The Source of the Egg
In order to conceive, four things must be present: eggs, sperm, a uterus and fallopian tubes. The eggs originate in the ovaries, a pair of oval-shaped endocrinal glands a little larger than a Greek olive, located above and attached to the uterus by a fallopian tube.
The follicles within the ovaries are stimulated by a rise in follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) each month. One follicle becomes dominant, while the others wither and die. After a sharp spike in the levels of LH, this dominant follicle bursts, releasing an egg, which is then carried out of the ovary via the fallopian tube. The egg takes a slow journey through the tube into the uterus; if it is fertilised along the way, then it nestles into the uterus' endometrial lining and begins to grow into an embryo. If the egg is not fertilised, it remains inside the uterus as dead tissue until it is shed, along with the endometrium, during the menstrual period. After the menstrual period, the cycle begins again.
Each ovary takes turns releasing eggs every month. In cases where one ovary is damaged or non-functional, the other ovary will provide all eggs. Estrogen and progesterone both originate from the ovaries, helping to develop secondary sexual attributes during puberty and prepare and maintain the uterus during pregnancy.
Detecting Ovulation
Ovulation is essential to conception. Women must know when they are fertile, so they can time intercourse for when it is most effective. To this end, an ovulation test has been invented.
Women can practice fertility awareness methods, such as basal body temperature charting and tracking of menstrual cycles, but these can only narrow fertility down to a three to five-day gap. With an ovulation test, you can check your levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) daily until a surge occurs, indicating fertility for the next forty-eight hours.
How an Ovulation Test Works
An ovulation test is basically identical to a pregnancy test, except the two detect different hormones. The pregnancy test is looking for traces of human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG), whereas the ovulation test is searching for luteinizing hormone (LH). While LH is present in both men and women, elevated levels are a normal by-product of female ovulation.
There are two kinds of ovulation test. One, a seven-day daily ovulation test, can help pinpoint the two most fertile days during one week - this is useful for women with predictable cycles. The second type of ovulation test is a twenty-day daily ovulation test, which is very useful for women with irregular cycles, or those who aren't using any other form of fertility awareness.
Other Indications
Of course, when using an ovulation test and trying to conceive, you would hope to get positive results as soon as possible. Continued negative results might be an indication of a serious ovulatory problem, however, and you should consult your doctor if you've been using an ovulation test for longer than one month with no positive results.
Monitoring the activity of your ovaries will bring you in closer touch with your body as well as increasing your chances of successful conception. Good luck, and keep your doctor's number handy - either for repeated negatives, or for the good news.
