Ovulation symptoms and signs: How to tell when you’re ovulating

Medically reviewed by Dr. Jennifer BoyleObstetrician and gynecologistMassachusetts General HospitalMassachusettsUS

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Whether you’re trying to conceive or simply want to understand your body betterlearning about ovulation is a great place to start. Before we dive into how you can spot when you might be ovulatingit can be handy to know what it actually is.

Ovulation is the name given to the point in your cycle when one of your ovaries (either the left or the right) releases an egg. After thisthe egg will travel through a fallopian tubewhere it may or may not be fertilized by a sperm. 

Oftenthis process happens in every cycle without you even noticing. But are there telltale signs and symptoms that your body might give you to hint that this is taking place? Read on to find out more.

Key takeaways 

• Ovulation is a pretty big event in your menstrual cycle. It marks the moment when one of your ovaries releases an egg.
• There are a few signs that ovulation may have happenedincluding changes to your cervical mucus or discharge and very small changes to your temperature. 
• You might be curious about how to track ovulation. While ovulation predictions shouldn’t be used for birth controlthere are different ways you can build a better understanding of your cycle. These are known as ovulation tracking methods. They include using a period-tracking app like Flousing paper or a calendar to write down your cycle datesusing an ovulation calculatorusing ovulation predictor kitsor tracking your symptoms.
• It would be great if you could track your ovulation days like regular days of the week. Howeveryou only need to ask a handful of your friends about their periods to know that everyone’s cycle is differentwhich means it’s rarely as straightforward as that. Everyone will experience different symptomsso it can be useful to get a basic understanding of what’s typical for you.

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Possible ovulation signs

Sohow do you know when you’re ovulating? Your body might guide you on figuring this outas you might experience some telltale signs. 

At this pointit’s so important to remember that no two people are the sameand each person will feel these symptoms at a different degree of intensityif at all. Let’s take a closer look below.

Changes to your cervical mucus

One sign that ovulation is happening soon is a change in your vaginal discharge (cervical mucus). This discharge may be different from what you might usually see in your underwear; it could be clear and have a thinnermore slippery consistencysimilar to raw egg whites.

Rise in your basal body temperature (BBT) 

After ovulationyou might also experience a small rise in your basal body temperature. This is the temperature of your body when you’re resting. It may rise by around 0.5ºF (0.3ºC). We aren’t expecting you to notice this without a little help. 

Even though the rise is smallyou may be able to notice the change on a digital thermometer if you consistently track your temperature around the same time each daypreferably first thing in the morning. While this can help you understand where you are in your cycleit’s important to note that this is not a recommended method of birth control or an accurate way to predict ovulation if you’re trying to get pregnant. Your temperature can be affected by a number of factorsand you only see the rise in temperature after ovulation has already occurred.

Changes to your cervix

There are also some changes that happen to your cervix during ovulation. If you want to get to know your body betterthen you can use your finger to check your cervix. Make sure you wash your handsand then gently insert one of your fingers into your vagina until you feel your cervix. You’ll notice that during ovulationit will be higher and feel soft. You’ll also notice that after ovulation is overit becomes much harder again. 

Examining your own cervix can be trickyof courseso if you don’t notice much of a differencedon’t worry. Most people find it easier to observe changes in cervical mucus than changes in the texture and position of the cervix. 

Possible ovulation symptoms

You can think of the three changes above as being the big signs that either you’re about to ovulate or you’ve just ovulated. Howeversome people report feeling different symptomswhich can mimic how you feel just before your period starts. 

Breast soreness or tenderness

The rush of hormones before and during ovulation may mean your boobs feel tender or sore. It might feel like mild breast pain that’s barely noticeable to severe pain that makes it uncomfortable to wear tight clothing. Don’t suffer in silence if this is affecting your day-to-day life; be sure to reach out to your doctor to discuss any possible treatment options.

Light spotting

You might notice some spotting during ovulation. This is light bleeding between your periods that can appear as drops of blood in your underwear. Againthis generally isn’t a cause for concernbut if it lasts longer than a day or two or is particularly heavybe sure to reach out to your doctor.

Bloating

Do you get bloated when you ovulate? You’re not alone. This is another typical symptom of ovulationand it occurs due to the hormonal changes that are happening around this time. If it’s making you feel (understandably) uncomfortablethen staying hydrated and opting for smaller meals could help.

