Ovulation occurs around the 14th day of the menstrual cycle. These are average data. In fact, the egg can be ready for fertilization both earlier than this period and later. Much depends on the individual duration of the cycle. Normally, it can last from 21 to 35 days. Thus, the statement that ovulation occurs on average on the 14th day is true for a normal 28-day cycle.
When ovulation is considered late
The release of a mature and ready for fertilization egg from the follicle is called ovulation. On which day this will happen, it is impossible to predict without using diagnostic methods. The well-known norm is the onset of ovulation in the middle of the cycle. With a period of 28 days between periods, the egg matures on about the fourteenth day. If the cycle, for example, is 34 days, then normally ovulation should occur on the seventeenth.
What does it mean "lateovulation"? When is an egg considered to be "late"? Late ovulation with a cycle of 26 days is, for example, the maturation of an egg after the fourteenth day. With a "standard" period of 28 days - after the 16th. If the interval between periods is 30 days, then late is ovulation, which occurs after the 18th day. What day is late ovulation if the cycle is long? With a long cycle (32 days), egg maturation after 19-20 days is considered late.
This can happen both due to physiological reasons (then it is a variant of the norm), and due to third-party influences or even a serious pathology that the woman is unaware of. By the way, there is also a connection between the time of ovulation and the duration of the menstrual cycle. The longer the reproductive cell matures, the longer the cycle itself will be.
Physiology of late ovulation
The menstrual cycle is divided into two phases: follicular and luteal. During the first, the egg develops in the follicle, preparing for possible fertilization. This phase begins on the first day of the next menstrual bleeding and continues until the onset of ovulation. Normally, it takes about half the cycle. The next phase is the corpus luteum, or luteal. This stage begins immediately after ovulation and continues as long as the corpus luteum exists, that is, approximately 12-14 days. The corpus luteum secretes hormones that will help to consolidate the pregnancy in case of fertilization of a mature egg.
In the event thatwomen are diagnosed with late ovulation, the reason that there are difficulties with conception may be the insufficiency of the second phase. This is a disorder that is characterized by insufficient time for the fetal egg to fix in the uterine cavity and the successful start of pregnancy (even if the spermatozoon managed to fertilize the female cell in this cycle).
Such a pathology affects a small percentage of women with infertility, the causes of which doctors cannot determine. Every second, faced with spontaneous abortion, hears the diagnosis of "insufficiency of the second phase." But there are 6-10% of women who managed to successfully become pregnant and give birth to he althy children.
Causes of "late" ovulation
Delayed egg release can be caused by many factors. In some cases, this is considered a variant of the norm and is a consequence of the individual characteristics of the woman's body. The most common causes of late ovulation are:
- Acute or chronic diseases of the reproductive system, untreated infectious and inflammatory processes.
- Excessive psychological and physical stress.
- Hormonal changes. The cycle can be unstable during adolescence, in mature women before menopause and in the presence of hormone-related diseases.
- Lack of body weight. A small amount of adipose tissue negatively affects the production of estrogen in sufficient quantities, which provokes late ovulation.
- Intense exercise, especially when combined withtaking steroids.
- Misuse of emergency contraception.
- Recent childbirth, recent miscarriage or medical abortion, genital surgery.
Norm or pathology
Late ovulation is a condition that can be characteristic of both he althy women and those whose body is affected by a number of negative factors. It is likely that the “lateness” of the egg is an individual feature of the body, which not only does not prevent pregnancy, but also does not require any special therapy. Such a condition is a pathology only in those cases when it is caused by some kind of disorder in the body. If the doctor does not identify other disorders, then no treatment will be prescribed.
Failure of the second phase
As a consequence of delayed ovulation, luteal phase deficiency may occur. This does not affect those women for whom a late egg release is a normal option, they (in the absence of other deterrent reasons) can successfully conceive and bear a child. Insufficiency of the phase is the case when late ovulation is a pathological condition and does not allow pregnancy.
Other symptoms of this pathology include:
- menstrual cycle less than 24 days;
- insufficient progesterone levels;
- low BBT after ovulation;
- early miscarriagesterms in the past;
- back pain, loose stools and spotting in the second phase.
The causes of the pathology are poor development of the follicle, poor quality of the corpus luteum, insufficient readiness of the uterus for implantation, premature death of the corpus luteum, the impossibility of implanting the embryo into the uterine cavity for any reason.
In most cases, the insufficiency of the luteal phase of the cycle can be successfully treated, and a woman who has recently heard this diagnosis sees the treasured two strips on the test. Progesterone injections, hCG injections may be prescribed, in some cases ovulation stimulation is performed.
