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Home › Articles › Tracking Your Fertility › Should You Use an Ovulation Predictor Kit?

Should You Use an Ovulation Predictor Kit?

Pros and Cons of the OPK

By Kelly Burgess

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Meg Clarke of Laurel, Md., loves her OPK so much that she's created a Web site, PeeOnAStick, devoted to the topic of both OPKs and pregnancy tests. Clarke is unusual in that she uses OPKs, along with other, more traditional fertility tracking methods, as a form of birth control because she wants to avoid less natural methods. It's worked for her; she has two children who were conceived just as planned – and no unplanned pregnancies.

In most cases, OPKs are used by women who are trying to get pregnant, and fertility doctors often recommend them as one tool in the arsenal of fertility tracking. Dr. Angie Beltsos of Fertility Centers of Illinois says they do use them and recommend them as they're very helpful in determining the specific days of ovulation. "They aren't a perfect test, but they do help many women hone in on the time that ovulation is occurring," she says. "They can be problematic when there are fertility medications involved, but in general once it starts to turn positive, it's telling you that the surge is going to happen."

Dr. Beltsos says that it's important to be directed in how to use OPKs if you're on fertility medication, because there are different protocol for each procedure and each fertility drug.

Drawbacks of the OPK
OPKs are extremely helpful for those who have normal cycles, which Dr. Beltsos defines as between 28 and 32 days. However, those with wildly irregular cycles may find them cost-prohibitive to use. While prices vary depending upon brand and supplier, in general you can expect to pay about $3 to $7 per test for those brands considered the most reliable.

Chrissy Wilsn of San Diego, Calif., says she spent a small fortune on tests because of her irregular cycles. "I needed to test every day, sometimes for months; I could spend easily $200 per month," she says. "Finally, we invested in a computerized fertility monitor for about what it cost us for one month's worth of OPKs. It was definitely worth it for us."


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