Ovulation Pain on Both Sides – Possible Reasons and Remedies

Some women have pain during ovulation. This is called “Mittelschmerz” pain.  It is usually felt on one side of the pelvis or the other, unless you are ovulating in both ovaries.  In such cases you will feel the pain on both sides of the pelvis because an egg is being released from both of your ovaries.  The tendency to ovulate on both ovaries and release more than one egg at a time is hereditary and there may be nothing you can do about it.  Pain felt on ovulation occurs in about 20 percent of ovulating women and is one of the signs that you are ovulating.

Pain before Ovulation

As the uterus and ovaries prepare for ovulation, there may be discomfort in the pelvis or abdomen and is caused by follicles developing and enlarging on both ovaries.  In most women, just one of the enlarging follicles will release an egg, resulting in increased pain on the affected side.  If more than one egg is released, the Mittelschmerz pain will be felt on both sides.

The release of more than one egg at a time may happen in some cycles and not in others, and is unpredictable.  Even if you release more than one egg, one or more of the eggs might not be fertilized or may not implant and you will have a singleton pregnancy even if you had ovulation pain on both sides.

Remember that it is normal to have more than one follicle developing at the same time during any given cycle.  Generally, just one egg is released from the most mature ovary and you will have the other follicles stop their growth.  You may feel pre-ovulation pain on both sides of the pelvis because of the enlarging follicles but will not have twins (or more) because the follicles that don’t release an egg, gradually shrink down and the pain on that side will disappear.

Pain at the Time of Ovulation

You can also feel Mittelschmerz pain at the time the follicle or follicles rupture at the time of ovulation.  This is because the ovaries are not directly attached to the Fallopian tubes and the egg must pass through the ovarian tissue and must find its way to the opening of the Fallopian tube.  There is blood and fluid released at the time this ovulation occurs and it will irritate the pelvic tissues.  If this happens at the same time on both of your ovaries, you will experience this pain on both sides of the pelvis.

Pain after Ovulation

Sometimes Mittelschmerz pain is felt after you have ovulated.  This type of pain is due to contractions of the fallopian tubes as it works to bring the egg or eggs into the uterus for implantation. The force of these contractions are minor and will be felt on both sides of the pelvis if both fallopian tubes are attempting to get fertilized eggs to the uterus at the same time.  This is a normal part of the menstrual cycle and is nothing to worry about. The pain is usually minor and may not be noticed by every woman or during every cycle.

In Conclusion

Pain on both sides of the pelvis or abdomen cannot be predicted or managed.  If you are hereditarily predisposed to releasing more than one egg per cycle, you will experience your Mittelschmerz pain on both sides and have an increased risk of having fraternal twins.