What is Charting
Charting is described as the process of recording your menstrual cycles, offering insights into your body and fertility. The key reasons why charting is considered are:
- Enables you to pinpoint the days you can conceive
- Enables you to plan and predict your future cycles
- Allows you to monitor your health throughout your cycles
- It’s useful in tracking and documenting your conception journey
- Enable you to monitor your cycles for any unusual patterns or chances of infertility.
How to Start Your Own Fertility Chart
- Commit to recording information concerning your cycle for several months.
- Average out the data between your longest and shortest cycle to get a base number of days.
- Your fertility chart usually begins on the first day of your menstrual cycle. Record this day as cycle day one.
- Record when you have intercourse
- Record your fertility signs daily.
Fertility signs usually include the following:
1. Changes in basal metabolic temperature– This is the temperature taken when your body is at rest and otherwise known as the waking temperature. These changes include:
- A rise of up to 0.2 degrees Celsius after ovulation
- Usually taken by a basal metabolic temperatures.
2. Cervical mucus– ordinary comparative changes of cervical fluid in different times of your cycle can be described as being;
- Dry or sticky after menses
- Creamier as ovulation approaches
- Slippery and stretchy during ovulation
- Dries up quickly after ovulation.
Putting It All Together
All this data can be used to know your fertile days which are usually a few days before and up to your ovulation time. This window is the only time you will be able to conceive in your cycle.
- Your basal metabolic temperature will usually rise the day after ovulation occurs. This means that you ovulated just before the temp rose.
- Cervical mucus will also change during ovulation to an egg white consistency.
Collecting this information over several months can start drawing a clear picture on when exactly ovulation occurs for you.
Your obstetrician might give you more insight on how to start your own charts and better your fertility.
Disclaimer:
Please note that development differs from one child to another.
Content intended for educational purposes only, and not a substitute for medical advice from your doctor.
Be careful when using any products mentioned on this website. We hold no regulations for such products or their providers.
Last reviewed March 2019
Sources: americanpregnancy, americanpregnancy, fertilityfriend
