5 Tips on How to Use Ovulation Tests

Woman holding phone up with premom app showing test strip gallery

February 2, 2022 | Jessica Moncivais | Medically reviewed by Dr. Patti Haebe, N.M.D.

For those trying to conceive, you may have many questions about how to get pregnant using an OPK (Ovulation Predictor Kit). You may wonder how long does it take to get pregnant? When am I most fertile?, or When should we baby dance? Getting to know your body’s natural patterns is a good start to optimizing your fertility.

Ovulation predictor kits and knowing how to read ovulation tests properly can help you detect the rise in the luteinizing LH hormone. This hormone causes women to ovulate and release an egg. When a woman is ovulating, she is at the most fertile part of her cycle and the chance of pregnancy is high. Although there is no magic formula for deciding the right time to try and conceive, knowing how to use ovulation test strips / tests and how to read a positive ovulation test can be beneficial to the process and increase your chances of getting pregnant faster.

Here are our top five tips to use ovulation tests most effectively:

When to start testing LH

1. If it is your first time testing during your cycle, begin testing the day after your period ends. If it is not and you are using the Premom app, you may begin to test five days earlier than your predicted Ovulation Day.

2. You want to test anytime between 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. This is when LH levels tend to be at its highest, and you have a better chance of not missing your peak. Or, if you are testing twice a day, test once around 11:00 a.m., and again around 5:00 p.m.
3. Test once a day if you have gradual onset LH surge, or twice a day if you have rapid onset LH surge. Find more information about surge patterns here.

Different surge patterns, rapid, gradual, double peak
4. If you are using ovulation test strips, keep your test dipped in the urine until you see the dye begin to rise into the test window, then remove. You do not need to wait until the fluid reaches the top.
5. Remember, each woman's LH surge and ovulation patterns are different. Believe in yourselves and the wondrous capabilities of your body.

Premom's digital ovulation test reader quantify's your test results and displays your LH level as peak, high or low after you scan the test results in the app. It takes out all of the guesswork. Premom is here to help make the journey easier for you. Start tracking your ovulation by downloading the free Premon Digital Reader today!

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