HOW TO CHART FERTILITY

CHARTING YOUR FERTILITY

While daily charting may seem like quite the time commitment, it only takes two or three minutes a day – and it’s actually easy when you know how. Like anything new, it’s about building the habit, and working towards consistency.

Charting your cycles is important because the length of woman’s menstrual cycles can vary greatly from woman to woman, and from month to month even within the same woman. Women are often told that irregular cycles are problematic. However, if a woman is taught how to determine when she ovulates, then when she ovulates becomes much less important- as long as she is ovulating. The ability to determine when a woman is ovulating can increase the chance of pregnancy significantly – as well as shortening the time before determining if ART (Assisted Reproductive Technologies) may be beneficial or necessary.

At your appointment with Dr. Harper she will walk you through the steps of daily fertility charting. All of her patients are also supplied with online access to the helpful charting materials and resources in her booklet Taking Charge of Getting Pregnant- A Successful Path to Natural Fertility.

THE 3 KEY SIGNS OF FERTILITY

WAKING TEMPERATURE

Out of the three key fertility signs, this is the easiest to observe. You should take your temperature orally first thing in the morning before doing anything else, at the same time every day. Body temperature rises due to progesterone which is heat inducing. This usually happens within a day or so after ovulation, indicating that ovulation has already occurred – making it an unlikely time to get pregnant.

While waking temperature helps to determine when ovulation has already occurred, it is actually a less valuable tool in helping to achieve pregnancy than checking your cervical fluid and cervical position. So it is best to become familiar with how all three of these signs can help you get pregnant. Dr. Harper can teach you to accurately chart your waking temperature, to watch for monthly patterns and estimate when ovulation may occur in the future.

CERVICAL POSITION

Each month, your cervix changes in consistency and location in hopes it will allow sperm to pass through it to allow fertilization. Before and after ovulation your cervix is firm like the tip of your nose or fingertip, low in position, and closed. At ovulation, your cervix is soft like your lips, high in position to support the uterus, and open to accept sperm.

Dr. Harper can help you learn to accurately assess the position of your cervix, to help you estimate when ovulation is occurring – giving you insight into the best time to have sex for successful conception.

CERVICAL FLUID

Once outside the male body, sperm requires an ideal medium in which to live for the highest chance of survival and for pregnancy to occur. A woman’s cervical fluid is this medium. Cervical fluid changes in consistency throughout a woman’s menstrual cycle, becoming its most supportive to the survival of sperm right around ovulation. The type of cervical fluid which allows the greatest likelihood for movement and survival of male sperm while traveling to fertilize the egg is described as having an egg-white consistency.

The more often you engage in intercourse during the period in which you are producing high quality cervical fluid, the greater the chances of getting pregnant. Dr. Harper can teach you to identify the days of high quality cervical fluid, to assist you in knowing when you have the best chance of getting pregnant.