Just the Facts
TONI WESCHLER is the pioneer in the field of Fertility Awareness, and her book Taking Charge Of Your Fertility is the definitive text on the subject of the female reproductive cycle.
Whatever your level of schooling or street-smarts, parts of what you read below will likely be new to you.
In order to know what your body is trying to tell you, it is essential to understand the scientific truths surrounding The Whole Cycle and its direct connection to conception.
So here are the facts- the following statements will apply to the majority of menstruating women most of the time*:
1. During each cycle a woman's body prepares for pregnancy- the uterine wall thickens with life-giving blood and an egg is released from the left or right ovary, a process called ovulation. An unfertilized egg passes through the womb and is shed during menstruation- if the egg is fertilized it will attempt to take hold in the womb resulting in possible pregnancy.
2. Some years after puberty a woman's cycle will fall into a pattern unique to her. As with menstruation, a woman ovulates once per cycle and at roughly the same time every cycle. Cycle lengths and ovulation dates vary among women and can vary within one woman.
3. Leading up to ovulation, a woman's body will undergo physical changes designed to aid fertilization- these signs are easily detectable by the individual woman. A spike in Basal Body Temperature (BBT) the day after ovulation has occurred is the most clear-cut indicator*- other signs include cervical mucus of a sticky egg-white consistency, spotting, a lifting and opening of the cervix, abdominal pain low on the left or right side indicating ovulation, changes in mood, and other subtle indicators specific to each woman.*
4. Fertilization, and thereby pregnancy, can only occur after an egg has been released and in the presence of live sperm and fertile cervical fluid- with all three factors there is roughly a 15-25% chance of fertilization.* An egg lives for 24 hours and sperm can live from 3-5 days inside the womb- meaning the window for fertilization is roughly five days before and two days after ovulation- after this 7-day window, pregnancy is impossible until the next cycle. In a woman who regularly ovulates around the same cycle day, pregnancy before the expected window is highly unlikely.* A woman has very little chance of becoming pregnant on her non-fertile days.
This means there is only one time of the month that you can become pregnant.
5. A woman who carefully observes her cycle will become sure if and when she has ovulated. She will begin to detect patterns, and with time she can estimate with great accuracy the start dates and ovulation dates of future cycles. She can also become quickly aware of irregularities that may indicate potential issues, and will have a wealth of personal data to bring to the doctor.
Let this information sink in and allow yourself to believe it, because the logic is sound. These proven truths fill in the blanks that have mystified us for centuries - understanding them is the means to finally decoding the message.
28 Days: Debunking the Myth
The medical community tells us the average cycle length is 28 days, with 3-5 days of menstruation and ovulation occurring around day 14. And while it is readily admitted that this is not true of every woman all the time, it's is a gross generalization that we've come to accept as sufficient.
We do not realize the danger in viewing The Whole Cycle in this limited way. A hundred women with "regular" cycles may not all ovulate on exactly the same cycle day and their fertile windows will look different. Cycles that do not fall into the 28-day model are labelled irregular and clumped together, so that the woman with a 21-day cycle is in the same category as the one with a 35-day cycle, and neither are offered much insight as to the greater significance.
There are a myriad of subtleties in the way The Whole Cycle works in every woman- cycle lengths, ovulation dates, and rhythms are specific to each of us, we each have a unique pattern. There is no blanket truth when it comes to calendar time, the truth lies within the individual- what is universal are the signs and symptoms we experience surrounding ovulation and menstruation.
When we acknowledge these to ourselves and each other and create systems that work for us, we will no longer be groping blindly in the dark.
Let's Get Started
Thanks to the widely-available digital thermometer and the ubiquitous smart phone, it has never been easier for a person to correctly chart her cycle using simple and inexpensive methods that do not conflict with her health or ideology. With research and advancements in technology no doubt even more efficient methods can be developed.
A note- The practice is about observing the natural rhythm of The Whole Cycle at work within yourself, which you cannot do if you are medically manipulating your cycle. Hormonal contraceptives- the pill, the patch, the ring, implants, IUD's, injections, etc- are designed to stop ovulation, thicken cervical mucus to block the passage of sperm, and render the uterine walls inhospitable to a fertilized egg. You can begin effectively charting as soon as you stop medication, but it may take several cycles for your body to return to a regular rhythm.
