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Home test for ovulation
Some women are able to track when they are ovulating at home. This may be useful for couples who are attempting to time intercourse around the woman's fertile time. Ovulation occurs about 14 days before the first day of menstruation.
One method for doing this is to track the basal body temperature. With this method, the woman attempts to pinpoint the time she ovulates by taking her temperature first thing every morning, before she gets out of bed. After ovulation, body temperature goes up by a degree or so. Some women have a very regular pattern where the temperature is low for two weeks, then high for two weeks. Since the temperature doesn't go up until after ovulation, it is too late to tell you when to have intercourse, but some women will be able to identify a regular pattern that will help them predict ovulation.
Women can also test their cervical mucus. Usually mucus turns thick, like a raw egg white, around the time of ovulation, but many women don't notice a difference.
Home testing kits are also available to check for ovulation. These kits work by testing for luteinizing hormone or LH, the hormone that causes ovulation, in urine. To use the kit, you start testing your urine a day or two before expected ovulation and test it every day until it detects the LH surge. That means you are going to ovulate in the next 24 to 36 hours. These tests work well for many people. Others may find the test difficult to read or may find that the test doesn't work for them. In studies, these tests have been found to be about 80 to 85 percent accurate.
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