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Ovulation Predictor Kits (OPKs)
Becoming a mother is a feeling that is second to none, and getting pregnant is the first step in that direction. If you have been trying for quite some time but are not getting the desired results, an ovulation predictor kit can help you out.
Ovulation is a natural process that denotes the release of eggs from your ovaries. Every month, many eggs mature inside the ovaries. The one which is the healthiest among them moves to the pelvic cavity, and from there, it goes to the fallopian tube.
The egg survives no more than 24 hours without fertilization (the union of egg and sperm).
A sperm can survive not more than seven days inside your fallopian tube. This is the only small window every month when you can conceive.
The sperm which has the ability to swim in a straight line is considered the healthiest one, and this is required for fertilisation. When trying for a baby, your partner needs to ejaculate every 3-4 days to produce such a sperm.
The chances of conception are the highest if the intercourse takes place in the first two days just before ovulation.
Most women take the help of ovulation predictor kits to determine the right days for intercourse. So, how do ovulation predictor kits help? Here is all you need to know about an ovulation predictor kit.
What Is an Ovulation Predictor Kit?
An Ovulation Predictor Kit (OPK) tells you when you are the most fertile. These kits work by detecting the surge in the production of the hormone called luteinizing hormone (LH) that happens a few days before ovulation. Luteinizing hormone and ovulation are closely associated. A surge in the production of this hormone is what triggers ovulation.
Timing the intercourse just a few days after the surge will increase your probability of conception as it is during this time that the egg and the sperm are close to each other. Using ovulation tests to predict fertility is very common among couples trying to start a family, as they identify your fertile window.
When To Take An Ovulation Test?
Ovulation Predictor Kits help you to understand when your fertile period would begin which is usually 17 days subtracted from the actual length of your cycle. So, if the length of your cycle is 28 days, start taking the ovulation test on the 11th day and continue for the next six days.
Types Of Ovulation Tests
There are different types of OPKs and they work in the following ways:
1. Test Strip Method
This is a very popular method of identifying one’s ovulation period. It consists of strips that you need to place into your urine stream directly. You may also dip the strip in a cup containing your urine.
2. Mid-Stream Method
This kit resembles home-test kits for checking pregnancy and the method of testing is more or less same as well. You have to place a few drops of your urine on the test strip and observe the colour change. You need to compare this colour to the base colour. Depending on this, you will be able to say if you have already crossed your ovulating cycle or it is a few days away. The darker the colour of the strip, the closer you are to your ovulation period.
Urine-based OPKs work by testing your urine to check the increase in the LH and this is something that happens only 1-2 days before you start ovulating.
It is important to note that LH in a small proportion is always present in your urine. However, this increases four to five times a few days before ovulation and this is what triggers ovulation. The ovulation cycle is when your chances of conception are the highest.
3. Salivary Ferning Kits
Another way of testing is the use of salivary ferning kits. These consist of a small portable microscope which you need to use and analyse your saliva to determine salt-content. The salt content in your saliva goes up when more oestrogen is secreted. The dried salt resembles fern-shaped crystals.
The ferning is visible one or two days before you start ovulating or a couple of days after it. This helps you understand your most fertile window. At other times, the salt dries without any particular shape.
4. Ovulation Calculator
An ovulation calculator is another tool that you can use. This calculator is available online, and you need to furnish few details like the first day of your last menstruation cycle and the length of your cycle. Once you enter these details, the calculator shows your fertile days to conceive.
What to Choose?
Urine-based tests offer 99 percent accurate results and are the best option for you to use at home. However, do not use these tests as a contraceptive as the results are not foolproof. Moreover, you can become pregnant for up to 24 hours after ovulation. There can be a surge in the secretion of LH, even without the release of eggs. There can be false alarms too before the real one.
Ferning does not give as accurate results as the urine-based tests. Moreover, ferning can take place if you are taking Clomid or similar fertility drugs during your menstrual cycle.
Regardless of the method you use, try and maintain an ovulation calendar so that you have a clear idea of the tentative days when you would be most fertile.
How To Use Ovulation Kit?
