Mittelschmerz is a medical term for “ovulation pain” or “midcycle pain”. About 20% of women experience mittelschmerz, some every cycle, some intermittently.
Mittelschmerz is characterized by lower abdominal and pelvic pain that occurs roughly midway through a woman’s menstrual cycle. The pain can appear suddenly and usually subsides within hours, although it may sometimes last two or three days
In some cases it can last up to the following cycle. In some women, the mittelschmerz is localized enough so that they can tell which of their two ovaries provided the egg in a given month.] Because ovulation occurs on a random ovary each cycle, the pain may switch sides or stay on the same side from one cycle to another.