WOMEN AWARENESS

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I receive tens of questions daily on this issue from women who don’t understand their safe period or when they can get pregnant. This post is here to answer the many questions. though i have worked on it in a very shortest form of it but so many still don't understand ,even among the enlightened women.

WHAT IS OVULATION?
Ovulation is when an egg (and, occasionally, more than one egg) is released from the ovary, moves down the fallopian tube, and is available in the fallopian tube to be fertilized.

WHAT IS YOUR FERTILE PERIOD?
To be fruitful and multiply, you must have sexual intercourse during the period spanning one to two days before ovulation to about 24 hours afterward. This is your fertile period. The reason: Sperm cells can live for two or three days, but an egg survives no more than 24 hours after ovulation — unless, of course, fertilization occurs.

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HOW DOES OVULATION DETERMINE WHEN I CAN GET PREGNANT?
If you have sex near the time of ovulation, you'll increase your chances of getting pregnant. In normally fertile couples, there is a 20 percent chance of getting pregnant each cycle. About 85 percent of women who have sex without using birth control will get pregnant within one year. You can try to boost your likelihood of getting pregnant by learning to pinpoint exactly when you ovulate and by familiarizing yourself with the cyclic hormonal and physical changes that take place in your body each month.

You can also use this knowledge to attempt birth control by avoiding intercourse near the time of ovulation.

HOW TO TRACK YOUR OVULATION
Work out the length of your average menstrual cycle. Day one is the first day of the menstrual period and the last day is the day before the next period begins.

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Ovulation happens about 12 to 16 days, on average two weeks before the next expected period. NOT AFTER THE PREVIOUS ONE. This is where many women miss it. So if your average menstrual cycle is 28 days, you ovulate around day 14.

If you have a 28 day cycle, with ovulation typically happening on day 14, the ‘fertile window’ starts on day 12. If you have longer cycles, say 35 days between periods and ovulation happens on day 21, the ‘fertile window’ starts on day 19. If you have very short cycles, say 21 days and ovulation happens on day 7, your ‘fertile window’ would start on day 5.

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HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU’RE OVULATING?
Women’s cycles can vary and are not always as regular as clockwork, so to know that you are ovulating and on which day of your cycle you are ovulating, observe your fertility signs throughout your cycle and record them on a chart.
The most accurate methods of working out when ovulation is about to occur are:

CHANGE IN CERVICAL MUCUS.
As your cycle progresses, your cervical mucus increases in volume and changes texture. The changes reflect your body's rising levels of estrogen. You are considered most fertile when the mucus becomes clear, slippery, and stretchy. Many women compare mucus at this stage to raw egg whites.
Normally the mucous is a protective barrier, but during the most fertile time of your cycle, it allows sperm to get through the cervix, up to the uterus, and then to the fallopian for fertilization to happen.

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BASAL BODY TEMPERATURE
Record your basal body temperature (BBT) each day before getting out of bed. A special basal body temperature thermometer will ensure accurate measurement. Your BBT rises about half a degree Celsius after ovulation has occurred. By charting your temperature, it’s easy to see when the rise in temperature and ovulation happens. This can help you work out your own pattern of ovulation. However, because at that stage ovulation has already passed, it does not help you pinpoint the fertile window but may guide you for next month.

USE THE OVULATION CALCULATOR
If you know the date of your last period, the length of your cycle and your cycle is regular, this will identify your ‘fertile window’ and predicted ovulation period

LOWER ABDOMINAL DISCOMFORT
About one-fifth of women actually feel ovulatory activity,which can range from mild achiness to twinges of pain.The condition,called mittelschmerz,may last a few minutes to a few hours.