Before you begin:
Obtain a digital thermometer that reads to the tenth degree- as in 98.6- preferably one with a memory function. I'm talking about the kind available in every pharmacy everywhere, the kind you might already have in your medicine cabinet right now. If you want to spend the money you can even purchase an ovulation-smart thermometer that automatically syncs to a charting app
Determine your method of charting- I recommend Fertility Friend, Kindara and Clue. Almost any app will do as long as you are recording BBT and other signs. (a note: Modern methods are quick and reliable, but you can DIY with a spreadsheet or even on good old-fashioned pencil and graph paper.)
Educate yourself on Fertility Awareness, so you understand exactly what you are looking for and how to read your charts.
The most reliable indicator of ovulation is a spike in resting temperature, called Basal Body Temperature (BBT). BBT drops below the "normal" 98.6 while you sleep. Under regular circumstances, a woman's BBT varies daily within a few tenths of a degree and spikes by nearly a whole degree during ovulation.
BBT is our way to get to proof on paper- only by recording the shift in temperature can we validate the other more subtle signs of fertility. When we can trust in the reliability of these signs we become free from the burden of the unknown and we can finally take charge of our lives.
Because You’re Worth It
INTERNALIZING THIS simple habit is the quickest and easiest form of self care, and it costs next to nothing. It is the gift that keeps on giving. Women who effectively track their cycles universally report experiencing a personal revelation and a decrease of life-long anxieties.
There is no harm in starting tomorrow morning, though real charting will begin on the first day of your next period- Day 1
Keep your thermometer at your bedside and your charting method close at hand. Take your temperature first thing in the morning. That means before sitting up, before rolling over- you open your eyes, reach over to grab the thermometer and put it under your tongue. The earlier the better, so if you wake up before you actually wake up get in the habit of doing it before you hit snooze. This is the “hard” part.
Record your BBT daily, along with cervical fluid, cervical position and any other signs you experience- even if it is a weird feeling you can't really describe, try. These secongdReliable charting software will be able to estimate your fertile window as you input more data.
That's it, and with a smart thermometer it's just the one step. The practice is a simple, inexpensive, completely safe and highly effective means of rapid self-discovery. What you'll find is the answer you always knew had to be out there.
Critics will warn that women may not be willing or intelligent enough to regularly perform this practice correctly- they claim charting is complicated and bothersome. But I know most of us have been mentally tracking and restricting our caloric intake since puberty- I think we can handle it.
Women care deeply about our own health and well-being, it is evident by the copious time, money and effort we put into therapy, medication, diet, exercise, meditation, self-help, etc. Taking your temperature and recording it daily has zero adverse side-effects, at very worst it is a minor inconvenience we must endure for less than 2 minutes, and unlike the pill it’s no sweat if you miss a day here or there. What a minimal effort to make for such a vast amount of knowledge!
Awareness of fertility is about far more than controlling pregnancy, it is the means for women to trust in the workings of our own bodies. Every woman should know how to read her cycles, regardless of whether she is sexually active.
The 3-cycle Challenge
Objective: Identify your ovulation day and fertile window by observing The Whole Cycle at work within yourself
Observe your next 3 cycles including BBT, attempt to pinpoint ovulation and menstruation dates
Share your experiences with other women through word of mouth, Facebook, twitter, blog content
#knowyourcycle
It is just that simple.
Take the challenge and you will be better for it. If after 3 cycles you don't choose to continue charting, you have gained invaluable insight into your own biology. But if you are like most women who have discovered this information, this will be the beginning of a dramatic shift in your thinking. You will become confident that when you are sexually active you can consciously avoid or attempt pregnancy through easy and natural methods. You'll want to shout it with joy to every woman you come across, for who among us would not benefit?
For the millions out there who have already come to this sacred knowledge through the daily ritual of taking their temperature I offer a platform to voice your stories, and I know you've got 'em.