In the case of urine-based OPKs, collect your urine in a cup or bowl or place the strip under as you pee. You will observe a change in the colour of the strips which indicates whether there is a surge in the production of LH.
You can also make use of digital OPKs that show symbols to tell when you would be most fertile. A digital ovulation test is also quite popular.
The general instructions usually vary a bit. However, as a rule of thumb, it is important that you collect your pee between 8:00 in the morning and 10:00 at night. The ideal time is believed to be between 2:00 pm - 2:30 pm. Try and maintain a fixed time for testing every day.
How To Read Ovulation Test Results
To know how to read the test results, you first need to conduct the test in the proper way.
Try and collect your pee more or less around a fixed time every day. This will help you track changes more accurately. Also, do not collect the urine just after waking up. By doing so, you might miss the first day of surge in your luteinizing hormone. Drink fewer liquids for a few hours before taking the test, to avoid the dilution of the test results.
Make sure to read the result within ten minutes of conducting the test. While the positive result would not change, a few other coloured bands might start to appear. Throw away the ovulation test strips or cards after you have read the results.
If you are opting for the salivary ferning kit, you would need to take the test just after waking up, before you drink or eat anything. Make sure that the saliva you test is free from air bubbles. Place saliva on a slide or simply lick the slide. Wait till the saliva dries and use the microscope to check if it has formed any fern-shaped patterns.
Advantages Of Using Ovulation Kits
There are many advantages of using OPKs. Some of them are:
Ovulation kits offer nearly accurate results and they are more precise than any other method of identifying the ovulation period. If you do the test properly, OPKs are 97 percent effective in detecting the LH surge, which is used as a marker for ovulation.
Ovulation kits are also easy and convenient to use. Apart from the ease of use, you are also required to conduct the test during the middle of your cycle, the time when you are most likely to ovulate, meaning this is something that you do not need to do every day. In the case of other tests like basal body temperature, you need a daily commitment. Here, all you need to do is place a few drops of your urine on the strip or stick.
OPKs are also easily available. You can purchase these kits in your local pharmaceutical store and even supermarkets. You do not need a prescription for buying these kits.
It is always easier to conceive when you know when your fertile period is. This is more so when you and your partner have such routines that regular sex is a problem. You can schedule the intercourse in such a way that it falls within your fertile window.
Disadvantages of Using Ovulation Kits
Every coin has two sides. Ovulation kits have a few cons too and they are:
OPKs do not actually say whether you have ovulated or you are going to do so. They detect the surge in LH production which is thought to precede ovulation. There are times when an egg does not emerge from the follicle. This is referred to as the luteinized unruptured follicle syndrome.
OPKs are also not able to say whether your cervical mucus will be able to provide the sperm with a conducive environment to swim through. What you experience as vaginal discharge in the middle of your cycle is mucus secreted by the cervix that offers the sperm a fertile environment for fertilisation. OPKs cannot track whether this cervical mucus is optimal for conception or not
Ovulation kits do not work if you are on fertility drugs. OPKs do not give proper results when your system has fertility drugs like Pergonal.
Ovulation kits also do not actually come cheap. The branded ones (which you should use for accurate results) are quite expensive and often one kit is not enough.
OPKs do not work well for women who are above 40. Women who are nearing menopause already have a high concentration of LH in their urine all the times. Thus, OPKs fail to give proper results.
Hormonal changes, cysts, and even fertility medications can lead to ferning even when you are not ovulating. Also, you are required to take the ferning test several times in a day and you need to plan them around your meals. This can be a problem.
So, there are both advantages and disadvantages associated with ovulation predictor kits. The advantages obviously outweigh the disadvantages. This is the reason why millions of future moms are using this kit to help them conceive. OPKs offer better results when teamed with monitoring drugs.
Unless you are above the age of 40 years, you can easily use these kits to identify the days in your cycle when you will be most fertile.
What Else To Know?
Common drugs like paracetamol do not affect the results of this test. However, as already mentioned, this test does not work if you are taking medicines that contain LH or human chorionic gonadotrophin.
