When it comes to trying to get pregnant, many couples go for the shotgun approach and have intercourse as often as possible. While this method works for some people, it can be tiresome and can potentially degrade both male and female fertility over the long-term.
Charting your menstrual cycle is a relatively easy way to determine when your most fertile days are, and gain a better understanding of your cycle. Charting can uncover specific fertility problems like anovulation, luteal phase defects, and even recurrent miscarriage that might not otherwise be identified.
Even if you are not trying to get pregnant, charting your menstrual cycle can help you get in touch with your body and uncover potential hormonal problems.
Making friends with your basal body temperature and cervical mucous
Checking your basal body temperature and cervical mucous daily are the easiest and most reliable ways to track your menstrual cycle. Used together, basal body temperature and cervical mucous can tell you just about everything you need to know about your menstrual cycle and fertility.
Charting your basal body temperature
Basal body temperature (BBT) is the lowest temperature attained by the body during rest. Your BBT will most likely follow a fairly predictable pattern throughout your cycle. In general, temperatures are lowest before ovulation and then rise after ovulation in response to increased progesterone levels.
What do I need to get started?
To measure your BBT, you will need a thermometer that measures to the .10 degree. Digital BBT thermometers are the easiest to use and are widely available at local drugstores. You will also need a chart to keep track of your daily temperatures. Click here to download one from Preconception Weekly.
If you are computer savvy, you may prefer to keep track of your cycle digitally. Two websites, www.fertilityfriend.com and www.tcoyf.com offer high tech fertility charting software. Fertility Friend is a free service while Ovusoft charges a fee to download their software.
I’ve got my thermometer and a chart, now what?
Charting your BBT is simple. Just take your temperature as soon as you wake up every morning while you are still in bed. To be accurate, you must take your temperature the same time every day and after at least three hours of sleep. You can take your temperature orally, vaginally or rectally.
If you get up at 7 a.m. during the week, but like to sleep in on the weekends, no problem. Just set your alarm on Saturday and Sunday for 7 a.m., pop in the thermometer, write down the number (some thermometers will even remember it for you), and go back to sleep. You don’t even have to get out of bed!
It is easiest if you start charting on the first day of your period, as this is day one of your menstrual cycle, but you can really begin at any time as long as you know what day of your cycle you are on.
What do all these numbers mean?
Before ovulation, your temperature will likely fall somewhere between 97.0 to 97.6 degrees Fahrenheit, although there is a wide range of “normal” temperatures. As you get closer to the middle of your cycle and ovulation, you may notice a slight drop in temperature (not all women experience this drop) followed by a sharp increase. This increase in temperature generally happens within about 12 hours AFTER ovulation. Post-ovulatory temperatures generally range from 97.7 upward.
Your most fertile days fall just before the temperature spike.
Some women find BBT charting frustrating because the temperature spike happens after ovulation, and they feel like they are missing some of their most fertile days. After a few months of charting, you will likely be able to predict when you are going to ovulate. If your temperature typically spikes on day 15, you know you should start trying around day 11.
Minor variations in ovulation are likely to occur, but BBT charting will give you a good idea of when your fertile window is. Combining BBT and cervical mucous charting will give you an even better idea of when you are most fertile.
If your temperature spikes are very early, late or erratic, there is likely some sort of problem and you should speak to your acupuncturist or doctor.
If your temperatures remain constant throughout your cycle, you are probably not ovulating. If this is the case, acupuncture and herbal medicine can be used to help boost hormonal levels and stimulate ovulation.
I know when I’m ovulating, now when is the best time to have sex?
There is some disagreement about when exactly your most fertile days are, but it is generally agreed upon that they fall during the few days before and after ovulation. Since your BBT spikes AFTER ovulation, it is best to start trying a few days before your temperature spikes and continue until the morning of your temperature spike. Having sex either daily or every other day during this time will result in the highest likelihood of conception. Studies have also shown that having sex when your cervical mucous, which we will discuss below, is at it’s most fertile, regardless of BBT, increases your chances of conception.
Cervical Mucous
Another way to get in touch with your menstrual cycle is to check the consistency of your cervical mucous (CM) daily. In an average cycle, the CM is dry for about four to five days after menstruation then increases in wetness until ovulation. Around ovulation, mucous is abundant, slippery, clear, and very stretchy, similar to egg whites. After ovulation it is normal to have some dry, sticky or creamy mucus, and some women have watery mucus or a little egg-white again right before their menses begins.
To monitor your CM, collect it from the vaginal opening every day with your (clean) fingers by wiping them from front to back, or examine the mucus that collects on your underwear. Record the consistency, color and feel daily to increase your awareness of your fertile period.
* Dry is when there really isn’t much mucus to get your fingers on.
* Sticky is when you get enough mucus for your fingers to feel sticky or tacky.
* Creamy might be whitish and feels somewhat like lotion when you rub your fingers together.
* Egg-white cervical mucus is called that because of its resemblance to raw egg whites. It is either clear or streaked and stretches an inch or more. Sometimes it is watery. Egg-white mucous is the most fertile and allows semen to easily travel up into the uterus.
Some experts believe that your last day of fertile, or “egg-white” mucous, is your most fertile day. However you are timing sex, be sure to include this last day of fertile mucous.
Other methods of charting
Some other methods of charting include tracking your cervical position, saliva ferning, ovulation predictor kits and digital ovulation monitors.
The position of a woman’s cervix changes over the course of her menstrual cycle. During menstruation and for the first few days after, the cervix is fairly low and firm like the tip of your nose. As ovulation nears, the cervix begins to move up, becoming more soft, wet, and open, like your lips; during ovulation, the cervix is at its highest and most open to allow sperm through; and after ovulation, the cervix returns to the firm, low, and closed position.
Saliva ferning involves checking your saliva under a microscope for fern-like patterns that typically appear three days before ovulation due to the increase in estrogen.
Ovulation predictor kits and digital ovulation monitors can be used to predict ovulation, but they can be expensive and have a host of different strengths and weaknesses. BBT and CM charting are generally just as, or more, accurate and more informative than ovulation predictors, and they are far less expensive.
Now you have a basic idea of how to chart your cycle! The idea of charting can be a little intimidating, but it’s really easy once you get the hang of it.
Additional information
There are some finer nuances I did not cover in this introductory article. For more detailed information on charting and understanding your cycle, I recommend reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler. This book is a must read for any woman who is experiencing difficulty getting pregnant.
