Charting Your Cycle Introduction
Did you know that you’re not fertile the whole duration of you cycle?
You’re only fertile when you ovulate, which generally* occurs over 1 day. *On a rare occasion someone can ovulate twice so could be 48 hrs.
Sperm can also live inside of you for 5 days.
That means your fertile window in your cycle is only 6 days. 🤯
6 days!! And yet, as women if we don’t want to conceive we’re told we have to take birth control every day.
In this post (and others to come) I aim to delicately delve into the nuances of our monthly menstrual cycle so you can use it to empower and get to know yourself better. Understanding your cycle means you can use it to achieve pregnancy (TTC), or avoid pregnancy (TTA)- depending on your aim. In this post specifically, I teach you the basics of how to track your cycle. In posts to come I will teach you how to use the knowledge of what part of your cycle you’re in to your advantage to many aspects of your life!
If you’re trying to avoid pregnancy, I recommend you seek out a certified Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) instructor. This post won’t go into the necessary details you need for safe TTA, it’s more an introduction to our wonderful hormones and a resource for those trying to conceive/get to know their cycles better. I also encourage you to get your partner involved, learning about your cycle whether TTA or TTC can be powerful as the hormonal shifts during our cycle can influence our libido, appetite, and mental/emotional state just to name a few!
I recommend following @FertilityCharting & @Famtasticfertility on instagram if you’re interested in this topic.
Also, I’d like to point out that hormonal forms of contraception turn off/disrupt the natural dance of hormones in our bodies. You can still read this post and gain knowledge, but understand that birth control is not balancing your hormones, and your body is not doing what I describe below.
Our bodies send us subtle queues, and if we are listening we can tune into the four different phases of our cycle.
Menstruation
Follicular
Ovulation (the main event)
Luteal
We can track the phases of our cycle through two main indicators.
Waking or Basal Body Temperature (named BBT)
You will need a BBT thermometer, sometimes called an ovulation thermometer- not a fever thermometer. It’s best it goes to two decimal places for a more acute awareness in the temperature shift. It doesn’t need to be super fancy, you can find a $20 one in most pharmacies.
For the most accurate and reliable readings it’s ideal that you aim to take your temperature at the same time every morning. So if some days you wake at 8am and other days you wake at 6am, set your alarm to take your temperate at 6am every day. Yes this can be annoying, but it’s worth it. Feel free to snuggle and go back to sleep after recording your temperature.
To take you temperature I recommend under you tongue either to the left or right side, these are heat pockets. Either side is fine, just choose one and stick to it.
Take your temperature as soon as you wake up, try and not move too much, don’t even take a sip of water. I recommend turning off your alarm, and taking your temperature right away. Too much movement or change can alter your temperature.
You need a minimum of 3 hours sleep for an accurate reading. If you wake up during the night to urinate or drink some water with less than three hours before your alarm, take your temperature then and mark it as “questionable”.
Factors that may affect your BBT are generally those that interfere with your normal routine. Activities such as drinking, or going to bed late might not individually affect you BBT, although several events together might. This might include:
not sleeping long enough or broken sleep
an unusually late bedtime
an unusually large amount of alcohol
eating late in the evening
stress, mental strain, excitement
changing environment (holidays, season change)
Cervical Fluid/Mucus (CM)
There are 4 main types of cervical fluid to look out for- dry, sticky, creamy, & egg white.
Each woman has their own unique pattern of CM. Generally, following menstruation it is dry for a few days, then maybe sticky, and as ovulation approaches it is ideally at it’s peak lubrication being wet and copious and of an egg white nature- being slippery, clear, and stretchy. Following ovulation cervical mucus tends to return to a dry or less fertile type.
If your hormone levels are not optimal, your peak cervical fluid may not be as stretchy and copious as egg white, it might just be slippery. This is something to observe for yourself. It could indicate that your oestrogen & progesterone levels are out of balance. If you’re trying to conceive I would recommend working with a knowledgable women’s health professional to help balance your hormones.
You can check your own cervical mucus both internally, and externally. I recommend doing it every time before you go to the toilet as CM often changes throughout the day, and recording the most fertile CM for that day.
Internally: First of all wash your hands, and then insert 1-2 clean fingers into your vagina about 1-2 knuckles depending on what fingers. Then remove your fingers and observe CM present/absent.
Externally: Using a tissue, toilet paper, or clean fingers to gently wipe the vulval area before you pee. Observe CM present.
To begin with I recommend using your fingers as it’s easier to feel the difference in CM than feel it. It may take a few complete cycles to understand the different types of CM you have. Be patient with it.
Both BBT & CM tracking can be used to identify your fertile window. I recommend tracking both on an app such as Kindara or Fertility Friend or using classic pen & paper chart.
If you’re using an app, I recommend turning off “ovulation prediction” too. This is because the app can never truly learn your cycle and certain things like alcohol, stress, & lifestyle changes can change when you ovulate each month. Having ovulation predictions outsources any control and knowledge you have of your cycle. It’s best you stick the the data present through BBT & CM.
I plan on doing a more in-depth post about what’s happening during each phase of the menstrual cycle, including lifestyle recommendations to support you during each phase.
If you’re thinking of conceiving starting to track you BBT is a great place to start, and you’re welcome to do it before you visit a women’s health practitioner like myself. In clinic I look at the different temperatures, and the temperature step and each thing tells me subtleties about your hormones and fertility. I will also give you accurate and personalised feedback according to your chart.
Each person is unique, and changes happen. Sometimes you might miss a day, or forget to temp— and that’s okay. If you’re feeling lost and would like some support book an appointment, there is no referral needed, and no set time frame for TTC.