What Does Ovulation Feel Like? (Can You Feel Ovulation?)

If you’re trying to conceive (TTC), you may already know that understanding ovulation (the process where your hormones cause an egg to be released in the hope of sleepless nights and diaper duty) is imperative. You’re probably also aware that knowing when ovulation occurs can be a little hard to pin down – which is maybe why you’re asking “what does ovulation feel like?” Ever been curious what ovulation feels like, or if you can actually feel ovulation?

Well, as it turns out, sometimes, you can feel yourself ovulate ‒ while all bodies dance to their own tune, they do share a lot of the same common choreography.

We spoke with embryologist and fertility expert, Navya Muralidhar, all about what ovulation feels like.

In this article: 📝

What are ovulation symptoms?

How can you tell if you are ovulating?

The main sign of ovulation is ovulation pain.

When do you feel ovulation pain? Do you get cervix pain during ovulation? Before? After?

Well, these are tricky questions to answer. Would you be peeved if we were to say before, during, and after?

Sorry, but that’s the truth!

One possible reason for the pain is that, when the egg is released, the surface of the ovary from which the egg is released may become stretched.

Another is that the fluids released in the ovulation process can irritate your insides.

It’s important to know that not every woman experiences this pain. In fact, it’s probably as few as 1 in 5.

So, if you do experience it, you’re normal. If you don’t, you’re normal. Ah, look at that! We’re all exactly as we’re supposed to be.

Lastly on the pain front, if you’re feeling severe pain and it feels either more extreme or different from what you may have felt in the past, check in with your healthcare provider.

There are many possible reasons for abdomen aches, and some of them can be quite serious.

Moderate to severe pain can indicate a range of ailments, from cysts to appendicitis to STIs.

So if the pain is bothering you, chat to your doctor.

Where do you feel ovulation pain?

Ovulation pain has a fancy German name because, why not? It’s Mittelschmerz (or, anglecized, Middleschmirtz).

This is because you’ll generally feel it in the middle of your abdomen.

Our bodies love to send us little messages.

While you may want to shoot the messenger, the message itself can be one that’s very useful to you if pregnancy is on your to-do list.

What does ovulation pain feel like?

What does mittelschmerz feel like?

To be honest, not all bodies that ovulate will necessarily feel the same cervix pain during ovulation, so it’s hard to pinpoint.

But, generally speaking, it’s not dissimilar to period pain, except it happens in the middle of your cycle. (Fun, fun, fun. We get to experience discomfort at all sorts of times on the monthly roundabout.)

Ovulation pain will feel a little like a dull, achy sensation in your lower abdomen (like ovary twinges) and will be coming from whatever ovary was in charge of releasing the egg that month.

Because that is, in fact, the source of the pain. It’s the egg’s way of saying (quite dramatically), “Hey! Coming through here!”.

Ovulation pain vs implantation pain

Wondering how ovulation pain feels compared to implantation pain?

Rather unhelpfully, ovulation pain can feel similar to implantation pain. So it’s all about the accompanying symptoms, which can differ from person to person.

Is ovulation pain a good sign of fertility?

If you’re asking Is ovulation pain a good sign of fertility? the answer is, not specifically.

While it can be an indicator that you are, in fact, ovulating, the pain itself does not signify fertility either way.

Basically, in and of itself, ovulation pain isn’t necessarily a sign that you are particularly fertile.

But it can be that you’re the most fertile you can be at that time in your cycle ‒ your fertile window.

It all depends on how you feel during ovulation usually ‒ if cervix pain during ovulation is a typical occurrence for you, then that likely means ovulation pain is a sign that you’re at your most fertile.

If you tend not to experience ovulation pain, and you’re wondering, well, what does ovulation feel like for me, then? Read on…

What are signs of ovulation?

How can you tell if you are ovulating?

There’s a medley of ovulation symptoms, some people may experience all of them each month they ovulate, others may feel one or two, and some people won’t experience any ovulation symptoms at all.

But here are a few potential signs of ovulating, so you can check in with your body and finally answer the question, can you feel ovulation?

• Cervix pain during ovulation is pretty common.
• You feel a little bloated.
• Your basal temperature falls—and then rises. (This is important to note if you’re looking to get pregnant. The 2 to 3 days before your temperature rises is when you’re typically at your most fertile. You may want to monitor this—and you’d be pleased to know that there are special thermometers out there for this exact purpose).
• Can ovulation cause nausea? Yes, you might experience nausea during ovulation. Ovulation nausea is one of the more common signs of ovulation, so if you’re not feeling well during ovulation, there’s usually nothing to worry about.
• Feeling sexy ‒ an increase in libido can be a sign of ovulation.
• Does ovulation make you tired? Yup, it can do. Fatigue during ovulation is something many people with ovaries experience each month.
• Your breasts might feel more tender than usual.
• Bleeding during ovulation (and cramps or ovary twinges, as we’ve mentioned before), is a little less common for people who ovulate.
• During ovulation, diarrhea can be a common occurrence.
• Back pain during ovulation ‒ this can feel similar to middleschmirtz, but with twinges of pain further toward your back rather than your front.
• Some women have hot flashes during ovulation, although this tends to happen as a perimenopausal symptom, too.
• Bladder pain during ovulation can be something that happens, alongside frequent urination. Ovulation can affect different parts of your reproductive system, since it’s all interlinked.
• Some people experience ovulation dizziness, but keeping a reasonably balanced diet can help with this ‒ your body’s using a little more energy to ovulate, so keeping it ‘fuelled up’ can help.

What are signs of ovulation while on birth control?

It depends on what form of birth control you’re using, since there are tons!

Typically, the only forms of birth control that affect your ovulation are oral contraceptives (the pill), the patch, and NuvaRings.

These types of birth control can stop ovulation altogether, although you can sometimes still feel signs of ovulation (sorry).

What does ovulation feel like with PCOS?

Irregular periods are part of PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), which can, in turn, affect when you ovulate.

While you certainly can track your ovulation depending on how you feel, it’s not exactly a foolproof way of keeping track of your ovulation cycles.

The best way to see if you’re ovulating with PCOS? Using an ovulation test.

What does your cervix feel like during ovulation?

Another way to see what ovulation feels like is to feel the position and ‘softness’ of your cervix.

Your cervix can be felt at the opposite end of your vaginal opening, and, the closer you get to ovulating, the softer your cervix will feel.

It’ll also be positioned higher in your vaginal canal, as it moves to a place better suited for making a baby.

What are signs ovulation has already occurred?

Not sure whether you’ve ovulated or you’re ovulating right now? Here are some signs ovulation has already occurred:

• Your basal body temperature returns to ‘normal’.
• Your cervix shifts lower in your vaginal canal and feels harder to the touch.
• Not feeling in such a sexy mood. Your sex drive might wane a little after ovulation.
• No more middleschmirtz ‒ thank goodness!
  Basically, feeling like you’re back to ‘normal’, whatever that means for you, likely means that you’re not ovulating anymore.
  If you’re looking to get pregnant, understanding what does ovulation feel like and getting in touch with your cycle is a good way to gain more control in a process in which you may feel like you have little.

So why not ask the community on Peanut for advice on figuring out yours?