As a woman, you may have asked 2 questions about your sexual health at some point in your life. The first, “What is fertility?” and the second “How fertile am I?”
If you have but have not quite found the answer you desired, then today is your lucky day. I think that you will find exactly what you are looking for in this post.
What is fertility?
First things first… Fertility is defined as the ability of a male or female to produce an offspring.
Conventionally, we would say this must occur in a natural way through sexual intercourse. However, fertility can be achieved if assisted.
How fertile are you?
A woman’s fertility is best assessed by observing the functions of her reproductive organs.
Fertility Awareness allows a woman to become intimately familiar with her body as it changes throughout the menstrual cycle.
The eggs, tubes, and womb are largely involved and are under the delicate, precise influence of the sex hormones. All of these conform to and are regulated by the menstrual cycle.
Monitoring your fertility can help you prepare to become pregnant or avoid pregnancy without the need for hormonal birth control.
You can assess how fertile you are by paying attention to your organs and menstrual cycle. Keep reading and I will tell you just how to achieve fertility awareness confidently.
THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE
This is the primary focus of every woman. The menstrual cycle begins the very first day a woman has her first period. We call this Day 1 of her cycle.
Most women will have a menstrual cycle which repeats itself every 28 days. However, some women may have shorter or longer intervals between the cycle. This is acceptable if it is predictable.
By the time a female reaches age 18 to 19 years, she should now have a predictable cycle.
If you are past that age and your cycles are still irregular and unpredictable, you need to visit a gynaecologist.
The menstrual cycle has 3 distinct phases which must occur such that she can produce an egg fit for fertilization and maintain the new life if pregnancy occurs.
All 3 phases are super important, but it is the Ovulation Phase which is most crucial to your fertility. If a woman does not ovulate, she is infertile for that cycle. However, failure to ovulate is not the only cause of infertility.
There is a time frame in the menstrual cycle called the Fertile Window Period. This is just the days in the menstrual cycle when you are most likely to get pregnant. Identifying this window is the whole aim of Fertility Awareness. I will mention it a lot throughout this post so remember this.
READ MORE: What Happens During Your Period
WHAT IS THE EGG FOR?
On DAY 1 of the cycle (whilst there is bleeding) the eggs are being prepared.
Ovum (the correct medical term) is the Latin equivalent for the ‘egg’. A group of about 15 to 20 eggs is selected from the stock in the ovaries. Every female is born with 2 ovaries (left and right).
The ovaries are full of eggs. Each ovary normally takes turns each month to supply the quota of eggs needed at the onset of every monthly period.
The selected eggs are subjected to a rigorous growth process called the follicular phase. This is the 1st phase of the menstrual cycle. At the end of this phase, the fittest, healthiest and dominant egg will emerge. It is referred to as the dominant follicle.
Surrounding each ovum is a follicle. Let me help you understand this…
Think of a chicken egg. It has a shell and a yolk inside with the sperm. Think of your egg as being similar. Your follicle is like the eggshell. Whilst your ovum is equivalent to the yolk.
When the dominant follicle reaches full maturity, it will swell and rupture to release the ovum.
If a woman has unprotected sex when she ovulates, a sperm can easily enter the released ovum, it is called fertilization. This produces an embryo which is the beginning of life for the offspring of that pregnancy.
OVULATORY PHASE
This phase of the menstrual cycle is the most important aspect for every woman who wants to achieve pregnancy. The ovulatory phase is the shortest of the 3 phases, lasting only 24 hours. Yet, it is the most critical.
Primarily, within this phase, ovulation takes place. This is the release of the ovum from the dominant follicle into the Fallopian tube where it will await the right sperm for fertilization.
Other important events occur during your fertility window culminating in this short phase. They are changes in the reproductive organs, mainly the cervix, in response to hormone changes at ovulation. These changes ensure that the potential for fertilization is high and cause the cycle to progress to a successful pregnancy.
CHANGES DURING THE FERTILITY WINDOW
By observing the changes during your fertility window, a woman can assess her fertility herself. There are 3 key changes in the cervix which are assessed daily. These are then tracked with the dates of your cycle. Then there is a key step to identify your ovulatory phase. Here is the list below
- First: Checking your cervical mucus, position, and opening
- Second: Checking your basal body temperature.
- Third: Checking your calendar day.
- Fourth: Ovulation Predictor Kits
THE LOW, OPENED CERVIX
Just after the menses, the cervix stays low down in the vagina. It can be easily felt by a woman if she inserts her longest finger up the vagina. The cervix will feel quite firm, almost like the tip of the nose.
If you are totally clueless as to what the cervix is, take a minute to read my recent post What is the cervix and why is it so important?
There is also a depression in the centre of the cervix. This is called the ‘os’ or opening of the cervix. Just after the menses, a woman should be able to get just her fingertip through the os.
The cervical os will close tighter as the days progress up to the fertile window. The cervix itself also goes upward in the vagina. It will be much harder to feel, even with long fingers.
When a woman is about to ovulate, the cervical os reopens. This is to allow sperms to enter the womb if she has sex. This is the female body becoming receptive to the possibility of pregnancy as she will ovulate – marking her fertility.
CERVICAL MUCUS
If you read my post on What is the cervix and why is it so important? You will see where I talk about cervical mucus.
The cervix produces mucus throughout the entire menstrual cycle. However, the consistency and quality of the mucus will change based on which phase the cycle is in.
When the mucus is thin, clear, abundant and ‘stretchiest’, (similar to egg white) the woman is more likely to be ovulating and will release an egg. This tells us that she is fertile.