How to recognize the right day
How to determine late ovulation? There are several ways to set the day of release of the egg from the follicle with different probability. At home, a woman can perform a test that works like a pregnancy test, but the reagent reacts to a different hormone. Also available, but more complicated way is to regularly measure basal temperature and analyze the graph. You can rely on subjective feelings - symptoms of late ovulation. Within the walls of a medical institution, ovulation is determined by ultrasound, laboratory tests (the level of certain hormones is monitored).
Subjective signs
Ovulation in some women is characterized by certain vivid symptoms that allow them to determine their "dangerous" and "safe" cycle days without resorting to additional diagnostic methods. But it must be said that the waythis one is highly unreliable.
So, late ovulation may be accompanied by pulling sensations in the lower abdomen (on the one hand: right or left), an increase in the size and sensitivity of the mammary glands, increased libido. Some ladies also experience sudden mood swings, emotionality and tearfulness caused by an increased level of “female” hormones.
You can determine ovulation by the nature of vaginal discharge. By viscosity, they become similar to the protein of a chicken egg, streaks of blood may appear. All mucus may have a yellowish color. The number of allocations is also increasing.
Home ovulation test
This test is very simple: just buy strips at the pharmacy, dip them into a container with freshly collected urine to the control mark for ten seconds, and evaluate the result after five to ten minutes. In the case of inkjet tests, urine can not be collected in a container, but simply substitute a strip under the jet. One strip will mean that there is no ovulation yet, two - that the egg will be released from the follicle within the next three to five hours. Tests are recommended to start doing from the 11th day of the menstrual cycle (at 28 days). You can do them both in the morning and in the evening so as not to miss ovulation.
There are electronic tests that determine ovulation by a woman's saliva. Such a device looks like a tube of lipstick, but in fact it is a miniature microscope. It is enough to put a little saliva on the glass, and then you should evaluate the drawing enlarged many times over. If salivaresembles a fern leaf, this means that ovulation will occur soon.
Basal temperature monitoring
Another way to help determine the day of ovulation is to monitor BBT. Basal temperature should be measured daily without getting out of bed. It is measured either with an electronic or mercury thermometer in the vagina or rectum immediately after waking up. The entire cycle must be used with one device and measured in the same place, for example, only in the vagina and only with an electronic thermometer.
All measurements should be plotted. The approaching ovulation is indicated by a decrease in temperature for two to three days, and then its increase for at least three days. BT should increase by at least 0.4 degrees Celsius. As a rule, during ovulation, the temperature is 37 degrees or more. According to the schedule, it is possible to set day X with a high degree of certainty.
Late ovulation and pregnancy
With a late release of the egg, it is possible to get pregnant naturally. The main thing is that this is a variant of the norm for a particular woman, not accompanied by pathologies or other problems with the functioning of the reproductive system, and does not cause insufficiency of the second phase. Conception during late ovulation, which is the physiological norm, simply occurs a little later than, for example, on the 14th day with a 28-day menstrual cycle. But this is if there are no other pathologies.
The problem may be late ovulation with an irregular cycle. In this case, it is necessary to monitor the release of the egg from the follicle,in order to start trying to conceive a child on time and not miss the most opportune moment. In the event that "delayed" ovulation still prevents the couple from getting pregnant, doctors correct the woman's menstrual cycle with the help of medications. Most become parents soon after completing treatment.
Correction of the menstrual cycle
Perhaps the simplest measures will help to correct the cycle: rational nutrition, weight gain (if it is insufficient), feasible physical activity, lack of stress and regular sex life with a regular partner. In some cases, the doctor may prescribe hormonal drugs. For example, Duphaston is often recommended to women, which must be taken in the second phase. But the effect of therapy does not come immediately - it usually takes about three months to evaluate the result.
When to take a pregnancy test
When to take a pregnancy test for late ovulation? So, with a short cycle (21 days) and a late release of the egg, it will be possible to determine pregnancy no earlier than the 25th or 26th day. If the cycle is 26 days, do the test no earlier than the 28th, and if 28 - no earlier than the 30th. With a long cycle of 30 days, a pregnancy test can show two strips no earlier than on the 32nd day, 32 days - no earlier than the 34th day.
These figures are approximate, since it is simply impossible to calculate such physiological processes with high accuracy. In some casesa test (or a graph of basal temperature) can show pregnancy even before a delay or "be silent" for quite a long time. In the latter case, it is worth taking a blood test to determine the level of hCG in the blood.
