Before she tried to get pregnant with her first child, Lynne Ticknor, a parent educator from Clarksville, Md., read Taking Charge of Your Fertility (Collins, 2006) by Toni Weschler. She was fascinated by this in-depth look at ovulation and started tracking her cycles.

"After charting three cycles on paper for practice, I definitely started to notice a trend," she says. "During the fourth cycle, I charted and followed Weschler's advice for getting pregnant with a girl and – boom – I got pregnant with my daughter. I followed the same path for my additional children and, although it took longer than one month to get pregnant the subsequent times, we now have four children."

All women should be as well-informed as Ticknor. Although ovulation is the clock that regulates our reproductive systems, most women are completely unaware of how it works and how it can be manipulated, tracked and predicated.

The following are a few of the most frequently asked questions about ovulation, answered by Dr. Jill Powell, assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and women's health at Saint Louis University.

Content on this site is not a substitute for professional medical or healthcare advice, diagnosis or treatment, and may not be used for such purposes. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical question or condition. Reliance on information presented on this site is at your own risk. This site contains the opinions and views of other users. Given the interactive nature of this site, we cannot endorse, guarantee, or be responsible for the accuracy, efficacy, or veracity of any content generated by our users.