you get the fuller picture of your reproductive health.

Bonus: I have pain when I ovulate. Something must be wrong.

Not necessarily. Some women can feel when they ovulate and this can be very normal! If you read part 1 of this series which talks about the process of ovulation, it might make sense why this incredible process would create a little twinge of pain when it occurs. The technical term for this pain is "Mittelschmerz", a German term that means "middle pain". If this pain lasts a long time, is more than light cramping or a "twinge" of pain, or is accompanied by bleeding, more investigation with your fertility team is probably needed. But if you are just experiencing that noticeable little cramp that tells you that an egg is being released, it's considered very normal!