Many brands offer ovulation test kits and you can even order these kits online. Make sure you look for a trusted one. Talk to friends or relatives who have already used these kits and conceived. Happy conceiving!
Also Read:
How to Confirm Pregnancy At Home
Easy and Homemade Pregnancy Tests Read more
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Interesting Facts About Giraffe (the Tallest Mammal) for Kids
The tallest animals in the world, giraffes are native to the continent of Africa. Did you know that in ancient times, giraffes were called Camelopards? This is because giraffes look like camels due to their long legs and necks, but have the colour pattern of leopards. Let us find out some more interesting things that we can learn about giraffes.
Facts About Giraffe for Children
Below are some facts about giraffes that describe how unique and interesting they are.
1. Where are giraffes found?
As already mentioned, giraffes are found in Africa. In fact, there are various types of giraffes that are spread across the continent. Different types of giraffes are found in different locations in Africa. Countries where giraffes are found, include Chad, Sudan, Niger, South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania. They prefer hot and dry climates, but during this time they have to live near trees. However, during the wet or rainy season, giraffes are found all over the place. The specific conditions that animals live in are known as its habitat. If you are teaching about giraffe habitats to kids, you can tell them that they live in savannas, grasslands and open woodlands. Giraffes often live in open forests as well.
2. What do giraffes eat and drink?
Giraffes usually obtain their food by roaming around their habitats. They prefer the shoots and leaves of the Acacia tree, but they consume other types of plants as well. They generally eat leaves, vines, herbs and other soft vegetable matter. Even though many people believe this fact, giraffes don’t like to eat grass.
Giraffes spend most of their time looking for food and eating it. Giraffes drink water sparingly. They only drink once in a few days, which means they don’t have to live near water bodies like ponds and lakes. In fact, giraffe’s can go three weeks without drinking water, while camels can only go for two weeks!
Giraffes belong to the same family as cows and deer, which makes them part of the ruminant family. Ruminants are animals who chew their food, swallow it, digest it partially, then bring it back to their mouths for more chewing.
3. How do they look?
An adult giraffe is around five to six meters in height, that is sixteen to twenty feet. This means they are as tall as an electricity pole, making them the tallest animal on earth. Male giraffes weigh around 1,300 kg while female giraffes weight around 830 kg.
The coat of a giraffe is a pattern made out of brown patches with yellow or orange hair in between. This helps them stay disguised in the grassy areas of their habitats. The fur of the giraffe has many chemicals that help them fight parasites and infections.
Why do giraffes have long necks? The neck of a giraffe is often more than two meters long. This is because having a long neck helps them reach food in tall trees. Giraffes also have two small horns on their heads, which are called ossicones.
Endangered Giraffe Species
Endangered species means animals which are in danger of dying out. Some types of giraffes, like the Rothschild’s giraffe and the West African giraffe, are endangered.
Other Fun Facts About Giraffe
Here are some other fun bits of giraffe information for kids:
Giraffes have been living on this planet for more than thirty million years.
A giraffe’s tongue is very long, at nearly two feet in length. This allows it to clean its ears with its tongue.
A giraffe’s heart is very large, at least ten kg in weight and around two feet in length.
A giraffe can kick with such great force that they can kill lions. This is the method it uses to protect itself from attacks from predators.
Giraffes’ brown spots get darker as they age. If a giraffe’s spots are darker, it means they are older than other giraffes.
Giraffe’s do not require much sleep. They sleep less than thirty minutes a day, and in a standing position!
A newborn giraffe can be nearly six feet in height, and weight more than seventy kg. This is bigger than a full grown adult human being.
Giraffes run at a speed of 60 km per hour, making them faster than horses who can only run at 50 km per hour.
All giraffes have a different pattern of spots on their body, meaning no two giraffes are the same. This means every giraffe can be recognized by its appearance very easily by other giraffes.
Giraffes usually sleep while they are in a standing position.
A baby giraffe can stand up and walk as soon as it is born.
Earlier people believed that giraffes never made any sounds, but now we know that they make many different kinds of sounds that human ears are unable to pick up.
