CHECKING FERTILITY: OVULATION KITS
These do-it-yourself kits (such as Clearplan) enable you to predict ovulation by measuring the LH surge in an early morning urine sample. You do this using a specially designed dipstick which changes colour when the levels of LH increase. When your LH surges it is likely that ovulation will occur within the next 24-36 hours, so it is advisable to have intercourse during this time.
The kits are available from most chemists and come with full instructions. They are very easy to use and the instructions tell you when to start testing, depending on the length of your cycle. For example, if you have a 28-day cycle then the first day of testing is day 11. There are usually five dipsticks in a kit and the recommendation is to keep testing until the LH surge is registered, so not all five dipsticks need be used in one cycle.
Warning
If you have been diagnosed with polycystic ovaries you should not use these kits because the results will be misleading. Polycystic ovaries result in high LH levels which means that, whatever time in the month you are testing, the kit may register positive.
This device is manufactured by Unipath and has been marketed as a method of contraception. It is a small gadget which uses dipsticks during the month to measure LH changes. The dipsticks are inserted into the device and a green light indicates that it is safe to have intercourse. When there is the possibility of getting pregnant, a red light appears and on days when ovulation may be occurring, an ‘O’ appears in one of the display windows.
Used in reverse, to highlight your most fertile time, this device can be very useful. Because it is designed for contraception, it errs on the side of caution which means the red light will come on for slightly longer. Some women find this device easier to use than the usual ovulation kits because it actually signals when the testing should take place in any cycle.
There is no reason why you should not try both, to find out which kind of kit suits you best. The important thing is that you should be able to establish, through testing your mucus and taking your temperature or using a kit, which are the fertile days in your cycle. Getting the timing of intercourse right is one of the most crucial ways to help yourself conceive.
*23/73/5*
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.