Ovulation Pain (Mittelschmerz)

The decision to (try and) conceive is one made excitedly by couples each day. One of the first steps to scientifically better chances of this happening is for the woman to determine approximately at what time each month she ovulates. This does change slightly from month to month, but with Basal Temperature Charting, an approximation can be made and is very helpful for many women. While basal charting can be tedious and time-consuming, some women find that charting their time of ovulation is indeed no problem whatsoever. 20% of all women do have this easier time of pinpointing ovulation, but for a not so desirable reason. Nearly a quarter of women experience pain with ovulation called mittelschmerz, in German, meaning middle pain. This pain happens in the middle of a woman’s cycle, at ovulation, and this is where it gets its name.

This middle pain experienced by some women is not always felt in the middle (of their abdomen) but usually on the side, depending on which side the ovary releasing the egg that month resides.
The degree of pain is different from woman to woman, with some experiencing nausea due to intense pain, while others might experience merely a dull pain resembling indigestion. The length of this pain varies as well and, for some, is accompanied by bloody discharge. Scientists are not sure why some women experience this pain and others do not, but speculate that the blood released along with the egg during ovulation might in some way aggravate the lining of affected women’s abdominal cavities. Treating this pain, which should not last more than 24 hours, is relatively easy. Most women find that warm baths, warm compresses to the abdomen, and over-the-counter pain medicines such as ibuprofen work well enough to relieve the pressure and pain. Women for which mittelschmerz causes extreme pain that truly disrupts their daily living may find it necessary to take some sort of prescribed birth control pill to stop ovulation all-together. With no ovulation, no pain is experienced, but women trying to conceive, obviously, should not take this route.

Because this 20% of women experience this true indicator of when they ovulate, they do, in a sense have an advantage when deciding to conceive. Their charting might not need to involve a thermometer whatsoever, but merely a dot showing when, each month, this middle pain begins and ends. Having sexual intercourse in the days preceding this monthly pain would be advantageous and chances of conceiving, provided normal fertility exists in male and female partner, are quite good.

About the Author: Eric Daiter has been sponsored by The NJ Center for Fertility and Reproductive Medicine, LLC, a leading provider of ovulation testing. For more information, please visit www.infertilitytutorials.com.