Giraffes have several predators in their habitats, that is lions, hyenas, wild dogs, leopards and crocodiles.
Male giraffes use the horns on their head, called ossicones, to fight with other male giraffes.
Giraffes only eat plant food, making them herbivores.
Giraffes can eat more than forty kg of food every single day!
Giraffes live in groups of fifteen members, which are known as towers. Towers are led by one adult male.
Since giraffes drink very little water, they get most of their water from the plants and shoots they eat.
Giraffes have large eyes with excellent colour vision, which allows them to see any predators before being attacked.
The legs of giraffes are taller than most humans, at around seven feet tall.
Giraffes live for around twenty-five years in the wild. Interestingly, they have been known to live longer in captivity, reaching forty years of age.
Giraffes are beautiful animals with many unique characteristics. In addition to being the tallest mammal, they are also faster than horses. However, the number of giraffes has been reducing for the past twenty years. There were around 140,000 giraffes in the world in 2000, but now that number is around 80,000.
Also Read: Peacock Facts for Kids Read more
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Teaching Your Toddler to Draw a Straight Line
A toddler’s first attempt at drawing is far from artful, but those fierce scribbles are what are going to help him reach toddler drawing milestones. Apart from being patient, there are a few things parents themselves can do to help them along the way.
Most toddlers are able to scribble at 12 to 13 months of age. By 18 to 20 months your toddler will have made progress from scribbling to drawing lines. While curved lines come easier to them, most toddlers universally struggle with drawing straight lines. Here is where parents can step in to help their kids find hand co-ordination by incorporating these fun straight line drawings tasks.
How to Teach Your Toddler to Draw a Straight line
Let Them Follow You
Children are quick to imitate their parents’ actions. The best way, therefore, for making toddlers draw a straight line is by drawing one yourself and allowing them to follow you. The line may be anything but straight at first. Gradual practice will see straighter lines as you both keep at it. ||
Connect the Dots
This is one of the most fun tasks to introduce when teaching your child line drawing. The dots aid in hand-eye coordination, which is an extremely important skill for a toddler to develop. To begin with you can draw a single set of dots on a piece of paper and have your toddler connect them. If need be, guide his hand to help him follow the pattern. Once he gets the hang of it you can gradually leave him to it.
Introduce a Ruler
There’s nothing better than getting your toddler to drag his crayon or pencil along the outer line of a ruler when teaching toddlers to draw straight lines. This is the best practice when it comes to drawing straight lines. Allow your toddler to trace the line of the ruler while you hold it steady in place. This can be a bit tricky initially so holding their hand and guiding it would be the best way to start. The moment you find they are comfortable with this action you can let go.
The Book Task
When looking for ways in developing straight line drawing skills in 20-month-old toddlers, another activity that is quite suited for the purpose is the book task. All you need is your toddler’s drawing book. Open the book to the middle page and have your little one run his colour pencil down the entire length of the inner central line, which holds the pages together. This makes for a good practice session and even allows the hand to get accustomed to linear movement.
Each child is unique and develops at their own pace. Parents, therefore, should never pressure their young one into achieving toddler drawing milestones. Drawing is a developmental skill that doesn’t necessarily follow a set timetable. So don’t fret if your child struggles with drawing lines and shapes while other children of his age have moved on to various stages of drawing. Read more
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Jyoshna
Mom of a 8 m old girl
New Milestone
Iam successfully completed 8 months 😍
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Designer Babies - When Did We Begin To Play God?
“He has your husbands eyes”. “I wish my baby girl had my hair”. It is only natural to expect your baby to be a combination of the best qualities, traits and aesthetics of your husband and you combined. While we love our babies nonetheless, many parents play the “design our baby” game while expecting their little ones. With advances in technology, this “designing” has become a reality, but when did we obtain the right to play God?
While it is a great feeling to customise your clothes, your sandwiches and your education degree to suit your liking, this priveledge of personalization when transfered to creating your own child seems bizarre.
