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Become an Ovulation Detective

10 Ways to Know You're Fertile

By Teri Brown

Dr. Levi says that not all women experience this pain, only those women who perceive pain in response to the rupturing of the ovarian follicular cyst that houses the egg. Other women experience mid-cycle pain due to pelvic endometriosis, a condition that may cause inflammation of the pelvic reproductive organs. While most women with endometriosis have pain with their periods and pain with intercourse, some also report mid-cycle pain as well.

According to Dr. Levi, women may note that their cervical mucous often changes as their estrogen levels rise just prior to ovulation. The mucous will thin out and become watery (it will resemble an egg white), which is conducive to the sperm traveling through the cervix and into the uterus and fallopian tube. "The amount of this thin mucous increases right up until ovulation," he says. "This is important since the sperm are able to survive the longest in the mucous when it is of a thin consistency (up to 72 hours or more), a significantly longer time than during the rest of the cycle. It is at this point in the cycle when fertility ates are at their highest."

Want to see more?

• All About Ovulation: The Inside Story to Help You Conceive
• Should You Use an Ovulation Predictor Kit? Pros and Cons of the OPK
• Fertile Signs: Scientific and Subtle Ways to Know You're Ready to Conceive
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