Ovulation Test Strips

[isabelle]

Hi!

This may seem like a silly question, but I feel like I should get an answer to it. I am currently taking the combination pill (+ use of condoms), but if I were to take an ovulation test once a day during my 'fertile week' (my period app tells me when im supposed to be fertile) and it comes out negative every time, is this a for sure way to know I didn't ovulate? This would be a nice reassurance that the pill is doing its job because of no ovulation=no chance of pregnancy.

Thanks!

[Heather]

You won't actually have a "fertile week" on the combination pill. Your cycle is basically the exact same every day when it comes to fertility (read: you aren't fertile, every day, equally).

Suppressing ovulation is one of three ways the pill works to prevent pregnancy. Most of the time, people using the pill won't be ovulating, but sometimes it happens anyway, albeit rarely. However, even when it does, the other two ways the pill works -- by thickening cervical mucus and keeping the lining of the uterus thin -- also prevent pregnancy. So, even in the odd event you took a test like that and it said you were ovulating, that wouldn't mean the pill isn;t doing or can't do its job to prevent pregnancy.