Ovulation occurs around the 14th day of the menstrual cycle. This is averaged data. In fact, the egg can be ready for fertilization both earlier and later. Much depends on the individual duration of the cycle. Normally, it can last from 21 to 35 days. So, the assertion that ovulation occurs on average on the 14th day is true for a normal 28-day cycle.
When ovulation is considered late
The exit of a matured and ready for fertilization egg from the follicle is called ovulation. On what day this will happen, it is impossible to predict without using diagnostic methods. The well-known norm is the onset of ovulation in the middle of the cycle. With a period of 28 days between menstruation, the egg matures on approximately the fourteenth day. If the cycle, for example, is 34 days, then ovulation should normally occur on the seventeenth.
What does “late ovulation” mean? When is an ovum considered to be late? Late ovulation with a cycle of 26 days is, for example, egg maturation after the fourteenth day. With a "standard" period of 28 days - after the 16th. If the interval between menstruation is 30 days, then late is ovulation, which occurs after the 18th day. What day is late ovulation if the cycle is long? With a long cycle (32 days), egg maturation after 19-20 days is considered late.
This can occur due to physiological reasons (then it is a variant of the norm), and due to external influences or even serious pathology, which the woman is not aware of. By the way, there is also a relationship between the time of onset of ovulation and the duration of the menstrual cycle. The longer the germ cell matures, the longer the cycle will be.
Physiology of Late Ovulation
The menstrual cycle is divided into two phases: follicular and luteal. During the first egg develops in the follicle, prepares for possible fertilization. This phase begins on the first day of the next menstrual bleeding and continues until ovulation occurs. Normally, it takes about half the cycle. The next phase is the corpus luteum, or luteal. This stage begins immediately after ovulation and continues until there is a corpus luteum, that is, about 12-14 days. The corpus luteum secretes hormones that will help to strengthen the pregnancy in case of fertilization of a mature egg.
In the event that a woman is diagnosed with late ovulation, the cause of difficulties with conception may be the insufficiency of the second phase. This is a violation that is characterized by insufficient time for fixing the fetal egg in the uterine cavity and the successful start of pregnancy (even if the sperm succeeded in fertilizing the female cell in this cycle).
Such a pathology affects a small percentage of women with infertility, the causes of which doctors can not establish. Every second person who encounters spontaneous abortion hears a diagnosis of "insufficiency of the second phase." But there are 6-10% of women who at the same time managed to successfully become pregnant and give birth to healthy children.
The reasons for the "delay" of ovulation
The delay in the release of the egg can be due to many factors. In some cases, this is considered a variant of the norm and is a consequence of the individual characteristics of the woman's body. The most common causes of late ovulation are:
- Acute or chronic diseases of the reproductive system, untreated infectious and inflammatory processes.
- Excessive psychological and physical stress.
- Hormonal changes. The cycle can be unstable in adolescence, in mature women before menopause and in the presence of diseases associated with hormones.
- Body mass deficiency. A small amount of adipose tissue negatively affects the production of estrogen in sufficient quantities, which provokes late ovulation.
- Intensive sports, especially in combination with taking steroids.
- Abuse of emergency contraception.
- Recent births, recent spontaneous or medical abortions, surgical interventions on the genitals.
Norm or pathology
Late ovulation is a condition that can be characteristic of healthy women, and for those whose body is affected by a number of negative factors. It is likely that the "delay" of the egg is an individual feature of the body, which not only does not interfere with pregnancy, but also does not require any special therapy. Such a condition is pathological only in those cases when it is caused by some kind of disturbance in the body. If the doctor does not reveal other violations, then no treatment will be prescribed.
Second phase insufficiency
As a result of delayed ovulation, luteal phase deficiency may occur. This does not affect those women for whom the late release of the egg is a variant of the norm; they (in the absence of other restraining reasons) can successfully conceive and bear a child. Phase insufficiency is the case when late ovulation is a pathological condition and does not allow to become pregnant.
Among other symptoms of such a pathology, one can list:
- the duration of the menstrual cycle is less than 24 days;
- insufficient progesterone;
- low BT after ovulation;
- early miscarriages in the past;
- lower back pain, loose stools and daub in the second phase.
The causes of the pathology are poor follicle development, poor quality of the corpus luteum, insufficient uterine readiness for implantation, premature death of the corpus luteum, inability to implant the embryo into the uterine cavity for any reason.
In most cases, the failure of the luteal phase of the cycle is successfully treatable, and a woman who has recently heard this diagnosis sees the treasured two strips on the test. The administration of progesterone, hCG injection may be prescribed, in some cases, ovulation is stimulated.
