Can you ovulate twice in one cycle?

Answer 1

In short, yes, but it's not very common. Typically, women have two waves of maturing eggs. when one egg is sufficiently matured and is released from the follicle, the follicle turns into a "corpus luteum" which becomes a progesterone factory. the progesterone creates a surge in luteinizing hormone (LH). The LH would typically signal the other maturing follicles in the "first wave", and all of the "second wave" to die off. However, there is a study quoted below, that says sometimes the second wave is NOT cancelled out. I don't think they know why yet. In anycase, it IS possible- see this study:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn3927-women-can-ovulate-more-than-once-a-month.html

"Ten per cent of the women studied released two eggs in the same month. And all the women examined by researchers at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada showed at least two waves of maturing eggs in their ovaries in the same month"

On a personal note, this happened to ME recently, which is why I researched it and found this out. I took very long to ovulate, and my monitor was showing NO estrogen or LH surges day after day. But, I could tell from other signs (EWCM, libido, cramps, moods, acne, ie signs of surging estrogen) that I WAS building toward ovulation - and my fertility acupuncturist confirmed this from my pulses.

Finally, one day I went to her and said I think I just need help popping this out, which she confirmed from my pulses, she put in the needles and immediately my right ovary started pinging away, like rapid fire fluttery cramps. She read my pulse and said yep you just ovulated. When i got home, a couple hours later, I got my teltale, never-fail sign of ovulation which is a thin bright red streak/line of blood in my cervical mucus.

Next day I woke up and was v confused b/c now suddenly I felt an impending OV on the LEFT side. I called up my acupuncturist and she said, it's a v small chance but come in just in case, and sure enough, my pulses showed I had another egg waiting to release on the opposite side. She did her needles, and immediately PING my left ovary started firing; two hours later - yep, red streak. Double ovulation! ALthough, since theywere almost within 24 hours of eachother, that might be considered "single ovulation, two eggs".

If I had conceived on that cycle (we didn't) it would have been twins who were a day apart in gestational age (assuming they had implanted at same time). And if I'd been messing around on my hubby, I could have been one of those news stories you hear about where a woman has twins from two different fathers! :-)

PS - My fertility doctor insisted it's highly unlikely but I just knew it had happened to me so I researched it online and got the above study, and also the following:

http://pregnancy.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Can_You_Ovulate_Twice_in_One_Cycle

...It used to be that twins were either fraternal or identical. However, with more advances in genetic testing, scientists are learning that there are perhaps more possibilities for twinning (and, therefore, ovulating twice in one cycle) than meets the eye.

Fraternal Twins of Different Gestational Ages?In general, fraternal twins are the result of two eggs released within the same 24 hour period and then fertilized by two different sperm. However, in superfetation, a mother releases one egg, gets pregnant, and then releases another egg in a different cycle--her cycle not stopping during pregnancy the beginning of pregnancy. If both eggs are fertilized, this results in twins that have different gestational ages. It has been reported to have occurred, but is extremely rare. SuperfecundationSuperfecundation is the technical term for twins who have two different fathers. In this case, a woman released two eggs and then had sex with two different men, each of whom had sperm that fertilized one egg. Superfecundation is rare, mostly because most people do not have sex with multiple partners during a twenty-four hour period. Ovulating Once, Releasing Two EggsThe best way to look at ovulation is to think in terms of releasing one or more eggs during one twenty-four hour period. You ovulate once, but can release more than one egg. Although you can certainly release two or more eggs, you cannot have numerous fertile periods during one cycle.

I had twins that were one week apart in gestational age throughout the whole pregnnancy. I get two periods in a month and every two weeks i get ovulation pains and positive ov tests. my doctor confirms that i indeed ovulate twice and my sons were a week apart from one another. so i dropped an egg, had sex, dropped another egg, and sex again (with the same man thank goodness). double ovulation runs in my family on the womans side. my paternal and maternal grandmothers, and two of my aunts ovulate twice as well. (past tense for the grandmothers). my sister has been calling me crazy for years. but i was right. listen to your instincts. a mother knows things science can never prove.