time between periods and testing

You are taking a test based on how many days past ovultation you are NOT how many days past your last period. Women with shorter cycles would ovulate sooner than women with longer cycles thus the difference in when it is appropriate to test for pregnancy.

Hope that makes sense & I'm sure you can search the site & find a better explanation. Good luck to you & your wife in TTC!

Wendy, I understand that. Like I said, I have seen charts that say 12 days past ovulation for testing if 28 day cycle, and 17 past ovulation for 31 day.. that just doesn't make sense to me.

Hi Rob,

Menses will comence approximatley 14 days after ovulation if pregnancy hasn't occurred. Usually, the luteal phase, which is the portion of the cycle that occurs between ovulation and menses, is relativley stable at approximately 14 days. Variation in cycle length is usually attributable to variations in the first part of the cycle.

Therefore, a kit that would tell you to test 17 days after ovulation is inaccurate, because 17 days after ovulation the woman testing would be on her period or pregnant.

I hope this helps.

Best of luck.