How to recognize the right day
How to determine late ovulation? There are several methods that allow, with varying probability, to establish the day the egg leaves the follicle. At home, a woman can conduct a test that works on the principle of a pregnancy test, but the reagent responds to another hormone. An affordable but more complicated way is to regularly measure basal temperature and analyze the graph. You can rely on subjective sensations - symptoms of late ovulation. Within the walls of a medical institution, ovulation is determined by ultrasound, laboratory tests (the level of certain hormones is monitored).
Subjective symptoms
Ovulation in some women is characterized by certain vivid symptoms that allow them to determine their "dangerous" and "safe" days of the cycle, without resorting to additional diagnostic methods. But I must say that this method is very unreliable.
So, late ovulation can be accompanied by pulling sensations in the lower abdomen (on the one hand: on the right or left), an increase in the size and sensitivity of the mammary glands, increased libido. Some women also experience sharp mood swings, emotionality, and tearfulness caused by elevated levels of “female” hormones.
Ovulation can be determined by the nature of vaginal discharge. By viscosity, they become similar to chicken egg protein, streaks of blood may appear. All mucus may have a yellowish color. The amount of discharge increases.
Home Ovulation Test
Such a test is carried out very simply: it is enough to purchase strips in a pharmacy, drop them in a container with freshly collected urine to the control mark for ten seconds, and after five to ten minutes, evaluate the result. In the case of jet tests, urine can not be collected in a container, but simply substitute a strip under the stream. One strip will mean that there is no ovulation yet, two - that the egg will leave the follicle within the next three to five hours. Tests are recommended to be started from the 11th day of the menstrual cycle (with a 28-day period). You can do them both in the morning and in the evening, so as not to miss ovulation.
There are electronic tests that determine ovulation on a woman's saliva. Such a device resembles a tube of lipstick, but in fact it is a miniature microscope. It is enough to place a little saliva on the glass, and then you should evaluate the pattern, enlarged many times. If saliva resembles a fern leaf, then this means that ovulation will occur in the near future.
Observation of basal temperature
Another way to help determine the day of ovulation is to monitor BT. Basal temperature should be measured daily without getting out of bed. It is measured either with an electronic or mercury thermometer in the vagina or rectum immediately after awakening. The entire cycle must be used with one device and measured in the same place, for example, only in the vagina and only with an electronic thermometer.
All measurements should be recorded on a graph. The approaching ovulation is indicated by a decrease in temperature for two to three days, and then its increase for at least three days. BT should increase by at least 0.4 degrees Celsius. As a rule, when ovulating, the temperature is 37 degrees or more. According to the schedule, you can set X day with a high degree of certainty.
Late ovulation and pregnancy
With a late release of the egg, it is possible to become pregnant naturally. The main thing is that this should be a variant of the norm for a particular woman, not be accompanied by pathologies or other problems with the functioning of the reproductive system, and not cause a failure of the second phase. Conception during late ovulation, which is the physiological norm, simply occurs a little later than, for example, on the 14th day with a 28-day menstrual cycle. But this is if there are no other pathologies.
Late ovulation with an irregular cycle can be a problem. In this case, you need to track the exit of the egg from the follicle, so that in time to start trying to conceive a child and not miss the most suitable moment. In the event that "delayed" ovulation still prevents the couple from becoming pregnant, doctors correct the woman’s menstrual cycle with medications. Soon after completion of treatment, most manage to become parents.
Menstrual cycle correction
Perhaps the simplest measures will help to correct the cycle: a balanced diet, weight gain (if it is insufficient), adequate physical activity, lack of stress and regular sex life with a regular partner. In some cases, the doctor may prescribe hormonal drugs. For example, women often recommend Duphaston, which must be taken in the second phase. But the effect of therapy does not occur immediately - usually it takes about three months to evaluate the result.
When to do a pregnancy test
When to do a pregnancy test for late ovulation? So, with a short cycle (21 days) and a late exit of the egg, pregnancy can be determined no earlier than the 25th or 26th day. If the cycle is 26 days, doing the test is not earlier than the 28th, and if 28 - not earlier than the 30th. With a long cycle of 30 days, a pregnancy test can show two strips no earlier than on the 32nd day, 32 days - not earlier than the 34th day.
These figures are approximate, since it is simply impossible to calculate such physiological processes with high accuracy. In some cases, a test (or a basal temperature chart) can show pregnancy until it is delayed or "silent" for quite some time. In the latter case, it is worth taking a blood test to determine the level of hCG in the blood.