Ovulation tests measure reproductive hormones to tell you whether you’re ovulating, so you can take control of your fertility goals. Here’s why you should take an ovulation test—and which type you should use.
Sometimes, knowing when and whether you’re ovulating can be hard.
That’s where ovulation tests come in. Ovulation tests are an at-home tool to help you know when you’re ovulating and when you’re fertile. Not all ovulation tests are made equally, though.
Read on to learn more about ovulation tests, including when you should take an ovulation test, why you should take an ovulation test, and what type of ovulation test you should take.
What is an ovulation test? First, it’s helpful to know what ovulation is, so you know what you’re testing.
What is ovulation? Ovulation is the moment around the midpoint of your menstrual cycle when your ovaries release an egg. You’re fertile when you’re ovulating.
Changes in crucial reproductive hormones drive ovulation:
Estrogen increases as the egg grows in your ovariesLuteinizing hormone (LH) surges, telling your ovaries to release the eggProgesterone begins to rise, signaling the end of ovulationIf the egg released during ovulation is fertilized by sperm, you may become pregnant and get a positive pregnancy test a couple weeks later . If the egg isn’t fertilized, it disintegrates, you get your period a couple weeks later, and your cycle repeats.
Ovulation test definition An ovulation test, also called an ovulation predictor kit (OPK), is an at-home test that tells you if you’re ovulating. Knowing when you’re ovulating can help you understand when you’re most fertile , so you can time (or avoid) sex.
Traditional ovulation tests work by checking LH levels in your urine. When LH hits its peak level (the LH surge ), ovulation follows 10 to 12 hours later. If ovulation tests detect this surge, they tell you that you’re ovulating.
Ovulation tests vary based on brand, but generally, they’re either:
Paper test strips : you pee in a cup, then stick a paper test strip into the pee Stick tests : you pee directly onto a test stick, similar to a pregnancy test stickSome ovulation tests use saliva instead of urine, but these tests are generally considered less reliable and more difficult to understand.
Different types of ovulation tests offer varying amounts of information. Some may measure other hormones, too.
Should I take an ovulation test? Whether you’re trying to conceive (TTC) or looking to avoid pregnancy, taking an ovulation test to track your ovulation can help you take control of your reproductive health.
Here are just a few scenarios where you could take an ovulation test.
You’re trying to conceive Even if your cycle is regular, ovulation can skip a month or shift by a couple days—things happen. Knowing with certainty when you’re ovulating can help you find your fertile window and optimize your chances of conceiving in a given cycle.
You have irregular cycles and you’re trying to conceive When you have irregular cycles , ovulation can be a mystery. Taking an ovulation test helps you confirm ovulation and time sex accordingly.
You have a reproductive health condition and you’re trying to conceive Some reproductive health conditions cause irregular ovulation, making ovulation tests a powerful tool to help you track what’s happening in your body and correctly time sex.
You’re in perimenopause and trying to conceive It’s possible to get pregnant during perimenopause because you’re still ovulating. Ovulation is often irregular, though, which is where ovulation tests come in handy.
You’re trying to avoid pregnancy Knowing when you’re ovulating can help you understand when to use additional protection, if needed.
When should I take an ovulation test? Traditional ovulation tests have to detect your LH surge to work, so when you take the test matters.
But how do you know when your LH will surge and when to take an ovulation test? Generally, you should start testing a few days before you expect to ovulate, to be sure to capture the surge. Since ovulation typically happens around day 14 if you have a 28-day cycle, you’ll want to start testing closer to day 12.
That means, however, that there’s some guesswork involved with many traditional ovulation tests: you have to guess when ovulation is close and which cycle days to test. If you have irregular cycles , that’s more easily said than done.
Luckily, more advanced ovulation tests offer more information about when to test.
What type of ovulation test should I take? The type of ovulation test that’s right for you depends on your individual needs, including factors like your cycle and your fertility goals.
Here’s a look at a few different types, so you can decide which ovulation test best meets your needs.
Luteinizing hormone-only ovulation tests Many traditional ovulation tests only measure LH. Detecting LH is only part of the equation, though, and it can be misleading. In fact, it’s possible for LH to surge but no egg to be released.
That means that LH alone doesn’t confirm ovulation. For that, you need to look at progesterone. A rise in progesterone confirms ovulation, whereas no rise in progesterone means no ovulation.
But with LH-only ovulation tests, your test may detect LH and tell you you’re ovulating, regardless of whether or not that’s actually the case.
Unless you have a regular cycle, you know you ovulate regularly, and you generally know when you ovulate, this type of simple ovulation test may not cut it.
‘Standard’ hormone range ovulation tests Lots of traditional ovulation tests use a narrow window of measurement based on certain “standard” hormone ranges. If your hormones surge or rise within those standard ranges, the test will tell you that you’re ovulating.
But it’s common for LH levels (and other hormone levels) to fall outside this “standard” range. This could be the case if you’re taking fertility medication, you’re in perimenopause , or you have a reproductive health condition like PCOS .
For example, if your LH baseline is low and outside of the “standard range”, the ovulation test may not be able to detect LH at all and tell you that you never ovulate—even if you do. Or, if your LH baseline is high and the ovulation test can’t differentiate between baseline and surge, the test may tell you that you’re ovulating constantly!
If your LH baseline is outside the window of measurement used by traditional ovulation tests, these tests likely won’t correctly detect ovulation for you.
Quantitative, personalized, multi-hormone ovulation tests Other ovulation tests measure a combination of hormones, according to your unique hormone levels.
The Oova kit, for example, offers a quantitative, personalized, multi-hormone ovulation test with lab-level accuracy, enabling you to more easily and confidently track your ovulation and other cycle phases.
Oova measures LH, estrogen, and progesterone, and analyzes levels according to your individual baseline rather than a “standard” range.
Plus, since Oova learns your unique ovulation indicators, the app will prompt you to test on specific days each cycle, taking the guesswork out of when to take an ovulation test. This is particularly useful if you have irregular cycles.
What is an ovulation test? The bottom line An ovulation test is an at-home test that tells you whether or not you’re ovulating, so you can know when you’re fertile.
Tracking your ovulation can be useful in lots of different scenarios, like if you’re trying to conceive, if you have an irregular cycle, or if you’re in perimenopause.
Many traditional ovulation tests may fall short if you have an irregular cycle or different hormone levels. Other ovulation tests, including the Oova kit, look at a wide group of hormones in a wider measurement range to help you truly understand your cycle and your ovulation.
When you have accurate and personalized information about whether and when you ovulate, you can more fully focus on your fertility and overall health goals.
