Pregnant with OvulaRing despite irregular and prolonged cycles

Interview Q&A

Dear Anne, how does your personal journey to having children begin?

Today, I’m a mom of three children, ages 12, 9, and 3. Before my first pregnancy, I worked for 9 years at the birth control pill After stopping the pill, I didn’t have a period at all at first, and unfortunately, I had no idea what was going on with my cycle. My body had lost its balance.

It’s actually a miracle that I still got pregnant spontaneously. With my second child, two years later, the whole thing happened again. In that case, too, I didn’t have a period for six months after stopping the “birth control pill.” My anxiety grew. Do I even have a ovulation? When will my body regain its natural balance? I was lucky that I ended up getting pregnant spontaneously after my first menstrual cycle. However, even with my second child, I didn’t know what my cycle was like, nor when I was ovulating or my fertile days were actually.

What challenges did you face during your first pregnancy?

This lack of knowledge about when I ovulated or when conception occurred led to problems, especially during my pregnancy with my first child. The estimated date of ovulation and the resulting due date were based solely on the doctors’ estimates. During the prenatal care ultrasounds, the course of the pregnancy is closely monitored. In particular, the embryo’s health and development—specifically its size and weight in relation to the calculated due date—are checked and recorded in growth charts (percentiles). Since the calculated due date and the embryo’s size did not match in my case, my baby was considered too small and not optimally developed in the doctors’ eyes. I was very anxious throughout the entire pregnancy and worried a great deal about my baby. Especially during a first pregnancy and without personal experience, you can quickly become unsettled, and you rely on what the doctors say. But I gave birth to a completely healthy and normally developed girl! By the time I had my second child, I had already learned to trust my instincts and didn’t let the ultrasound exams unsettle me anymore.

You still have your “happiness curve” saved, right?

Yes, of course I saved you:

This is a screenshot of my account from the OvulaRing browser app from 2015, showing my ovulation date and the result of the pregnancy test.

How did OvulaRing help you during your third pregnancy?

When we decided to try for another child a few years later, I didn’t want to leave anything to chance, so I turned to OvulaRing Determining the time of ovulation worn. At that point, I was already 37 years old. Thanks to OvulaRing, I finally learned that I had irregular and also extended cycles I had. However, my cycles still showed regular ovulation. What a relief to finally have a clear picture of my cycle health! I now knew what my cycle patterns were and that I could reliably track my often-delayed ovulation with the OvulaRing. Thanks to this knowledge, we were much more relaxed even before my last pregnancy (despite my age).

Finally, with the help of OvulaRing, I got pregnant on the 28th day of my cycle. My OB/GYN was grateful to know the exact—and, above all, accurately calculated—date of my ovulation and entered it directly into my prenatal record. And lo and behold: My baby’s growth charts suddenly showed perfectly average measurements, and the baby developed right on schedule toward the due date calculated by OvulaRing. No more anxiety or worry, no more uncertainties. I have never experienced such a wonderful and relaxed pregnancy! I am very grateful for that.

Why was determining your due date so important to you?

Without the OvulaRing and knowing when I was ovulating, the following would likely have happened: The gynecologists would probably have estimated that I was ovulating around the 14th day of my cycle—but that would have been two weeks before my actual ovulation day! In that case, the embryo would have had to be significantly larger, since, in the doctors’ view, it would have been two weeks older. Consequently, the ultrasound would then suggest that the embryo is much too small. The uncertainty grows. Perhaps a miscarriage is still possible? The hCG levels would also have been far too low for this stage of pregnancy. The apparent conclusion: the early pregnancy is compromised! The embryo does not seem to fit the norm here, and the expectant parents quickly become deeply unsettled and are often left alone with their fears. This can also have consequences for prenatal diagnostics. For example, nuchal translucency measurements and other prenatal diagnostic procedures must be performed within specific weeks of pregnancy and may therefore not yield valid results. However, with knowledge of the exact time of ovulation, prenatal screenings can finally be performed with pinpoint accuracy. This helped me greatly during my last pregnancy. This helps avoid inaccurate test results that unnecessarily unsettle parents. This is particularly crucial in cases of early or very late ovulation. On the other hand, it also allows for the timely detection of any growth delays.

What advice would you give to women with longer cycles?

Even as the due date approaches, knowing the exact day of ovulation and using the OvulaRing’s built-in due date calculator is truly a blessing. Especially in cases of longer cycles with late ovulation, doctors often calculate the due date too early. As a result, it is not uncommon for pregnant women past the 40th week of pregnancy to be advised to undergo labor induction or even a cesarean section, since they appear to have already “gone past their due date.” In many cases involving delayed ovulation, however, the baby actually shouldn’t be born yet because the so-called gestation period isn’t over. Women can, however, be spared this and the many uncertainties that arise during prenatal care. And what can I say: In my case, our youngest daughter was born healthy and happy almost exactly on time—just one day after the calculated due date—thanks to OvulaRing.

Pregnancy can and should really be a time of happiness and anticipation. A wonderful, magical time to enjoy and look back on fondly. That’s finally how it was for me with our third child. I’m happy and grateful that I ultimately had such a beautiful a stress-free pregnancy and was able to experience the birth!