Are you confirming ovulation accurately?
- Alex Cameron
- Jun 16
- 3 min read
A 2012 study found that of 330 women who were actively trying to conceive, only 12 of these women had accurate estimations of when their ovulation was occurring.
When you’re trying to conceive naturally, understanding your menstrual cycle and knowing exactly when you ovulate is absolutely crucial. Ovulation is the process when your ovary releases an egg, and it defines your fertile window — the days during which conception is most likely to occur.
It's really common to rely on menstrual tracking apps to estimate fertile days (I used to do this too!), but this method alone is often inaccurate. For example, a 2012 study involving 330 women trying to conceive found that only 12 of these women correctly estimated the timing of their ovulation (1).
Cycle tracking apps can be a helpful tool for awareness and I definitely encourage using them as a place to store data, but they do not confirm ovulation. These apps predict fertile windows based on average cycle lengths or previous data, but ovulation timing can vary significantly from month to month and from woman to woman. It's not uncommon to ovulate 5 days earlier than expected one cycle even after months of regular ovulation. It can just be so variable.
So if an app isn't the way to go then- what is?
How Can You Confirm Ovulation?
To better understand your cycle and improve your chances of conception, it’s best to use additional methods to confirm ovulation:
Monitoring Cervical Mucus: As you approach ovulation, your cervical mucus changes in consistency and appearance — typically becoming clear, stretchy, and egg-white-like.
Urinary Ovulation Tests: These detect the luteinizing hormone (LH) surge that triggers ovulation.
Progesterone Blood Tests: After ovulation, progesterone levels rise. A blood test about 7 days post-ovulation can confirm whether ovulation actually occurred and also indicate whether you have a healthy level of progesterone to support a potential pregnancy.
Basal Body Temperature (BBT) Tracking: After ovulation, your resting body temperature slightly increases. By tracking your BBT daily first thing in the morning, you can confirm that ovulation has taken place.
Recommended Approach: Predict and Confirm
For the most effective cycle tracking, I recommend using a couple of different methods e.g.:
Choose one method to predict ovulation (for example, monitoring cervical mucus or using urinary LH tests).
Use another method to confirm that ovulation has occurred, such as basal body temperature tracking or a progesterone blood test.
What If You’re Not Ovulating?
If you establish that you are not ovulating regularly, it’s important to investigate further. Anovulation (lack of ovulation) can be caused by various factors including hormonal imbalances, stress, diet, or underlying health conditions. Thankfully- this can be one of the easiest things to treat and the evidence on the diet and lifestyle factors that can support this is vast.
If you would like dietitian support to help you regain healthy, regular ovulation then you're in the right place. Start with downloading your FREE fertility nutrition guide on "The Top 5 Fertility Nutrition Mistakes to Avoid" HERE. I cover the exact preconception tests to complete, the most accurate way to pinpoint ovulation, harmful supplements to avoid, harmful foods and drinks, and so much more.
If you would like a personalised plan created specifically for you to improve your fertility through nutrition and lifestyle changes then go ahead and schedule your 1-1 Fertility Nutrition Intensive Consultation now. I work with couples 1-1 from all over the world through virtual appointments to support them to improve their fertility and have healthy babies and pregnancies every day.
Alex Cameron
NZ Registered Dietitian Certified Prenatal & Fertility Dietitian
Stanford JB, White GL Jr, Hatasaka H. Which kinds of women know their fertile time? Contraception. 2012 Mar;85(3):313-9. doi:10.1016/j.contraception.2011.08.006. Epub 2011 Oct 8. PMID: 22082371.
Comments