Whether you keep up with your cycle through an iPhone app or a hand-written calendar, you can probably recognize which part of your cycle you're in from the way you feel. When I feel like my skin is at its best and my breasts seem to really rock a v-neck better than usual, I know I'm ovulating. But what if your sex drive skyrockets, too? Is it normal to be horny during ovulation or is that a symptom of some other part of your cycle?
Here's the thing — your body's pretty amazing. And being as it thinks its purpose is to populate the earth, it works to make sure that while you're ovulating, you're giving your body the best possible chance to get pregnant. And the more sex you have, the better chance you have at making sperm and egg meet. So is it normal to be horny during ovulation? Absolutely. In fact, it's part of your body's plan.
Dr. Kameelah Phillips, an OB-GYN based in New York City, tells Romper that this increase in your libido happens so that your body can give itself the best opportunity to get pregnant. "This is nature's way of making sure that sperm are waiting for the egg when ovulation occurs," she says. "The egg is only viable for 12 to 24 hours, so it makes sense that a women's sex drive is increased during ovulation to maximize her chances of becoming pregnant."
According to Lea von Bidder, co-founder of the wearable fertility tracker, Ava, the connection between your high libido and fertility is because of your hormones. "In your fertile phase, levels of estradiol rise, which can cause some women to have an increased sex drive," von Bidder tells Romper. But because hormones can vary so much, the opposite isn't true — if you aren't horny during ovulation, it doesn't mean you aren't fertile or that there's anything wrong.
Phillips notes that it is the timing of the ovulation, not the sex drive alone, that drives the chances of pregnancy. "If the sex drive is increased and the woman is not scheduled to ovulate, then enjoy it, but it is less likely a pregnancy will result," she says.
So should you base your family planning around how horny you feel? Not necessarily. While it's likely that you'll feel your horniest when you're ovulating, every woman is different. It's best to follow the other signs and symptoms of ovulation and schedule sex for that time so you get your best shot at getting pregnant. If you happen to be really into sex at that time, too, that's just a major plus. Enjoy.
