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Are you trying to get pregnant? Perhaps you have tried for months with no results. There are many methods of success in the road to conception. One of the means of helping to pinpoint the best time to conceive are ovulation predictor kits (OPK). There are a variety of brands and though most all work in the same manner - here are a few tips to insure the most accurate results.
An ovulation predictor kit predicts when ovulation occurs within a 12 to 48 hour period. The detection of lutenizing hormone - the hormone that prompts the ovaries to release an egg - is what gives the ovulation predictor kit it’s positive result. There are some women who will have this surge of hormone for days - making it impossible to accurately predict ovulation without the use of many kits. Most kits state that you have 48 hours from the time of the positive test to have intercourse and get pregnant. Some women will need 3 days - this is common. Charting your fertility signs in conjunction with the ovulation predictor kit will help to better pinpoint the day of ovulation. It’s best to have intercourse for 3 to 4 days once you see the positive result.
The biggest disadvantage to using an OPK is that if you do not know approximately when you ovulate then you will possibly need to purchase more than one kit in a month. All women do not necessarily ovulate on day 14 of their cycle. The rule of thumb is - the longer your cycle is, the more kits you will need. The guess work can be very expensive until you can establish when ovulation occurs with a few days.
There are many different brands of OPK’s out there. It is extremely important to read all the instructions before testing. Some brands want you to use first morning urine and others want you to use mid-afternoon urine. Each of the brands do specify to test at the same time every day. Some brands say that the result line in the test should be darker before it’s considered positive for the surge and others say that the line needs to be at least the same as the test line. Pay attention to the instructions, so as not to miss your ovulation.
Some practitioners say to use an OPK every 12 hours to receive more accurate results. This is because when the ovary releases an egg - the duration of life is only 12 to 24 hours for the egg to be fertilized. Especially if a woman is undergoing a timely and expensive procedure such as IVF (in-vitro fertilization).
To truly get the best results from an OPK it is wise to combine their use with the charting of your fertility signs. Charting the basal body temperature and cervical fluid will help to better determine when to begin using an OPK. You can confirm the positive results from the OPK with the chart.
Another interesting feature about OPK’s is that you can use them also to determine pregnancy. The lutenizing hormone that prompts the OPK to register a positive is very similar to the hormone the body produces when a pregnancy occurs. Because of this, if you were to test with an OPK about the time you suspect a pregnancy (around the time of your missed menstrual cycle) the test would show a positive.
This is not documented in the instructions of the
OPK’s - but has been proven by countless women. Try it and see.
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