But I think what makes fertility tracking so great is that it connects us to our bodies.
The female body is just so amazing, it blows my mind almost every day, and I personally don’t think it’s celebrated enough. We may not have the same muscle mass as men, but we are stronger in so many other ways. Here is just one example out of a million that blows my mind - did you know that when women breast feed their breast milk actually adjusts daily to meet the needs of her baby. If her baby is sick, the number of immune cells, known as leukocytes, will increase dramatically in her breast milk to help fight baby’s infection. Seriously crazy stuff! You can read more about it here.
The sad thing is that many women don’t know all that much about their bodies, particularly when it comes to hormones and fertility, because we aren’t really taught anything much apart from how to put a condom on a banana, to use contraception if you don’t want to get pregnant, and that once a month you will bleed from your vagina. That is essentially it, in a nutshell! But there is so much more going on under the surface. Every month your hormones are performing a perfectly choreographed dance, however, this dance can sometimes be out of sync and that is when you might experience a whole heap of undesirable PMS symptoms, including cramping, mood swings and irritability. The monthly hormone dance also directly affects your mood, your energy levels, the foods you crave, your pain threshold, your metabolism, your digestion and how good you think you look in the mirror that day. As well as your fertility!
Knowing more about your body, your menstrual cycle and your own individual hormone dance is not only useful for practical reasons, but it is also super empowering. And that is where fertility tracking comes in!
Fertility tracking involves observing and recording three key signs throughout your cycle, which help to pin-point your most fertile window:
1. Basal body temperature (BBT) - Your temperature changes throughout your monthly cycle in response to the changes in your hormones. The first half of your cycle, before ovulation, is called your follicular phase. During this phase oestrogen is high as you come into your most fertile window. Your temperature is also slightly lower. Directly after ovulation, your temperature should rise noticeably, indicating that you have ovulated in the last 24 hours, as progesterone begins to rise. Tracking your BBT is also a really useful indicator of thyroid health, which is often implicated in fertility disturbances and other hormonal issues.
Take your temperature first thing in the morning before getting out of bed every day, so that it is consistent.
2. Cervical fluid - Cervical fluid is the vaginal secretions which change in response to oestrogen. Following menstruation your oestrogen begins to rise causing your cervical fluid to become more slippery and clear. Slippery, clear and stretchy cervical fluid indicates that you are coming into your fertile window. This is the time when you should be extra careful with contraception if you are trying to avoid conception, or making sure you are having unprotected sex if you are trying to conceive.
3. Cervix position - The position of your cervix is another helpful tool, giving you a better indication of when you’re about to ovulate. Monitoring the position of your cervix is a bit more…manual than the other two signs! But it is relatively easy - all you need to do is insert your index finger or middle finger into your vagina, while squatting or with one leg on the toilet seat, and feel for your cervix. It will feel like a fleshy nodule. As you approach ovulation your cervix will begin to move higher into your vagina and feel softer, indicating that it is opening. After ovulation passes, it will return to a lower position in the vagina and become firmer to touch.
Charting with Kindara
To chart your cycle, I would recommend using the fertility charting app Kindara. It is one of the best menstrual cycle charting apps out there if you are wanting to get the most accurate idea of when you are ovulating.
It will take a few cycles to become familiar with your temperature, cervical fluid and the position of your cervix, as well as noticing the subtle changes in your body, but you will eventually end up with a chart that looks something like the below.
You can see from the chart that ovulation has likely occurred on day 16 as cervical fluid is watery and slippery, and it is the day before an obvious rise in temperature.
It is important to note that everyones cycle is different, and it can change from month to month as your cycle is influenced by many internal and external factors, such as your diet and lifestyle. For instance, if you have been particularly stressed, or you have been eating poorly and drinking more alcohol, your cycle will often represent that, and your PMS symptoms will likely be worse. I like to think of the menstrual cycle as a health report card, it will always tell you if you haven’t been looking after yourself properly!
Lastly, if you are on the contraceptive pill, or other forms of hormonal contraception, tracking your fertility will not be accurate as your monthly hormonal changes are induced by synthetic hormones, not your own, therefore it is not a true cycle.
I hope this has inspired you to start tracking your own cycle and fertility. I promise you will feel so much more connected to your body and in awe of just how amazing it is!
The Natural Path