Cramps

It’s not a myth: You might feel a slight ovulation pain in the lower part of your abdomen at this point in your cycle. Remember that you’ll only feel this pain on one sidedepending on which ovary has released an egg that month. Cleverright? 

You might experience this acheknown as mittelschmerz (a German word that means “middle pain” or “pain in the middle of the month”)for a couple of minutes or even days. While this might be alarmingrest assured that ovulation pain is normal and should subside. If it doesn’t stop and painkillers don’t helpbe sure to reach out to your doctor to make sure everything is OK.

Sex drive changes

Just before ovulationthere is a rise in the levels of a hormone called estrogenand this can mean that you may start to feel more turned on than usual. Your sex drive might drop again after ovulation as the levels of estrogen decrease. This is totally normalbut it’s a symptom that not everyone experiencesso if it doesn’t happen to youdon’t be concerned. 

Nausea

As if bloatingcrampingand breast soreness weren’t enoughthe change in hormones during your menstrual cycle that causes ovulation pain can also cause some people to feel nauseous. If you’re affected by thistry heading outside for some fresh air or drinking peppermint or ginger tea.

What does ovulation feel like?

Soas you can seeovulation can feel pretty different for everyoneand trying to predict when you’re ovulating based on symptoms alone can be tough. 

Ovulation itself doesn’t feel like much. It’s likely that you may not even know it’s happening. Howeversome people report feeling ovulation painbreast tendernessand nausea around the time that they might be ovulating. This could be your body giving you a hint of what’s going on. 

Signs ovulation might be over

Many of the signs mentioned above are signs that ovulation has already happened. While you might notice egg white discharge just before you ovulatea change to your BBT only occurs afterward. This is why tracking ovulation to get pregnant can be really tricky. That’s without even considering early ovulation and the fact that you often don’t ovulate on exactly the same day each cycle. 

Rather than predicting when you might ovulate based on symptoms aloneyou can use a combination of different ovulation tracking methods such as: 

• Tracking via the calendar method
• Using a cycle-tracking app like Flo 
• Using ovulation predictor kits 
• Monitoring your BBT every day 

Find out more about ovulation tracking. 

Understanding how your body might feel during ovulation

Whether it’s cramps and spotting or a heightened sex drive and extra energyhormone fluctuations during your cycle can impact the way you feel in lots of weird and wonderful ways. And ovulation is a major time of hormonal change. It would be so handy to have a list of signs and symptoms so you could know for sure that you’ve ovulated. Howevercycles aren’t so simple.

The reality is that your body might feel different from cycle to cycle. It can be hard to keep track of symptoms that you suspect might be related to ovulation by yourself. This is why it can be useful to use a period-tracking app like Flo. You can keep a note of your symptomsbetter understand when you might be ovulatingand spot patterns in how you might be feeling. That wayyou can feel more prepared and confident for what’s to come. 

More frequently asked questions about ovulation symptoms

What is ovulation?

Ovulation is the name given to the point in your cycle when one of your ovaries releases a mature egg. Your body produces a hormone called luteinizing hormone (LH)which triggers this process. Once it’s been releasedthe egg will travel through a fallopian tubewhere it may or may not be fertilized by a sperm.

When do people ovulate?

Generally speakingyou’ll ovulate around 14 days before your period arrives. That means that in a 28-day menstrual cycleovulation will happen somewhere around the 14th day. We count the first day of your period as the first day of your cycle.

Butas we knowthe majority of people don’t have a 28-day cycle; in facta normal cycle can range from 21 to 35 days. Soovulation could happen either earlier or later than the 14th daydepending on the length of your cycle. You can use Flo’s handy ovulation calculator to predict when ovulation might occur based on your own cycle dates.

How long does ovulation last?

Not long at all: The moment of ovulation itself is instant. Following thisthe egg can survive for up to 24 hours. Howeverkeep in mind that your fertile window (the time in your menstrual cycle when you’re most likely to get pregnant) is much longer than this. Peak fertility will be the day you ovulateas well as the five days leading up to ovulation itself and the day after. Sperm can live in your body for up to five days!

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History of updates

Current version (22 November 2024)

Medically reviewed by Dr. Jennifer BoyleObstetrician and gynecologistMassachusetts General HospitalMassachusettsUS

Written by Sarah Biddlecombe & Alice Broster

Published (26 September 2023)