Perimenopause

Everything You Need to Know About Perimenopause Ovulation (and How to Track It)

Zoe Kaplan

Irregular cycles are standard during perimenopause, but you’re likely still ovulating. So, what’s the best way to know when you have?

Published:

Dec 8, 2023

Est. Read Time:

Perimenopause, or the transition before menopause, consists of multiple changes in your body leading up to your last period. As a result of the hormonal fluctuations during this time, many people will experience irregular cycles, sometimes going long stretches without having a period. And no period equals no ovulation, right?

Unfortunately, it’s not always that simple, and you might ovulate without getting a period, or get a period and not ovulate. Perimenopause ovulation may happen erratically and unpredictably, with or without a period. Here’s why that happens—and how to track your ovulation during this confusing time.

Perimenopause ovulation: what’s happening?

To understand perimenopause ovulation, it’s first important to know what’s happening with your hormones during this transition.

As you get older, your ovaries start producing fewer eggs. This means your body produces less estrogen and progesterone, two hormones that are heavily involved in your reproductive functions. When these hormones fluctuate and decrease, your menstrual cycle gets thrown out of whack, leading to things like:

Irregular cycles, because your body isn’t releasing eggs as consistently as it once did‍
Anovulatory cycles, when you have a period but don’t ovulate‍
Ovulation without periods, which can happen when you have irregular cycles

During perimenopause, hormone fluctuations mean you’re likely to experience a range of irregularities in your menstrual cycle, but that doesn’t mean you’re not ovulating. In fact, you may continue to ovulate even if you don’t get a period.

You can ovulate up until you’ve reached menopause, or the 12-month period after your last period.

Can you get pregnant during perimenopause?

Because you’re still ovulating for most of perimenopause, yes, you can get pregnant.

However, you’re far less likely to get pregnant during perimenopause compared to before the transition. As we age, our chances of pregnancy decrease: first, because we ovulate less frequently; second, because our eggs age with us. The eggs we release later in life are more likely to be chromosomally abnormal, and therefore harder to fertilize and become a viable pregnancy.

While the chances of getting pregnant during perimenopause are slim—about 5% every cycle—it’s still possible. If you’re trying to avoid pregnancy during this time, it's important to know if you are still ovulating so you can take the proper contraceptive measures.

How to track perimenopause ovulation

Tracking perimenopause ovulation is similar to how you might track ovulation during your pre-perimenopause years, with the caveat that your cycles and hormone levels might be less consistent and more unpredictable. So, how can you track it?

Cycle tracking

Tracking your cycle can help you understand when the different phases of your cycle are happening, and therefore get a better sense of when ovulation is happening. While cycles often become irregular during perimenopause, you may see patterns that can help you provide a basis for when ovulation is likely happening.

The drawback of this method is that as your cycles become more and more irregular, it can be harder to predict when ovulation is occurring. It’s also possible to have a period and no ovulation, or ovulation and no period, which tracking your cycle cannot reveal.

Basal body temperature

Basal body temperature is your body temperature when you’re at rest, and it tends to rise about 0.5°F after you’ve ovulated. You can use a digital thermometer to take your temperature at the exact same time every morning, and track when your temperature rises.

While basal body temperature is an accessible method to track ovulation, it requires dedication and precision, and can have high rates of failure (about one in four overall). Some perimenopause symptoms, like hot flashes or cold sweats, may also affect your temperature and skew results.

Hormone tracking

One way to predict and confirm ovulation during perimenopause is by tracking your hormones, specifically luteinizing hormone (LH) and PdG (a progesterone metabolite). You can look to see if there’s a surge in LH levels, which signals that your body is preparing to ovulate, and for an increase in PdG, which confirms that you have ovulated.

During a time of hormone fluctuations, it’s important to track your quantitative hormone levels. For example, let’s say you use a typical ovulation predictor kit. These kits often measure LH or PdG based on a standard or a threshold—if your LH rises above that standard, the kit will say you’ve ovulated, even if your baseline LH levels are elevated. However, what happens if your hormone levels are lower than that threshold, even if you’ve had a surge or increase in those hormones? The kit might say you’re not ovulating, even if you are.

The Oova kit is a non-invasive, easy-to-use hormone tracking kit that measures your specific hormone levels and gives you access to track them over time. You can even share this information with your provider to help them navigate you on your perimenopause ovulation journey.

About the author

Zoe Kaplan is a writer and content strategist passionate about creating content that helps people navigate the world a little more easily. Zoe has worked across verticals, from women's career development to reproductive health. You can check out more of her work at zoeakaplan.com.

Sources

About the Oova Blog:
‍Our content is developed with a commitment to high editorial standards and reliability. We prioritize referencing reputable sources and sharing where our insights come from. The Oova Blog is intended for informational purposes only and is never a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult a healthcare provider before making any health decisions.

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