Well, designer babies are a real thing! They are babies with a genetic makeup that has been artificially picked up by genetic engineers. Thanks to the success of IVF (in-vitro fertilisation), it is easy to see which genes and characteristics are present in the baby's DNA. In other words, you can choose how you want your baby to turn out.
According to studies these are the traits that a parent can control:
Gender
Preferred appearance
Intelligence level
Removal of genetic disease
Personality
How Far Is Too Far - An ethical view on Designer Babies
While it is already a emotional and ethical outrage when it comes to deciding your baby's gender, this genetic desigining may have taken it a step too far amongst a large group of people. Why should we be playing God? And does anything good come out of this?
Before we get to the good, let's look at what could go wrong
This “advancement” could lead to the slow end of sex for procreation, perhaps reducing intimacy and the natural occurence of life on Earth.
It could damage the way genetics works forever.
It could create a futher gap between the rich who could afford it and the poor. Creating a “perfect” class of rich folk and a then percieved “flawed” set of lower classes.
Failure of the process would lead to termination of fertilization.
The baby will have no choice in the matter.
Other children could develop a complex.
Here is what could go right
This process could lead to an end to genetic diseases being transfered to future generations.
People might begin to understand more about genetics.
Defective genes could potentially be eliminated.
Parent's could aquire desired genes from a donor.
In a country like ours, sex selection is still illegal because of the strong preference of male children, let alone genetic designing. Whether or not this process will be welcome with open arms in India, is a debate that is tilting more towards “nay” than “yay”. Ethical views apart, other critics are questioning the practicality of this technique for conception.
The program of designing babies, started by Dr. Jeffrey Steinberg has been terminated already, however, the study that has gone into it can never be erased. Neither can the assurance that there are doctors out there who can take on the procedure for parents who are willing.
While this technique has been banned in many countries, there is nothing stopping parents to travel to countries where it remains legal. Only the future will decide whether this technique is here to stay.
Are designer babies a genetic horror that will unfold, or will it remain just a successful study that was experimented on? Read more
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मनातल्या गुजगोष्टी
१. पालक म्हणून नव्या वर्षाचा संकल्प
आजच सकाळी मुलानी सिंहगढ़ पुणे चे पहाटे सूर्योदयाचे मस्त प्रकृतित्मक स्वरूपाचे चित्र पाठविले मी पहातच राहिले, त्यांनी सांगितले, ते दृश्य इतका मनोरम होतं .. मस्त हिरवी झाडे पाहून न आईचे मन खूपच प्रसन्न झाले.
नंतर मी पालक म्हणून मनात संकल्प केला, या वर्षी छोटी रोपे लावूया आणि मग पोरांन्ना सांगूया कि पुणे मधे तशीच प्रदूषण जास्त असते, शुद्ध हवा नाहीच. तर निदान एक तरी तुळशी चे रोप लावा ते आपल्या प्रकृति साठी उत्तम असूनही आम्हाला कोणच्या ही परिस्थितित प्रसन्न राहून खम्भीर पणे उभे राहायचा धड़ा शिकवितो. "हेच पालक म्हणून नव्या वर्षा चे संकल्प".
२. एकदा तरी जवळ बैस ना गं आई
दिवसभर दगदग करून कामा वरून आल्यावर रागिनीने फक्त मोकळा श्वास घेतलास होता कि सोनु व मोनु दोघांनी आईला हाक मारली. आई आई, ये ना गं, आमच्या जवळ बस ना थोडं, दोन्ही जुळी मुलं आहेत. त्यांच्या आईने फार त्रास सहन करून त्यांना लहानाचे मोठे केलेलं, पण ते फक्त आई च्या कुशीत झोपायला पहायचे बिचारे. त्यांच्या आईला आफिस, घरातले कामातुन, सासु सासरयांचे सर्व करण्यामध्ये आपल्या मुलांना कुशीत घ्याय साठी वेळ नाही भेटत, तर बिचाऱ्या चिमुकल्याना आपल्या मनात वाटते कि एकदा तरी जवळ बस ना गं आई, एकदा तरी कुशित घे न ग आई. मुलांना आई आणि आईचे प्रेम कायम हवे असते.
