Monitor your ovulation with the best ovulation tests and trackers
Deciding to start a family is one of life’s momentous moments and is both exciting and terrifying. Hopefully, the joyful news will arrive after a few months of happily ‘trying’ and all will be well.
Frustratingly, it’s not that simple or easy for many couples and a little outside help is needed in the form of ovulation tracking, monitoring and testing.
What is ovulation?
Ovulation is when one of your eggs is released from an ovary and travels through your fallopian tubes to your womb.
An egg only survives for 24 hours so for you to get pregnant it needs to be fertilised within that time. Sperm can live inside you for around a week so conception can occur on just a few days a month. This is your ‘fertility window’.
What are the signs of ovulation?
The signs of ovulation are usually clear if a woman is looking out for them. Many hopeful couples wonder ‘Can ovulation tests be wrong?’ and use these indicators as another way to know when the best time to test for ovulation is.
A positive OPK test and a few of these indicators below are perfect signs that you and your partner should increase your ‘efforts’.
- Temperature changes
- Hormonal changes
- Breast pain or soreness
- Changes in vaginal mucus/discharge
- Light spotting
- Pain in one side of the pelvis
- Heightened sex drive
The best ovulation tests
An ovulation detector will work by tracking either your temperature, luteinising hormone levels and/or oestrogen levels.
Getting pregnant can be unbelievably complicated and confusing. Here’s a quick guide to each method along with our recommendations for products which do consistently well in fertility monitor reviews.
OvuSense ovulation prediction kit
An internal thermometer with comprehensive data tracking.
Features
More accurate data than mouth thermometer
Core temperature measured every 5 minutes
99% accuracy
Ovulation predictions up to 24 hours in advance so that you can have lots of sex within the crucial fertility window
Easy to use app
Allows you to plan for sex on the most fertile 8 days of your cycle.
Daysy ovulation kit
A super quick external thermometer that provides lots of useful info.
Features
Take your basal body temperature in 6 seconds at the same time every morning
The app which is available for your smartphone will crunch the data
Your planning, ovulation, fertile and non-fertile days are indicated by a clear code
A high degree of precision and accuracy
Clearblue digital ovulation test
Monitors luteinising hormone changes quickly and accurately. Tests urine for the LH surge which indicates ovulation. How long after the LH surge do you ovulate? Usually two days.
Features
Identifies the most fertile four days of your cycle
Quick and easy process
A 99% accurate OPK test
Clearblue advanced fertility monitor
An ovulation machine which tracks fertility and detects an increase in LH and oestrogen. Plus it records fertility and pregnancy information. Use the first month as a ‘getting to know you’ month to achieve the best results.
Features
Tests your mid-stream quickly and easily
Low, high, peak indicators
Tracks levels of two key hormones, oestrogen and luteinizing hormone
Data is available from your last six cycles
Accurately identifies the six most fertile days of your cycle with an in-built alarm as a reminder
Simple touch screen gives easy access to data
Also detect pregnancy
Valley electronics Lady-Comp fertility planner
The ovulation monitor that can track irregular periods and help PCOS sufferers. Take your basal body temp each morning to discover your six most fertile days.
Cons
Expensive
Features
Huge amount of data storage, programming and algorithms. This is especially helpful for women with irregular and unpredictable periods
Can be used as a natural form of contraception as well as a predictor of ovulation for pregnancy
Easy to use and read LCD display for quick access to the information you need
99.3% accuracy
Ovulation calculator apps
An ovulation test kit can be an expensive purchase and a menstrual cycle app used in tandem with ovulation test strips is a good alternative.
An accurate ovulation calendar developed over a few months is a powerful tool in your quest to get pregnant.
Flo App
Flo is a period/ovulation tracker. There are calendars, graphs, health quizzes and a supportive community. It is the best menstrual cycle app to use in pregnancy too as it can track your baby’s development.
Features
Record your symptoms
Track your baby’s development
Free
Fertility Friend
FF tracks both your menstrual and ovulation cycle. Your most fertile days are highlighted and useful charts and graphs are created. Other fertility symptoms such as temperature and cervical fluid changes can be recorded too.
Features
Record your symptoms
Great charts
Great reviews
Free
Tracking ovulation for an increased chance of pregnancy
You can increase your chances of conception by tracking when you’re ovulating with a fertility kit. This monitoring of either temperature or hormone changes will give you a good idea of when to take an ovulation test.
Are ovulation tests accurate? The best ovulation kit options usually have over 90% accuracy in tests so a false positive ovulation test is rare.
Ovulation strips have always been a good, cheap option for women who are keen to get pregnant. How do ovulation strips work? A positive ovulation strip will show you whether you are ovulating after testing your urine.
Without fertility tracking, you could go through dozens of strips a month with little chance for planning. Thankfully, there are now, with the help of technology, much more accurate methods of working out when you are ovulating.
A digital fertility monitor or ovulation kit with tell you when to do an ovulation test and that positive ovulation test result means it’s time to get busy!
The best ovulation kit will also give you the information to plan for the next month. The more sex you have in your fertility window the more chance you have of making a baby.
