A Fun And Interactive Guide To Fertility Awareness
Complete Guide to Fertility Awareness
To all the curious minds and fertility enthusiasts! Have you had the idea that you are fertile only for 6 days of the month? And that you don’t always need to engulf hormonal contraceptive pills to avoid unwanted pregnancy?
Bet you didn’t. And if you did what’s the harm in knowing more about how amazing the female body is?
In this blog, we are going to dive into the fascinating realm of fertility awareness.
So, What Exactly Is Fertility?
Fertility is like a game of hide and seek played by your body. Sometimes it’s like, ‘Here I am, ready to make babies!’ and other times it’s more like, ‘Nah, not today!’
In simple words, “fertility is the natural ability of the body to conceive or induce contraception. As such infertility is the inability to achieve viable pregnancy.”
Fertility Awareness 101
The Basics Made Fun
Now that we have got to know about what fertility is let’s learn about fertility awareness.
For all my ladies troubled with the problem of finding a healthy method to avoid or achieve pregnancy, I bring to you this amazing way of hacking your body.
“Fertility Awareness also known as natural family planning is a method of tracking and interpreting various signs and symptoms of fertility to determine the fertile and infertile phases of a woman’s menstrual health.”
Simply put together, by observing and tracking (that’s why it’s called awareness) the subtle changes in your body you will be able to bring a little chaos into your empty life. Fear not my ladies, it can also be used to steer clear from the little tornado when you are not ready for it yet.
Getting Started With FAMs
Fertility Awareness Methods, most commonly called FAMs are a way of tracking your menstrual cycle so that as a woman you can gain empowerment over your reproductive health.
So, girls take up your weapons, we are going to start strategizing our way through the 30-day cycle to optimally distinguish our fertile days from the infertile ones.
Method 1- The Basal Body Temperature Method (BBT) aka Wakeup Check-up:
This method involves checking your temperature as soon as you wake up from the bed. During the ovulation period, there is a rise in temperature in the body. This subtle rise in temperature for three days straight confirms that ovulation has occurred and you are no longer fertile. As your cycle comes to an end, you see a drastic drop in temperature. This drop indicates your period should come within a day or two.
Method 2- The Cervical Mucous Method aka Check the Slime to get the Lime:
Okay beautiful, before you start screaming your lungs out, let me tell you that it is the most useful method for pinpointing your fertile days. Your cervical fluid can be of 4 types which include:
· dry (non-fertile)
· sticky, thick, white (non-fertile)
· creamy, white, lotion-like (non-fertile)
· clear, wet, stretchy, slippery, raw-egg-white-like (peak-fertile)
Understanding how to identify the consistency of your cervical fluid and tracking changes are keys to understanding your fertility and managing your sex life.
Method 3 – The Calendar Method aka The Date Night Planner:
Take out your calendar beauties. It’s time to check for that time of the day. Another of the most common and easy ways to keep track of fertile days’ journey is to keep your calendar at bay. Women generally undergo menstruation roughly at an estimate of 28-32 days from the previous menstruation. Generally, a woman is fertile 5 days before her menstruation.
The best way to use FAMs is to combine the temperature, cervical mucus, and calendar methods. Each of these methods relies on different signs to predict your fertile days, so using them together gives you the best picture of your fertility and makes FAMs more accurate. For example, keeping track of your cervical mucus pattern can be useful if your temperature chart gets messed up because you’re sick or stressed. And using more than 1 method may help you narrow down your fertile days, so you will have more safe days each month.
Spend Less, Avoid Mess
Free! Free! Free!
Who exactly doesn’t love to hear this? FAMs are the most cost-effective methods of family planning. In a world dominated by contraceptives and medical interventions, FAMs require the least of the least investments.
All you need is a thermometer, pen, paper and calendar. And my girls are ready to slay these FAMs.
Tell It Like It Is
After learning all the basics of fertility awareness methods, it’s time to get real with the pros and cons of FAMs. Without further beating around the bush, we first start with the pros.
Natural And Non-Invasive:
Trust me when I say it. There is nothing more natural than FAMs. (It’s more natural than your bottle of natural herbal shampoo).
Unlike hormonal contraceptives, fertility awareness methods are very non-invasive. They respect the body’s natural processes and allow one for a deeper connection with one’s reproductive cycle.
No Side Effects:
Say goodbye to side effects! Fertility awareness methods do not temper with the body’s natural hormonal balance. Hence it does not cause any kind of side effects to your body. Some conceptive methods prevent unwanted pregnancy by regulating the hormones of the body thereby doing more harm in the future.
Saying yes to FAMs means saying no to weight gains, and other side effects that come with hormonal contraceptives. It’s all you, your body and a few trips to the bathroom.
Let’s admit it- nothing in life is perfect, not even these FAMs!!
Getting to the cons:
- Low Effectiveness: Fertility awareness is not 100% effective, and improper use increases the chance of an unplanned pregnancy, just like with any other type of birth control. People must be aware of the limitations of fertility awareness and take alternative measures when needed.
- Patience And Dedication: You need a hell amount of patience and dedication to perfectly use FAMs which makes them too cumbersome to use. Mastering the techniques of fertility awareness requires time. One needs to be patient and regularly track their fertility and infertility window.
Overall sweethearts, we can conclude that FAMs are a natural approach with no harm to your body with accuracy depending on an individual’s ability to track her reproductive health properly.
Getting Cosy With Your Cycles
After this amazing journey of getting to know FAMs, it’s time we familiarize ourselves with our body’s natural cycles. To use FAMs, a lesson about your menstrual cycle is a must.
To start with, you have to know when you’re most likely to get pregnant, and when it’s safe for you to have sex without risking pregnancy.
In order for pregnancy to happen, a sperm cell must join with the egg (this is called fertilization).
During your menstrual cycle, there are certain days when sperm can fertilize an egg and cause a pregnancy — these are your fertile days. Each month, your ovary releases an egg into your fallopian tube (this is called ovulation). Your egg is in your fallopian tube for about 12-24 hours. Sperm can live in your uterus and fallopian tube for up to 6 days after sex. If a sperm cell does join up with your egg in the tube, the fertilized egg travels from your fallopian tube to your uterus (womb) and can attach to the uterine wall, which starts a pregnancy. If your egg doesn’t get fertilized, it dissolves and you eventually get your period.
Since an egg survives for a day after ovulation and sperm for about 6 days after sex, you’re basically fertile for around 7 days of every menstrual cycle: the 5 days before you ovulate, and the day you ovulate. You can also get pregnant a day or 2 after ovulation, but it’s less likely.
Uff! That was quite the brain-busting science session for today. (I believe)
Not Everyone Can Dance To FAM Beats, Sadly
With a heavy stone in my heart, I must say- that while FAMs are a natural approach, not everyone can use it as effectively as others can.
There are some situations in which the use of FAMs to prevent pregnancy might be more difficult. If any of the following conditions apply to you, you may need extra training to make sure you are using fertility awareness correctly:
· You are approaching menopause.
· You have just started having menstrual periods.
· You have recently stopped using a hormonal birth control method or are using other drugs that can affect the signs of fertility.
· You have recently had a baby (you may want to delay using certain fertility awareness-based methods until your menstrual periods are regular).
Let’s Wrap Up
Feeling like a proud teacher teaching her naive pupils – the basics of fertility awareness, introducing FAMs and giving them all weapons for getting started. May your cycles be regular, your cervical mucous be abundant and your ovulation be as predictable as your favorite show’s next season.
On this note, I hope I made this adventure fun and interactive.
