When does ovulation take place?

Your menstrual cycle usually consists of 28 days. For some, it may go on for 35 days and more. The cycle starts from the first day of your period and ends on the first day of the next period.

"If you have a 28-day cycle, your ovulation (release of the egg) takes place on the 14th day of the cycle," says Gynaecologist, Dr. Ranjana Dhanu, Jaslok Hospital. In a 35-day cycle, ovulation takes place roughly on the 18th day of the cycle. The ovulation period lasts for about 24-48 hours in every cycle.

"The egg stays on in the pelvic cavity for only 48 hours. On the other hand, a sperm can stay alive for 48-72 hours," says Gynaecologist, Dr. Kiran Coelho. If not fertilised within 48 hours, you will get your period and your body releases the egg in the process.

Does it occur in every cycle?

Ovulation occurs in every menstrual cycle unless there is a hormonal imbalance. "In case of young girls who have just started menstruating, their period cycle might not be regular. Here, ovulation might not occur regularly," says Dr. Dhanu.

A sign of ovulation is regular cycles and pain in the lower abdomen.

Signs that you are ovulating

When ovulating, you might experience pain in the lower abdomen. You will also notice that the cervical mucus becomes more clear and sticky. Your sexual drive also goes up by a notch or two!

"After ovulation, you will also notice a rise in body temperature (basal body temperature)," says Dr. Coelho. This happens due to the release of the hormone progesterone at the time of ovulation.

If you don't notice these signs, you can get an ovulation kit from your local chemist. With this you can detect the presence of luteinizing hormone (LH) in your urine. This hormone is secreted just before the eggs are released from the ovary. It predicts ovulation 12 to 36 hours in advance.

Are you trying to conceive?

"If you want to increase your chances of conceiving, you should have sex in between the 11th and 17th day of your cycle," says Dr. Dhanu.

You can have sex every day or on alternate days during this period to further your chances of getting pregnant.

When is your safe period?

Your safe period is five days before your period and five days after. This is when you can have unprotected sex with minimum risk of getting pregnant.

"There is a 30% chance of you getting pregnant during the safe period as you could ovulate later than usual," says Dr Dhanu.

According to her, medical dictum is that you should get your period 15 days after you ovulate. "If you don't, then it is either because of a pregnancy or some health problem like polycystic ovarian syndrome," she adds.

Some couples practice abstinence as a method of birth control. "But this will only work if the couple is highly motivated," opines Dr. Coelho.

According to her, abstinence is based on observation of the volume (more) and texture (thicker, clearer) of the cervical mucus. Body temperature is another indicator.