Why You're Not Ovulating & Your Period Is All Over The Map

Everything you need to know, ovulation and menstrual cycle disruptors and what to do to support regular ovulation

Hi my loves!

I get asked a lot about disrupted or missing ovulation and irregular cycles so I wanted to dive into that with you today because it is such an important topic.

Many people only associate ovulation with fertility but it’s so much more than that, it’s the main event of our menstrual cycle and knowing when we’re ovulating and understanding the signs and cues our body is giving us during ovulation gives us important insights into our hormones and our menstrual cycle.

Ovulation is the midpoint of your menstrual cycle when an egg is released from the ovary. If you’re not ovulating, you can’t get pregnant, but aside from fertility and regardless of if you’re trying to get pregnant or not, regular ovulation is essential for our health as women.

If you’re not ovulating, that is called an anovulatory cycle, and it actually is a red flag from your body that something is going on that needs to be addressed.

Signs You Are Ovulating

Cervical Mucus

Our cervical mucus is always changing throughout our cycle, as we get closer to ovulation, our body prepares for the possibility of fertilization with cervical mucus that is usually described as “egg white” texture. It is sticky and stretchy and is designed to help sperm survive and swim up to your uterus and increase lubrication to make sex more enjoyable.

Increased Sex Drive

Another sign of ovulation is increased sex drive. Estrogen peaks just before ovulation and is associated with increased sexual desire, testosterone also rises during this time which also supports your sex drive. It’s your body’s natural way of trying to encourage a pregnancy.

Change in Cervix Position

This is one of the less commonly used methods of tracking ovulation but depending on where you are in your cycle, your cervix can move positions or will feel differently if you do a self exam/check. Your cervix will be higher than usual right before ovulation. It will also feel softer and slightly open, again this is your body’s way of creating an inviting environment for sperm to hopefully reach an egg to create a pregnancy.

Positive Luteinizing Hormone (LH) Test

A surge of LH triggers the release of your egg from the follicle, so testing for LH can help predict ovulation because the LH surge occurs about a day before the egg is released. I recommend testing your LH during the 5 days leading up to when you are predicting that you ovulate so generally starting on day 8 or 9 of your cycle until you get the confirmed surge.

Basal Body Temperature (BBT) Spike

BBT tracking or charting is a way to monitor daily temperature changes during your cycle. Progesterone rises right after ovulation and triggers a slight elevation in your baseline temperature so the chart should look like a spike after ovulation and then staying elevated until your period.

Also, a friendly reminder that BBT is not perfect, so many different things can influence your temperature fro day to day like sleep, alcohol, sickness, etc.

Signs You Aren’t Ovulating