Ovulation is a major part of female reproductive activity. Today, people sometimes like to complicate simple things to show that they take the matter seriously. Monitoring ovulation in expectant mothers is one example. Pregnant mothers-to-be want to know if they are ovulating so they can schedule the best time to conceive. Many of the women who come to the fertility center for consultation and advice have made it their mission to predict ovulation, and have long struggled with the confusion of whether (follicles) are growing or not, and whether they are ovulating or not. They are physically and mentally exhausted. For this reason, I would like to share my opinion. There are many ways to monitor ovulation, the common ones are menstrual cycle, cervical mucus, basal body temperature, ovulation test paper, blood test, ultrasound and so on. Each of these methods has its own advantages and disadvantages. Menstrual cycle A woman’s ovulation date is usually about 14 days before her next menstrual period. The day of ovulation and the 5 days before and 4 days after it are called the ovulation period. For women with irregular periods, the calculation is a bit complicated. No one has eyes before and after, right? Basal body temperature Basal body temperature saves time, hassle and money and can be done at home. A normal basal body temperature chart, when the low temperature to high temperature, there will be a basal temperature of the lowest point, this lowest point is often your ovulation day. However, it must be thought of every day and there are too many interfering factors. In case of insomnia during night shift, cold and fever, staying up too late and emotional fluctuations, it will be greatly inadmissible. If the doctor wants to monitor the temperature as a basis for disease diagnosis, and then take the test form to the doctor for interpretation, it is fine, but if this procedure is carried out for “accurate intercourse”, it is too complicated, not only to save effort and trouble, but also to make an extremely pleasant thing tasteless. In addition, the “lowest point” is often already “past tense”, and it is not easy to catch it, but rather to make a mess of it. There is also a condition called unruptured follicle luteinization syndrome, although not ovulation, but will also appear similar to ovulation “two-way temperature”, a “false alarm”. Ovulation test paper Ovulation test paper is also a common method used by women at home. It is a method to predict ovulation by measuring the peak of luteinizing hormone (LH) in human urine. There are two types of test strips, a qualitative test strip that can only be seen in shades, and a semi-quantitative test strip with a standard color plate control. When the color of the test paper is close to the darkest, or when the color indicates the highest value, it means the closer to the peak. After the peak occurs, ovulation usually occurs within 24-48 hours. It is not easy to catch the peak when the urine LH value is measured only once a day. The number of measurements needs to be increased after the LH value starts to rise. The rate and magnitude of change in urinary LH is more meaningful than its absolute value, i.e., dynamic observation is more meaningful. In fact, this is the work of half a doctor, if you are accurate in the interpretation of the test paper, then you are half a doctor. You should be commended if you have become a half doctor and have not confused yourself. The use of ovulation test strips has the same drawbacks as basal body temperature: there is too much “intentionality” and “false starts”. Although the urine LH test can be used to determine ovulation, false positive peaks for LH can occur in more than 7% of menstrual cycles in women with regular periods. Blood Luteinizing Hormone (LH) The blood Luteinizing Hormone (LH) is measured. Morally a blood test for serum LH is the most reliable, but it happens to be the least operational method. This statement is for women who want to monitor ovulation and have accurate intercourse, excluding those who have infertility conditions that require treatment. It would be too difficult for the general public to interpret the results of blood draws on their own. LH is produced in pulses and its level can fluctuate several times in 90 minutes, so it is inherently difficult to determine the timing of ovulation by blood draws, and you cannot have blood drawn and tested repeatedly throughout the day. Besides, it is not necessary to make it so complicated just for the sake of “accurate intercourse”. However, if you get an elevated progesterone test a week before your period, that means you are ovulating this cycle. However, it is no longer possible to have “accurate intercourse” at this time. Cervical mucus is used by women to predict ovulation and to guide their sex life in order to achieve pregnancy by observing changes in cervical mucus (leukorrhea). The cervical mucus is influenced by estrogen, which promotes the secretion of cervical mucus and makes it thinner, facilitating the passage of sperm; progesterone reduces water, increases glycoproteins and thickens the mucus. The level of estrogen is highest before ovulation. Under the influence of estrogen, the cervical mucus becomes thin, transparent and filiform. If egg-white-like leucorrhea is present, it is estimated that ovulation will occur in about 24h. However, this method is also disturbed by many factors, such as anxiety that can cause endocrine disorders and the influence of medications that can make the cervical mucus become sticky. Inflammation of the vagina can also affect the appearance of stretched leucorrhea. Ultrasound testing High-resolution real-time ultrasound has been widely used for morphologic examination of follicular development and ovulation. The non-invasive, dynamic observation of follicular development is the advantage of ultrasound monitoring. It is also the most direct way to monitor follicles. During the menstrual cycle, the follicles can be seen from small to large and from large to absent. Seeing is really believing and accurate. The timing of follicle monitoring should be based on the previous menstrual cycle. For women with a menstrual cycle of about 30 days, it can be started on the 10th-12th day of menstruation. Depending on the ultrasound results, the doctor will inform you of the time to monitor again. For women with longer menstrual cycles, the first ultrasound can be postponed and the interval between each monitoring can be increased. The results of each ultrasound monitoring are recommended to be interpreted and analyzed by a specialist to guide the timing of intercourse. It is most taboo to take the ultrasound sheets and do the research work by yourself, which will increase the psychological burden and will do no good. In addition, for those cases where the follicles grow up and do not ovulate (unruptured follicle luteinization syndrome), the diagnosis can be made by ultrasound. After all, which ovulation monitoring is reliable? In fact, pregnancy is a natural thing, and only women who experience obstacles in the process of pregnancy need some auxiliary measures, appropriate tests or treatments. If you have to do something just for the sake of “accurate intercourse”, it is best to grasp a few principles: it is easy to be simple but not complicated, it is better to be coarse than fine, and the premise is to be happy and not to increase the psychological burden. Personally, I believe that basal body temperature can be used for pre-study of one’s own ovulation situation. For women who have just been released from contraception, they can choose the “non-requested” method of calculating their menstrual cycle and observing their cervical mucus. For a more complex or accurate method, you can choose to combine ovulation test strips and ultrasound to detect the time of ovulation. Women with irregular periods, sporadic periods, or a history of infertility are encouraged to go to the hospital for consultation and help.