The two major female hormones produced from the ovary are estradiol and progesterone. While the level of progesterone can be consistent with ovulation, the level of estradiol is much less useful. In the first half of the menstrual cycle (proliferative phase) up until ovulation estradiol levels range from 40-400 pg/mL. Levels less than 40 pg/mL are consistent with ovarian suppression from medication or ovarian failure, e.g. menopause.
In the proliferative phase, progesterone levels remain less than 1.5 ng/mL. The luteal phase (follows ovulation) is dominated by the hormone progesterone and its level begins to rise at ovulation, peaks one week later, then falls if no pregnancy occurs. As a result, due to its fluctuations, a random blood progesterone level is of no value to judge a “good luteal phase”. So, any level above three ng/mL is all that is needed to presume ovulation; a higher number is meaningless and not a measure of a “good ovulation”.
