Did you know you have three main vital signs to track your ovulation and to define your fertile window? Did you also know that you can only get pregnant for a day. That's the one day you ovulate. So understanding (or gaining a rough idea) which day of the month that day falls on is pretty bloody important - don't you think!
It's equally as important to understand our fertile window as sometimes picking our ovulation day comes after it happens so by understanding our fertile window we can be sure we are having sex during the periods when we are most likely to fall pregnant.
Also, not all women are regular so that fertile period and the one day of ovulation might not be the same for you month to month. So how do you pick it?.....
Ok so if you are uncomfortable with the word mucus. Do not read on. This blog post is NOT for you.
For everyone else..... we should be taught these basics at school because body literacy is our right and this stuff is so important. It's insane that so many of us have no idea about our own bodies vital signs.
Fertility awareness is about observing and recording fertile signs and not relying on previous cycles and the rhythm method to predict your ovulation. Because basically, shifts in diet and lifestyle can have profound effect month by month and most of us are not leading a squeaky clean existence. Even if you thing you are - I bet I could uncover a few food intolerances, toxin exposures, diet deficiencies that may be affecting you at varying times.
Basically there are three main vital signs that tell us we are fertile and indicate when we ovulate (the day the magic can happen!)
1) Cervical mucus (CM) ~ the primary sign to look out for because sperm cannot survive without it.
On average women produce CM for 2 to 7 days of their cycle which is their fertile window and it can keep sperm alive for about 5 days as you approach ovulation.
You produce CM as your approach ovulation but after ovulation your progesterone levels rise and suppress further mucus production. To confirm the day of your ovulation you must first identify your peak day – the last day of your cycle that you observe mucus that is clear, stretchy and/or lubricative. So basically, you can’t identify your peak day until the day afterwards but by knowing when your fertile window has begun, when CM first appears, you know when you can start intercourse to try for a pregnancy.
In order to record your CM, you need to know what its like when it is not there and the sensation of your perineum (between your vagina and anus) which will be the other sign of CM which is helpful as some women don't produce a large amount of mucus. On dry days your perineum should feel dry or smooth and their should be no mucus as you wipe this area. On CM days you should feel lubricative sensation and see mucus when you wipe. This mucus should then be stretchy when you put it between two fingers. The best way to discover this is to regularly check when you go to the loo each day. This way you will start to know the difference between dry days and mucus days and always record what you see.
2) Basal Body Temperature (BBT) ~ your resting metabolism which is a measure of how efficiently your body transforms raw materials into vital energy needed to thrive.
Take your temperature each morning as soon as your rise and always before you get up and out of bed. You are looking for a spike in your BBT which always happens after you have ovulated, therefore it is a useful confirmation but not a prediction (see visual below). You are looking for a clear and obvious shift between pre-ovulatory and post-ovulatory temperatures – from low to high – like a little spike.
Couple 3 temperatures higher than previous 6 pre-ovulatory temperatures with clear and obvious shift from mucus days to dry days and you can confirm ovulation.
3) Cervical Position Charting ~ the position and the texture of your cervix will change during your fertile window so if you try and check your position every day for at least one full cycle, you will understand how it changes around ovulation. Your cervix is the lower part of your uterus and it fully dilates during labour and also slightly to allow your menstrual flow, CM and sperm to flow through. Choose the same time each day – one that works and is not under pressure – the shower is usually ideal as you are naked and clean and not being bothered. Most of the time. Insert your middle finger into your vagina, touch your cervix and see what it feels like – squatting can make this easier. By checking each day you are waiting for the day it notably feels different. After you ovulate it will be a dramatic shift from high, soft and open to low, firm and closed and the tilt may be from backwards to facing down which will then stay the same for the rest of your cycle. The change should be very noticeable and will parallel the change in BBT and stretchy or lubricative CM.
These are your three main fertility vital signs. There is so much more to know in regards to optimising ovulation and cervical mucus production and i hope to give you many more tools in following posts but for now- get using these above mentioned methods to track your fertility and empower you to understand your cycle !!
References
Hendrickson-Jack, L., The Fifth Vital Sign
Brighten, J., https://drbrighten.com/?s=FERTILITY
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