When a couple is trying to conceive, they often like to use every possible tool at their disposal in order to time conception properly. Perhaps the most important part about timing sexual intercourse in order to conceive is to first find out when you ovulate. There are several things that you can do to find out when you ovulate, including tracking various symptoms of ovulation, testing cervical mucus changes, and charting changes to your Basal Body Temperature.

There are a few signs and symptoms that some women may have when they are about to ovulate. These can include pain in the lower abdomen, breast tenderness, bloating, and an increased sex drive. If you regularly experience any of these signs and symptoms somewhere in the middle of your menstrual cycle, they may be caused by ovulation. However, most women don’t really experience any of these types of signs and symptoms of ovulation, and therefore need to rely on cervical mucus changes as well as changes in Basal Body Temperature in order to find out when they ovulate.

Observing changes in cervical mucus is perhaps the most reliable way to find out when you ovulate. Just before you ovulate and during ovulation, your cervical mucus will increase in volume. In addition to the increased volume, your cervical mucus will generally change in color and consistency. Your cervical mucus at this time will usually become almost transparent in color. Your cervical mucus will also become thicker and somewhat slippery. In many ways, your cervical mucus just before and during ovulation will resemble the uncooked white of an egg. For this reason, it is often called “egg-white cervical mucus.”

In addition to observing changes in cervical mucus, charting your Basal Body Temperature can help you to find out when you ovulate. Just after ovulation, your Basal Body Temperature will noticeably increase. While this doesn’t predict ovulation ahead of time, charting Basal Body Temperature for a few cycles can reliably tell you when during your cycle you are going to ovulate.

There are also a variety of Ovulation Prediction Kits (OPKs) available that can help you track the changes your body makes when you ovulate.