The perfect days to "make babies"

-Identifying your fertile days


 By Physician Amanda Chua
18  Jul 2022


Ovulation and Fertile days, what's the difference? 

Ovulation usually happens 1x in every menstrual cycle.  

During ovulation, hormonal changes trigger an ovary to release an egg.  

Fertile days are the days in which you have much higher chances of becoming pregnant if you have unprotected sex.  These are the perfect days to "make babies" ;p

How to identify your Fertile days? 


Do you know that there are only about 6 days each cycle when you can get pregnant-the days leading up to and the day of ovulation. Knowing when these days are is crucial if you are trying for a baby ! Outside this ‘fertility window’, the chances of getting pregnant are slim :(


Fret not ! There are various signs and methods to detect to help you identify your fertile days. 



 1) Ovulation test strips 

Ovulation test strips work by measuring levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) in your urine. A sudden increase in LH triggers the ovary to release an egg.


 Ovulation normally occurs 12-36 hours after the LH peaks. It is best to start testing a few days before mid-cycle. (For e.g. If your cycle is 28 days, start testing on day 10! ) 


P.S . Women with PCOS tend to have a higher baseline level of LH  and hence likely to receive misleading results from ovulation test strips.  


Illustration by Katie Kerpel. © Verywell, 2018

2) Changes in vaginal discharge 

As ovulation nears, your discharge becomes clear and stretchy, like that a raw egg white.  After ovulation, your discharge goes back to thick and dry. 

3) Rise in basal body temperature (BBT) 

After ovulation, a woman’s BBT rises by 0.4-1.0 °C. This can be detected with an oral digital thermometer. Find out more about how to measure your BBT here! (link)


4) Other signs and symptoms 




Please do not hesitate to speak to your doctors or physicians if you have any queries ! 


In my next article, I will be sharing on TCM herbs and acupoints to improve ovulation, so stay tuned ;)