Checking the cervical mucus is the best method for women whose period can be a bit irregular sometimes. Personally, I use this method as my cycles fluctuate between 32 and 35 days.
BASAL BODY TEMPERATURE
When the woman is in her fertile window period, there is an increase in her resting (basal) body temperature compared to the other days of the menstrual cycle.
Basal body temperature (BBT) is measured first thing in the morning after sleep. It is measured prior to getting out of bed and any form of activity. If the woman gets out of bed before doing measurements, then that temperature reading would be invalid.
The change is only detected if measurements are started at the start of the cycle. Observing the trend for the cycle will give an idea of the fertile period and ovulation day (on which there is a slightly higher increase in temperature).
TRACKING MENSTRUAL CYCLE DAYS
Tracking the days of the menstrual cycle is essential to the whole process of fertility awareness. The first step is to note when the period starts and finishes and the date when the next period starts.
Getting familiar with the cycle involves a bit of retrospection. As a standard, it is believed that most women would have ovulated about 14 days prior to the start of the next period. So, for women with
- Example 1: 28-day cycle – ovulation would most likely occur on day 14.
- Example 2: 32-day cycle – ovulation would probably occur on day 18.
- Example 3: 35-day cycle – ovulation would most likely occur on day 21.
Moving forward, she can then track the cycles for the next 2 months. She will keep track of the changes in the BBT, cervical position and mucus. When the changes are recorded on the days of the cycle, then the woman would get an idea of the day she ovulates.
When a woman can confidently identify her fertile window period, she can easily decide to take the shot at pregnancy.
If not, then she can decide to use condom protection to avoid pregnancy.
OVULATION PREDICTOR KITS
These are innovative and quite popular in the UK. These tests detect the presence of luteinizing hormone (LH) in the urine.
Luteinizing hormone is responsible for causing the dominant follicle to release the ovum for fertilization with a sperm (if available).
The concentration of the luteinizing hormone surges rapidly on the day of ovulation. The kit can detect this surge and usually gives an indication of this.
The kits come with multiple strips which the woman would use during her fertile window. Once, she registers the LH surge, the decision is all hers of whether to try for a baby or use condom protection.
Unused strips from the tests can be saved for the next cycle, of course, unless she gets pregnant!
KNOWING YOUR FERTILITY LEVEL
It is impossible to tell you everything there is to know about assessing your fertility in one single post. After all, there are thousands of books written already on the topic. But I have something special in store for you.
I am in the process of creating a course to help women like you monitor their fertility. I will be making it as easy as A-B-C. It will include all the info you could possibly need in one place.
I will show you how to identify your fertility window, which are the days you are most fertile leading up to your ovulation and how many hours after you remain fertile. So, if you are interested, respond in the comment section below.
You can even send me an email at yourgynaetalk@gmail.com. You are free to connect with me on social media too.
TAKE HOME MESSAGE
It is quite beneficial for a woman to become aware of her fertility. It allows her the opportunity to become intimately familiar with her body.
The methods are good for if you are trying to get pregnant and if you want to avoid pregnancy without the need of hormonal birth control.
Once done regularly for at least one month, they become easy and easier as time progresses.
If you want to get pregnant, keep doing it until you get the hang of it. If you don’t get pregnant at the time you think you should, give your body time to catch on. It may just surprise you!
I recommend trying on your own for about 6 to 12 months on your own. The younger you are, the longer you have to try on your own. However, after 12 months, it is best to get your gynecologist involved.
If you are 35 years and older, you do not wait! Visit your gynecologist right away if you are having problems getting pregnant for the last 6 months.
Have a happily fertile summer, lovie!
References
American Society for Reproductive Medicine, Optimizing natural fertility, https://www.reproductivefacts.org/news-and-publications/patient-fact-sheets-and-booklets/documents/fact-sheets-and-info-booklets/optimizing-natural-fertility/
American Pregnancy Association. (2018, September 11). Ovulation Kits & Fertility Monitors [Web log post]. Retrieved June 23, 2019, from https://americanpregnancy.org/getting-pregnant/ovulation-kits/
Babycentre UK. (2017, September). How to use ovulation test kits [Web log post]. Retrieved June 23, 2019, from https://www.babycentre.co.uk/a561822/how-to-use-ovulation-test-kits
Berglund Scherwitzl, et al. (2015). Identification and prediction of the fertile window using Natural Cycles. The European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care, 20(5), 403-408. doi:10.3109/13625187.2014.988210
Ecochard, R., et al. (2015). Self-identification of the clinical fertile window and the ovulation period. Fertility and Sterility, 103(5), 1319-1325.e1313. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2015.01.031
Knudtson, J., MD, & McLaughlin McLaughlin, J., MD. (2019, March). Female Reproductive Endocrinology. Retrieved May 01, 2019, from https://www.msdmanuals.com/professional/gynecology-and-obstetrics/female-reproductive-endocrinology/female-reproductive-endocrinology#v1061582.
Pfeifer, S., et al. (2017). Optimizing natural fertility: a committee opinion. Fertility and Sterility, 107(1), 52-58. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2016.09.029
Stanford, J. B. (2015). Revisiting the fertile window. Fertility and Sterility, 103(5), 1152-1153. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2015.02.015
Stanford, et al. (2002). Timing intercourse to achieve pregnancy: current evidence. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 100(6), 1333-1341.
Stephenson, J., et al. (2018). Before the beginning: nutrition and lifestyle in the preconception period and its importance for future health. The Lancet, 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30311-8 doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30311-8
