Monitoring your Fertility
and how to chart your cycle
Cycle charted using Kindara app
It takes the average person 9-12 months for their cycles to regulate after coming off hormonal birth control. So why is it when we want to get pregnant we assume that it will happen immediately after we stop having synthetic hormones coursing through our bodies? Hormonal Birth Control is a bandaid and one that we often lack the full picture of when most of us choose to go on it in the first place. If you were put on hormonal contraceptives (HC) to regulate menstrual cycle irregularities, you’re at an even greater risk of experiencing a delay in the return of normal cycling post birth control.
So when you want to start a family, it is wise to go off hormonal birth control 9-12 MOHTHS BEFORE when you are actually ready to try and conceive. Lisa Hendrickson-Jack, in her book The Fifth Vital Sign, recommends a minimum transition period of 18 months to 2 years is ideal between coming off HC and trying to conceive. If you are reading this and just went off and we’re hoping to conceive in the next 3-12 months don’t stress about it, we all do our best with the knowledge we have when we have it, and if your cycle returns to normal then there is a good chance that you will be able to conceive, especially if you are able to confirm ovulation.
This transition period allows you to plan for the worst while hoping for the best. And remember to give your body grace as it begins to rebalance.
So what should you do in the 9-24 months to avoid pregnancy if that is the plan? There is something called Fertility Awareness or Symptothermal Method which involves using signs from your body to let you know when you are in your fertile window. If avoiding pregnancy, this is when extra protection such as condoms or pulling out will be necessary. If trying to conceive, this helps you maximize your knowledge of your own body to know when you are most fertile (or if something is off and you should see additional support before actively trying to conceive).
Despite common belief that you can get pregnant any time of month, you can actually only get pregnant about 2-7 days out of the month. The reason your fertile window extends past the day before and day of ovulation, is because of cervical mucus.
So there are two components of the symptothermal method you should get to know!
Cervical Mucus
Basal Body Temperature
Cervical Mucus
Cervical Mucus, or vaginal discharge, when the conditions are right, can help keep sperm alive inside of the vaginal canal for up to 5 days. After your bleed ends, you’ll have 2-7 days of “dry” with no discharge. Followed by cervical mucus that can range in texture and amount. It may start as creamier and become more like egg white the closer you get to ovulation. But, Lisa Hedrickson-Jack, in The Fifth Vital Sign (affiliate link), states that all mucus should be considered fertile. Cervical mucus that is present after ovulation could be a sign that your body needs some support detoxing excess estrogen (stay tuned for blog post on detoxing)!
So you’ll want to start paying attention to when mucus is present throughout your cycle and what consistency it is.
Basal Body Temperature
Basal Body Temperature is a tool to help you confirm ovulation and determine the length of your luteal phase. So by tracking this DAILY, and charting it for about 3 months you begin to see a baseline pattern for your own cycles and when you typically ovulate. Basal Body Temperature is your temperature first thing in the morning when you wake up. To learn more about how to take your basal body temperature and what factors may influence it, you’ll want to grab my free bbt guide here.
This brings me to how you’ll want to track both cervical mucus and basal body temperature. There are many apps out there, you might even be using one already to track your cycle, like Ovia, Premom, Kindara. Make sure to pick one where you can chart your temperatures visually. Kindara is my favorite app because you can turn OFF the fertile window predictor which means you’ll spend more time interpreting your own chart, but it will also force you to pay closer attention to your body. A lot of women track their cycles on an app and just assume that they ovulate on day 14 and have a 28 day cycle. But these apps use algorithms that don’t take into consideration YOUR everyday life and bio individuality.
Cycle tracking gives you real data to see how your diet and lifestyle affect your cycle! So as you make changes you can see if your cycle is improving.
Below is a video I recorded for my private facebook community and will help you learn more about how to track your cycle. If interested in learning more about how to access similar videos to help prepare for pregnancy, reach out on instagram at @anourishingpath.
