Home Fertility Tests

Home fertility tests are also known as ovulation predictor kits or OPK's. These tests can be purchased over the counter and used to pinpoint when ovulation is about to occur. OPK's are not highly esteemed by all healthcare professionals though. The effectiveness of opk's can be affected by many different factors. To some they can be the best thing ever, to others they are costly and misleading.

OPK's work by predicting 12-48 hours before ovulation is about to occur. The test detects the surge of luetenizing hormone. Luetenizing hormone prompts the ovaries to release an egg. Most test kit's instructions advise to test until you see the first positive surge (normally the color test result is as dark or darker than the control result). Once you see this surge you are to have intercourse within the next 48 hours to catch the egg. However this can be flawed.

Not every woman will have just one surge of luetenizing hormone.

Some women may have many surges while their body attempts to ovulate. Other woman may have the surge and ovulation may take place 72 hours later. I am one of these women. Given these facts, you can easily see how tough it would be to accurately rely on the result of an opk.

In any case, normally it can take a couple of months to get the hang of using an opk accurately. This is one area where I recommend fertility charting, because with a fertility chart you can definitely pinpoint ovulation.

The guesswork involved with using fertility tests can be very costly.

If you are new to using them, and truly don't have any idea when you ovulate, you may have to purchase several kits to determine ovulation. Here is an example of my own cycles. The first month I used opk's I had to purchase 2 kits. The instructions normally tell you to start taking the tests around day 10. I finally saw my surge on day 19 and actually ovulated on day 22. This sort of guesswork can be very expensive.

There are many different brands of opk's - just like with home pregnancy tests. Important!  Read all the instructions before testing.  Even the time of day to take the test can vary from brand to brand.

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If you do purchase the home fertility tests, be sure to take the test at the same time each day. This is important. Some doctors even advise to take a test every 12 hours to be sure to catch ovulation. This is especially important for someone who is preparing for an intra-uterine insemination. Remember the egg only lives for 12 to 24 hours.