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Getting pregnant can take a week, a month, a year or even longer. And although there’s no way to predict exactly what your timeline may look like, it can be helpful to be informed about your cycle so you’ll know when you’re most fertile. Ovulation tests can help.
Designed to let you know the optimal time in your cycle to have sex in order to boost your shot at conceiving, ovulation tests are a popular, easy-to-use at-home test to take when you’re trying to get pregnant. We’re explaining the ins and outs of ovulation tests including how they work, when to take them and how to analyze the results, then outlining our four expert picks for the best ovulation tests.
An ovulation test, also often called an ovulation predictor kit (OPK), is a test you can take at home that’s used to help you determine the most fertile days of your menstrual cycle. Ovulation tests can help you to pinpoint when you’re ovulating so you’ll know how to time intercourse in order to maximize your chances of getting pregnant.
“Narrowing down the window of when to focus those efforts can be helpful for people trying to get pregnant,” explained Al Bradlea, Dona-certified doula and lactation consultant.
Although there are other ways to monitor your fertile window, such as fertility charting to track your basal body temperature and your cervical mucus on a daily basis, ovulation tests are more appealing to some people and a bit less intensive.
Ovulation tests work by tracking your body’s production of luteinizing hormone (LH), a hormone that stimulates the ovaries.
LH is always present in your urine; however, 24-48 hours before ovulation (when an egg is released from one of your ovaries), the amount of LH in your body rises. This is referred to as your LH surge, and it’s during this one- to two-day window in your cycle prior to ovulation that you’re most fertile.
Ovulation tests detect the levels of LH in your urine. OPKs make it easy to pinpoint your LH surge and to identify your most fertile time so you’ll know when to have sex and increase your chances of pregnancy.
According to the American Pregnancy Association (APA), ovulation tests are 99% accurate in detecting the LH surge that happens prior to ovulation. But there are some important things to note when trying to understand this statistic.
While ovulation tests can tell you when your LH is on the rise, they can’t confirm if you’ve actually ovulated or not. Some women have an LH surge and never release an egg, while others experience a few false surges of LH before it actually peaks. (The latter is common in women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or PCOS, a condition that can affect your cycle, hormones and fertility.) If you’re unsure about your ovulation, or are seeing some inconsistencies with your ovulation tests, it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor about your concerns.
“It’s important to know that ovulation tests are not perfect,” explains Bradlea. “For every person, the time between when the LH spike happens and the egg releases is different. It could be a few hours later; it could be a few days later.”
One other important thing to note: if you’re someone who experiences longer than average or more irregular cycles, you’ll likely need to stock up on more ovulation tests than the average person. Most ovulation predictor kits only come with a limited amount of test strips, which may not be enough to cover the timeframe when ovulation might occur for you.
“If you’re overwhelmed and you’re taking ovulation test kits daily, cycle after cycle, and nothing is coming of it, it’s time to talk to your doctor,” says Bradlea. “Because stress and overanalyzing is not great for conception either.”
Timing plays a big role in fertility, and it plays a big role in when to take an ovulation test, too. It’s important to understand the right time to use an ovulation test in order to up your chances of conceiving. There are a few things you’ll need to figure out in order to know when to take an ovulation test.
Overwhelmed by all of this math? Don’t worry—most ovulation tests come with clear, easy instructions and a chart to help you determine when you should begin testing. There are even video resources from most test brands available that can help.
Most ovulation tests use urine and are extremely easy to use. You’ll want to read the specific instructions that are included with your test to ensure you use it properly to get the most accurate results.
Most tests recommend you either hold the tip of the test strip under your stream of urine or dip it in a small cup filled with urine. If you’re using a test strip without a monitor, you’ll be looking for colored lines on the strip itself; if your ovulation test comes with a monitor, you’ll refer to that to read the results. And you won’t have to wait long—most tests take only a few minutes or so.
There’s no best time of day to take an ovulation test. They can be taken any time—just be sure you’re consistent and take the test at the same time each day. The APA recommends reducing your liquid intake about four hours prior to testing.
You’ve peed on a stick—so now what? You need to know what to look for when reading your ovulation results and what to do next.
Each ovulation test is different, so be sure to carefully read the instructions on yours so you know how to read the results correctly. If you’re using only a test strip, most have two lines: a control and a testing line. The control line lets you know the test is working properly, while the second line is the test line. (Line colors will vary depending on what brand of test you’re using.) For most tests, when the test line is as dark or darker than the control line, this means the test is positive and your LH is surging.
If you’re using an ovulation test that includes a digital monitor, you’ll need to look for your results on the monitor’s screen. While symbols vary test by test, most digital ovulation tests use a smiley face to indicate that the test is positive.
If your ovulation test is positive, it’s time to get down to business! Per the AAP, the three days after a positive test ovulation test is the best time to have sex in order to increase your chances of getting pregnant.
If you get a negative ovulation test result, keep testing—it’s likely your LH surge simply hasn’t happened yet and you need a few more days. If you’re receiving consecutive negative ovulation tests for more than a few weeks, there could be a few reasons.
Most healthcare providers recommend that you wait until you miss your period before taking a pregnancy test. Typically, implantation occurs around five days after fertilization, and then it takes time for hCG, the hormone your body secretes while pregnant, to build in your system to a high enough level that’s detectable via a pregnancy test.
