Ovulation tests or Ovulation Predictor Kits (OPKs) - allow you to predict, with great accuracy, your most fertile time of the month. Easy to use, ovulation predictor kits can greatly increase your chances of becoming pregnant.
Using Ovulation Predictor Kits to Predict Fertility
Ovulation is the defined as the separation of a mature ovum from the ovary after a follicle has been formed. For many women, ovulation takes place midcycle, around cycle day 14. Of course, irregular cycles and countless other factors can contribute to ovulation taking place either earlier or later. That's why we use ovulation tests and chart fertility. In fact, "normal ovulation" can occur as early as day 8 or as late as three weeks into your cycle. When ovulation occurs is a coefficient of menstrual cycle length, so women with long cycles will ovulate later than women with shorter cycles.
To provide a brief overview of ovulation, the growth of an ovum takes place due to the influence of FSH - or follicle stimulating hormone. At ovulation, a surge in lh - or luteinizing hormone - facilitates the separation of egg from follicle. Here, cilia at the end of the fallopian tube move over and brush the ovary to help assist in the release of egg from follicle. For more on how an ovulation predictor test allows you to predict this period of peak fertility, read on!
Ovulation tests - or ovulation predictor kits (OPKs) - are excellent tools for predicting ovulation, a woman's most fertile time during her menstrual cycle. Unlike BBT charting, ovulation tests anticipate ovulation - not just confirm that ovulation has taken place.
Ovulation predictors work by detecting luteinizing hormone (LH). Just preceding ovulation, women experience an "LH surge" - a sudden, dramatic, and brief rise in the level of luteinizing hormone. Ovulation tests detect the LH surge, allowing you to accurately predict when you will ovulate. A positive result on an ovulation predictor kit means that the woman will most likely become fertile over the next three days - with peak fertility at 36 hours following the LH surge.
How do OPKs Work? Luteinizing Hormone and Ovulation
How do ovulation tests work? At the beginning of the menstrual cycle, the body begins to produce follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). FSH facilitates the formation of a follicle on one of the ovaries. The follicle contains and nurtures the egg. When a follicle has adequately matured, a surge of Luteinizing Hormone (LH) causes the follicle to burst and release the egg into the fallopian tube - the moment of ovulation.
Throughout the menstrual cycle, a small amount of LH is produced - but during the middle of the cycle LH briefly and dramatically increases. Elevated quantities of luteinizing hormone facilitate ovulation - and OPKs detect this LH surge through anti-LH antibodies contained in the sensitive testing membrane of the test.
The LH surge is, alas, very brief - and in order to detect the LH surge, a woman needs to test at the right time of the month - and the right time of day. As LH is produced by the body in the morning, mid-afternoon is considered the ideal time to test.
Once the LH surge has been detected, successful fertilization is most likely to take place one to three days following the LH surge - with peak fertility at 36 hours post-LH surge. Since this ovulation "window" only opens once per month (and the unfertilized egg has a short 24-hour life-span) predicting ovulation accurately is very helpful when trying to become pregnant.
Using OPKs and Interpreting Ovulation Test Results
Ovulation tests come in two formats: test strips and midstream tests. To use the ovulation predictor test strip, you fill a container with urine and hold the test strip in the container for several seconds. With midstream tests, you hold the test in your stream of urine. Both test formats are equally reliable. Always read ovulation test kit instructions carefully.
With most home ovulation testing products, the "reaction time" of the test is five minutes. At five minutes, you can interpret the tests. All tests have a "control" color band (or color line) that indicates whether the test is working or not. Also, the control band provides a color/intensity baseline by which to interpret the "test" band results. The "test" color band indicates a positive or negative result (please refer to the graphic below).
A positive result (indicating an LH Surge) is indicated by a test band that is of equal or greater intensity (equal or darker) than the control band. A negative result for the LH Surge is indicated when the test band is of lesser intensity (lighter) than the control band or cannot be seen. A negative result means the LH level of the urine sample is at or near its normal level and that the LH surge is not in progress. Remember, there is always some quantity of LH in your system, so a light color band in the test region is NOT an indicator of a positive result.
Author Resource:
Kathy Williams is a freelance writer and health & nutrition enthusiast. She is constantly doing research on various health topics including ovulation predictor kits and has written for a variety of publications.
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