During your menstrual period, estrogen and progesterone, the female reproductive hormones, are hard at work. Estrogen springs into action before a woman ovulates and progesterone levels rise around the time of ovulation. Progesterone causes water retention as it prepares the uterus for a possible pregnancy. This fluid can make your breasts sore and tender. The extra water weight stretches your breast tissue and this can be painful. Your nipples may be sore, too. Estrogen actually increases the amount of breast tissue so it, too, can cause larger breasts that are sensitive to the touch.

If you keep a fertility chart, you can see that progesterone causes your temperature to rise slightly just after ovulation. This increase in progesterone may be what causes your breasts to feel tender during ovulation. Some women notice breast tenderness, similar to premenstrual breast tenderness, right around the time they ovulate. Other women may not notice this until after they ovulate. In either case, if you notice breast tenderness there is a good chance you are ovulating or have ovulated recently.

Pros Of Using This Method To Detect Ovulation:

• It’s free.

• Helps you get to know your body better.

Cons Of Using This Method To Detect Ovulation:

• It’s by no means an accurate indicator of ovulation.

• Breast tenderness may come before or after ovulation, as well as right before menstruation and as a side effect of some fertility drugs.

• Getting too obsessed about how tender your breasts feel can lead to obsessing over imaginary pregnancy symptoms.