Fertility awareness Method
Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) is an often misunderstood methodology to track your cycle and prevent and/or plan a pregnancy. Often immediately associated with old school ideas such as the rhythm method, FAM is far more in depth and research backed. FAM utilizes calendar tracking of your cycle and what phase you are in, observing changes in your discharge and how to interpret, cervical position, and your basal body temperature. When done consistently and correctly, this method combined with the fact that you are only fertile roughly 6 days a month, can help prevent pregnancy. Many women are opting out of hormonal birth control for a myriad of reasons, such as the importance of ovulation for your health, and are looking for a way to not only get off the pill/IUD but also gain a deeper understanding of their bodies. If this is the path you are currently on, this blog will help you get started on tuning into what your body and hormones are telling you.
Calendar Tracking
Calendar tracking on its own is not enough, but covers the base goal of all FAM methods, which is to predict ovulation. Knowing the 4 phases of your cycle: menstruation, follicular, ovulation, and luteal, is the basis of understanding your body. In general, the length of each phase is as follows: Days 1-5=menstrual, days 6-14=follicular, day 14=ovulation, and day 15-28=luteal.
The reason calendar tracking alone is not enough is because there are individual differences that can range as much as 10 days among various women and even month to month in your own cycle. This can be due to factors such as stress, travel, alcohol, diet and exercise changes, disease/illness, PCOS, endometriosis, etc. You may ovulate on day 14 one month and on day 20 the next, simply because you started running or went through a stressful breakup. This is why it is so important to rely not only on a calendar app, but also through understanding your bodies cues as to when you are ovulating.
Discharge Changes
Cervical mucus changes throughout our cycle are dependent on the current fluctuation in progesterone and estrogen. This mucus is produced by glandular cells in the inside of your cervix. It is only one part of your vaginal discharge, which overall functions to remove dead cells and bacteria. However, the cervical mucus, which most of us can quite clearly identify as egg white when we are ovulating, functions to transport sperm into your uterus and tubes. Bluntly, it is there to help you get pregnant, this is why it increases so much during ovulation.
Thin, watery cervical mucus is normal in the first few days after your period. The closer you get to ovulation it will begin to get thicker, stickier, and more egg white.
Thicker, stickier cervical mucus will linger for a bit after ovulation into your luteal phase. Progesterone is released in larger amounts post ovulation, which causes mucus to thicken and prevent any further implantation.
The bottom line is that thick and sticky=not fertile and egg white, stretchy, and slippery=fertile. Note, however, that every body is different and it is possible that this varies slightly for you. Keep track of how your cervical fluid changes every day throughout the month and take note of patterns as the year goes on.
Causes for concern that are outside normal variation include:
-abnormally thick/chunky or thin
-gray, grey, yellow, or brown in color
-very strong metallic smell that you have not had before
-accompanied by pain, itchiness, or swelling
Basal Body Temperature and Cervical Position
It is important to note that although very helpful, basal body temperature (BBT) alone cannot be used for tracking as it can only tell you after you have ovulated already, it cannot predict it. However, once you note and track the changes each month you can begin to pick up on patterns in your personal hormone cycle. At the beginning of your luteal phase, directly after ovulation, your BBT will raise roughly 0.5-1 ℉.
This increase in temperature is due to rising levels of progesterone. A helpful device that I like to use for this is Tempdrop.
Along with your BBT, learning to pair this with a tracking of your cervical position is crucial for understanding the fluctuations your body goes through depending on whether or not you are ovulating. In order to understand why this happens, we need first to understand what the cervix is. Translated from latin cervix uteri as “the womb’s neck”, it is the lowest part of your uterus and connects to your vagina. It is very small, in the shape of an O, and changes slightly in positioning depending on whether you are ovulating.
We know that when you are ovulating, your estrogen levels rise. This causes a thicker uterine lining and a softer and higher cervix. For this reason, it can actually be difficult to find your cervix manually during ovulation and it is best to wait to locate it for the first time at another point in your cycle.
After ovulation, your cervix will become firmer, easier to locate, and drop lower. During menstruation it will feel more open as well, but will remain firm and low.
When looking for your cervix for the first time, follow these steps for a safe and easy experience. Do this every day and note down the changes, along with your BBT throughout the month. You will find it is much easier than you are anticipating to notice the difference and predict whether you are fertile!
Wash your hands to prevent any unwanted bacteria
Get in a comfortable position, such as how you would insert a tampon or laying down
Insert your fingers inside of your vagina in an upward motion. When you notice a firmer texture different from the tissue of your vagina, you have reached your cervix
A soft, fertile cervix will feel similar to your lips, and will be slightly open during ovulation and menstruation
The most important factor in all of these FAM methods is knowing that no one alone will be accurate, and that you need to be consistent. You can’t measure these factors for one month and expect them to be the same all year. In addition, you can’t just pick and choose one or two ways to track and leave out the rest. Outside of the extra effort and body awareness that this method requires, FAM is an amazing option that does not alter your hormones, has no side effects, and is largely free to use.
If you are open to investing in products that work very well to incorporate FAM methods, Mira and Tempdrop are both reliable devices. Mira is recommended especially for those with PCOS as it tracks hormone levels (LH, E3G, PdG, and FSH) in a way you would not be able to do on your own. Tempdrop is wearable temperature tracker that learns your specific norms and trends, and predicts ovulation for you. You can use my code DOCTORPARIA for 10% off on Tempdrop devices! Neither of these are necessary nor should they be used on their own! It is all about knowing your own body.
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