In recent decades, couples who are trying to conceive have gained many more useful tools that can help them to pinpoint exactly when it is that the woman is going to ovulate, thereby maximizing their chances for conception. From tracking Basal Body Temperature to the variety of ovulation tests available over the counter, these couples can generally pinpoint when it is that a woman is going to ovulate during her cycle.

The older and most common type of ovulation test is a urine-based ovulation test. This sort of test is relatively simple to use, and is similar in some ways to any other urine test, such as a test for ketones or a pregnancy test. The test strip is placed in the urine stream, and then the test results are read and interpreted. A urine-based ovulation test is designed so as to measure the surge in Luteinizing Hormone (also known as LH) that occurs in the days immediately preceding ovulation. These tests tend to be very accurate at predicting ovulation, and can give a couple a good idea of when the woman is going to ovulate, and therefore time their attempt at conception appropriately.

A newer sort of ovulation test has appeared recently. These ovulation tests, rather than being urine-based, are instead saliva-based. Unlike urine-based tests, the saliva-based ovulation tests are designed to check for estrogen rather than luteinizing hormone. Estrogen also rises just prior to ovulation, and the saliva-based ovulation tests watch for this rise. Saliva-based ovulation test are essentially small microscopes that will allow a woman to view her saliva on a test slide. When there is estrogen in a woman’s saliva, the saliva will “fern” – that is, specific patters will form in the dried saliva. These patterns often resemble frost on a window. When the ferns are present, a woman is about to ovulate.

The different kinds of ovulation tests will vary according to cost, as well. While urine-based ovulation tests tend to be less expensive, if a couple is going to need to use the ovulation tests over several cycles, the saliva-based tests can actually wind up being more cost effective.

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