- Ovulation predictor kits measure the increasing amounts of luteinizing hormone in a woman's urine. The luteinizing hormone surge is what helps signal it is time for the ovaries to release an egg each month during ovulation. This luteinizing hormone surge happens between 24 and 48 hours before ovulation and is what ovulation predictor kits are highly reliable in detecting. When an ovulation predictor kit detects the hormone, a couple knows that ovulation is one to two days away, and the couple should have intercourse for the next three days to optimize the chances for conception.
- Ovulation predictor kits are widely available in drugstores and grocery stores or mass merchandisers that have a pharmacy section. Each ovulation predictor kit comes with testing strips, usually between 5 and 9, to be used each day during the middle of a woman's cycle until the luteinizing hormone is detected. Most manufacturers of home pregnancy tests also sell ovulation predictor kits, and they are available in generic brands as well. Prices for ovulation predictor kits range from $15 to $50, though cheaper versions can be found online.
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Using an ovulation predictor kit is similar to using a home pregnancy test. Test strips can be held in the urine stream or dipped into a urine specimen cup for the appropriate amount of time indicated on the kit instructions, normally a few seconds. Results are usually readable in just a few minutes.
Women should test at the same time each day in the middle of their cycle until a positive result is detected on the ovulation predictor kit. Different brands of kits have different recommendations, but the consensus is that for the most accurate results, a woman should test at midday after holding her urine for four hours. - Many women enjoy the additional help that ovulation predictor kits can provide in their efforts to achieve pregnancy. While ovulation can be predicted without using kits, primarily by using basal body temperatures and cervical mucus observations, ovulation are easier and while accurate. Most kits available are over 97 percent accurate in detecting the luteinizing hormone present before ovulation.
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While ovulation predictor kits are generally very accurate and helpful in determining ovulation and the right timing for intercourse, there are downfalls to using the kits. Using them from month to month can be quite costly, and using the kits and timing intercourse correctly does not always lead to pregnancy. There is only a 25 percent chance or less each month that a couple will achieve pregnancy, even with appropriately timed intercourse.
Other negatives for using the kits is that they do not test for the most fertile cervical mucus, can give inaccurate results when used with certain fertility drugs, and are often unreliable in women nearing menopause.
