Menstrual Cycle | Fertility Pattern | Infertility | Treating Infertility

If you are aware of when you are most fertile, this will help you plan or prevent a pregnancy. There are three ways that you can keep track of this time each month:

Calendar Method
This involves keeping a written record of each menstrual cycle on a regular calendar. The first day of your period is Day 1, which you can circle on the calendar. Continue doing this for eight to 12 months so you know how many days are in your cycle. The length of your cycle can vary from month to month, so write down the total number of days it lasts each time in a list. To find out the first day when you are most fertile, check your list and find the cycle with the fewest days. Then subtract 18 from that number. Take this new number and count ahead that many days on the calendar. Draw an X through this date. The X marks the first day you're likely to be fertile. To find out the last day when you are fertile, subtract 11 days from your longest cycle and draw an X through this date. This method always should be used with other fertility awareness methods, especially if your cycles are not always the same lengths.

Basal Body Temperature Method
This involves taking your basal body temperature (your body's temperature when you're at rest) every morning before you get out of bed, and recording it on a chart. You will begin to know your own fertility pattern, and you can see the changes from month to month. During the menstrual cycle, your body temperature remains at a somewhat steady, lower level, and begins to slightly rise with ovulation. The rise can be a sudden jump or a gradual climb over a few days. The rise in temperature can't predict exactly when the egg is released, but your temperature rises between .4 to .8 degrees Fahrenheit on the day of ovulation. You are most fertile, and most likely to get pregnant during the two to three days just before your temperature hits the highest point (ovulation), and for about 12 to 24 hours after ovulation. A man's sperm can live for up to three days in your body and is able to fertilize an egg during that time. So, if you have unprotected sex several days before ovulation, there is a chance of becoming pregnant then. Once your temperature spikes and stays at a higher level for about three days, you can be sure that ovulation has occurred. Your temperature will remain at the higher level until your period starts. Basal body temperature differs slightly from woman to woman, but anywhere from 96 to 98 degrees orally is normal before ovulation, and anywhere from 97 to 99 degrees orally after ovulation. So, any changes that you chart are very small and are in 1/10 degree. You can buy an oral basal body temperature thermometer or an easy-to-read thermometer, which has the degrees marked in these small fractions, at a drug store. If you can't find it easily, ask the pharmacist to help you.

Ovulation Method (also known as theCervical mucus method )
This involves being aware of the changes in your cervical mucus throughout the month. The hormones that control the menstrual cycle also cause changes in the kind and how much mucus you have just before and during ovulation. Right after your period, you usually have a few days when there is no mucus present or "dry days." As the egg starts to mature, mucus increases in the vagina, appears at the vaginal opening, and is usually white or yellow and cloudy and sticky. The greatest amount of mucus appears just before ovulation, during the "wet days," when it becomes clear and slippery, like raw egg whites. Sometimes it can be stretched apart. This is when you are most fertile. About four days after the wet days begin, the mucus changes again. There is now much less and it becomes sticky and cloudy. You might have a few more dry days before your period returns. You can describe changes in your mucus on a calendar. Label the days, "Sticky," "Dry," or "Wet." You are most fertile at the first sign of wetness after your period, but maybe also a day or two before wetness begins. This method is less reliable for women whose mucus pattern is changed because of breastfeeding, use of oral contraceptives or feminine hygiene products, having vaginitis, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), or surgery on the cervix.

Symptothermal Method
This is the most accurate method, by combining all 3 methods. It takes into account all these factors as well as other symptoms a woman might have, such as slight cramping and breast tenderness.