३. आईबाबांपासून पासून मिळालेले संस्कार
जीवनात कोणत्याहीही क्षणी पुढे काय घडणार, ते कुणालाच आधीपासून माहिती नसतं पण ती वेळ चांगली असो किंवा वाईट त्याला सर्वांना सामोरं जावेच लागते. मग कोणत्याही नात्यामधे, "होय! तुझ्यावर फक्त माझाच अधिकार आहे" असे म्हणून हक्क दाखविण्यापेक्ष्या आपल्या सर्व नात्यांमध्ये संबंध कायम ठेवायचा प्रयत्न केला तर ते अतिशय आनंदमय जगणे सार्थक होईल.
आम्ही सर्व घरी आणि बाहेर सर्वांबरोबर गोडीने जर महत्वपूर्ण संवाद प्रेमाने साधले, तर मग कोणते ही काम पण लवकर पूर्ण होऊन संबंध सुद्धा कायमचे टिकवून राहतात, असे हे आई बाबांकडून मिळालेल्या संस्कारांचा सम्मान करून आपल्या मुलांना सुद्धा संबंध कायम ठेवायचे संस्कार दिले.
Disclaimer: The views, opinions and positions (including content in any form) expressed within this post are those of the author alone. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The responsibility for intellectual property rights of this content rests with the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with him/her.
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Dr Priyanka Kalra has added a new answer
Expecting Mom due this month
13 hours ago
Q. i am 39 week of pregnant and having AFI level of 8 is this normal?and is delivery possible for me?
Dr Priyanka Kalra
Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
6 hours ago
A. yes. better to show to specialist always as they get the correct diagnosis. try to avoid self and extra medication that will only complicate this and create more damage to the childdo ultrasound n necessary tests after consulting a specialist. without proper check up we can't advise or help you.. Avoid shirt cuts when it comes to health if mother n baby. ok.
Vandana Sharma has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
7 hours ago
Q. please tale me how much dengerous for may 7 days old baby and she was 2.9 kg.
Vandana Sharma
Nutritionist
6 hours ago
A. Hello mom the blood sugar level of baby is quite low , could say hypoglycemia as well .
Dr Ghouse has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
6 hours ago
Q. hlw hospital bag main baby nd mom ke liye kiya kiya le jana chahiye???
Dr Ghouse
Paediatrician
5 hours ago
A. hospital bag mein baby ke essentials Deni hogi aap YouTube per dekh sakte hain. if there is no relief it is better you see your doctor for proper examination particularly physical examination if there is need for doing investigations to find out the problem and treatment ok
Rashmi has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
5 hours ago
Q. my last period was on 29 February 2024 according to which I am 8 weeks 4 days pregnant but my usg scan shows 7 weeks 3 days
Rashmi
Mom of a 9 yr 7 m old girl
5 hours ago
A. For this purpose I’d like to tell you plus -1 or two weeks is completely normal to be seen during ultrasound till the time doctor does not say anything in order of you need to worry about the don’t worry like I said this can be commonly seen in one plus or 2+ weeks or minus weeks is fine
Ashima Malhotra has added a new answer
Expecting Mom due in 5 months
5 hours ago
Q. Am craving to have a burger at McDonald’s. Am 15 week pregnant.
Is it safe to have
Ashima Malhotra
Mom of a 10 m old boy
4 hours ago
A. avoid it
Dr Ghouse has added a new answer
Expecting Mom due in 6 months
4 hours ago
Q. It's my 12th week of pregnancy but last night I noticed some bleeding. So, my doctor prescribed Duphaston for 2 weeks. Is there anything to worry about? Please guide me.
Dr Ghouse
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4 hours ago
A. at present take rest and use medicines as advised by the doctor. if there is no relief it is better you see your doctor for proper examination particularly physical examination if there is need for doing investigations to find out the problem and treatment ok
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- Infant0 to 6 Months
- Baby6 Months to 2 Yrs
- Toddler2 to 4 yrs
- Kids4-6 yrs
- Big Kids6+ yrs
- Expecting
- Trying to Conceive