Ovulation is when the mature egg or ovum is released from the dominant follicle in the ovary and passes into the fallopian tube. Ovulation is essential for conception to occur.
Ovulation usually occurs midway through your menstrual cycle, so if you have a regular cycle, it is fairly easy to work out more or less when ovulation occurs. If you have an irregular cycle, you will need to keep accurate records of your menstrual cycle for a few months to establish more or less when ovulation is likely to occur.
A small percentage of women (±20%) develop mild lower abdominal pain or cramps on one side at the time of ovulation. This is called mittelschmerz.
Basal Body Temperature (BBT) measured by a special thermometer first thing in the morning may help you determine when ovulation occurs in your cycle. For this method you will have to be patient and do this for a few months to establish a pattern. What you will find is that your BBT is lower before ovulation than after ovulation and it does a little dip just before ovulation.
To be more accurate in finding your ovulation date, use an ovulation predictor kit. It is much easier as you just have to pee on a stick and wait to see if you are about to ovulate. It works on the levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) which peaks just before ovulation (see the ovulation cycle chart above).
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