A saliva ovulation test can help women determine when ovulation is about to occur by examining saliva for hormones that precede ovulation. It can improve chances of conception and can be used alone or with other home fertility testing methods. The test is accurate up to 98% of the time and is not recommended for contraceptive use.
A saliva ovulation test is a simple but effective tool to help a woman determine when ovulation is about to occur. The test involves using a small microscope with a built-in light source to examine saliva for hormones that precede ovulation. For couples who are trying to conceive a child, a saliva ovulation test can improve their chances by pinpointing the most fertile time in a woman’s cycle, or when she is most likely to become pregnant. It can be used alone or in conjunction with other home fertility testing methods, such as a urine ovulation predictor or basal body temperature measurements.
A few days before ovulation, a woman’s body produces a surge of estrogen. The increase in estrogen can be detected by looking at the saliva under a microscope, usually magnified 40X to 100X. Estrogen produces a pattern that resembles the leaves of a fern or the crystalline patterns formed by frost on cold glass. Once the distinctive fern pattern begins to appear in the microscope, ovulation usually occurs within three to five days.
Knowing when she is ovulating can help a woman know when she is most likely to become pregnant. Although pregnancy can occur at any time during a woman’s cycle, conception is most likely during the period three to four days before ovulation, until about 24 hours after. Timing intercourse during this window will increase her chances of getting pregnant.
The saliva ovulation test can be done at any time of the day, but a woman should wait at least two hours after eating, drinking, smoking or brushing her teeth. The test kit contains a small microscope with an internal light and a glass slide or lens. A small amount of saliva is collected from under the tongue, with an applicator or fingertip, and placed on the slide to dry, which will take five to ten minutes. The slide is then inserted into the microscope; a surge of estrogen will appear as a fern-like pattern, while a normal or negative test will only show a pattern of circles or dots.
If a woman’s cycles are regular, she can use the ovulation predictor approximately two weeks after the first day of her last period, which is typically when ovulation occurs. Some women find it helpful to test every day and track the results on a fertility calendar. This is especially helpful for women with irregular cycles, whose ovulation pattern can be unpredictable. Since each woman produces different amounts of estrogen, each woman will have her own distinct pattern of fern. Saliva Ovulation Predictor can be used as often as needed until a woman has a good idea of what her patterns look like.
When used to predict fertility, the saliva ovulation test is accurate up to 98% of the time. A positive test does not guarantee that a woman will become pregnant; she only tells her when she’s experiencing the characteristic surge of estrogen that accompanies ovulation. Nor can it guarantee that a woman will not become pregnant at other times in her cycle. The test is not considered reliable enough to be used as a contraceptive device, and most manufacturers do not recommend the test for contraceptive use.
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