Fertility Charting Or Ovulation Charting : Basics For Every Woman

Fertility charting or commonly ovulation charting, usually comes up especially from women who have approached me with problems of getting a pregnancy.

This article presents practical info to make women comfortable with the charting of fertility signs.

What Is Fertility Charting?

It refers to the recording ( charting) of the changes noted with the signs of fertility or signs of ovulation throughout the entire cycle.

Ovulation signs are body signs that are associated with the process of ovulation.
Fertility is clustered around the process of ovulation and hence these signs are also called fertility signs. Amongst these signs, two are very popular

Why Chart?

This is a useful question at this time. Why chart in the first place when there are many commercial ovulation kits now available that can help a woman determine the time of ovulation?

Charting of fertility signs is not solely to identify ovulation. Knowing the pattern of your body and your cycle is one of the most important benefits of charting. Many women often find tons of information about fertility issues and menstruation on the internet and fall into the trap of trying to make what worked for another woman to work for them. A website owner may write about what worked for her. It may or may not work for you. If it does not, do not be fast to consider yourself abnormal. Simply find out what works for you. I have like teaching women how to know themselves rather than just providing a wealth of medical info to them. As women’s faces differ, so do their individual cycle patterns. Learning about yourself is therefore an important benefit drawn from charting.

Charting the signs of ovulation is not identifying and even correctly interpreting the fertility signs at different points of the ovulation cycle. Its unparallel significance lies in the recording of these signs over time and then reviewing them after one, two or three cycles to learn about your own body. Many women are overwhelmed with what they discover about themselves by fertility charting. The fertility chart in a woman’s hand is not a textbook on fertility. It is a textbook indeed of the fertility patterns of their own bodies!

Here are some of the benefits of ovulation charting

1. It tells a woman if ovulation occurs in the first place. If no luteal phase pattern with the temperature rise inclusive, ovulation likely did not occur.
2. You can determine the time of ovulation and also the length of the fertile phase of the entire cycle. The egg white cervical mucus is a good indicator of the entire length of the fertile period.
3. The length of the luteal phase is easily determined as the period of ovulation to the next menses.
4. Early pregnancy can also be suspected. In general, a luteal phase of 2 or more days above the usual length can be an early sign to suspect conception.
5. After all, you develop mastery of your ovulation cycle. Never again will you be embarrassed by doctor’s questions about your cycle!

Method Of Ovulation Charting

Charting is simply recording what you have noted. Yes, it is that simple. You may decide to monitor just one or two of the major signs of ovulation. Usually, I counsel women to use the basal body temperature and cervical mucus for maximum profit.

The first step is to muster courage and determination to do it.

The three simple things you will be doing routinely are

1. Observation of the signs
2. Recording and
3. Interpreting the recorded information.

Each of the signs discussed above has a simple procedure to follow to observe the daily changes. The steps above are easily accomlished using an ovulation chart

One secret is to always record the cervical mucus or the basal body temperature as soon as you identify them. Do not wait or postpone recording.

Interpretation

Interpretation of the chart simply means making sense out of the changes you have recorded.

You many need at least 3 cycles or chart records to draw a definitive conclusion on your pattern. Remember you cannot be sure of your pattern from one record only. You can always ask Doc if you have difficulties figuring out your pattern.

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