If you have a uterus, Fertility Awareness will benefit you.
Hi, I’m Michele and I’m a fertility awareness instructor.
You might be like me- you hear the word “fertility” and automatically cover your ears and sing “lalala I’m not listening!” Or, maybe you hear the word and cringe, imagining medications and doctor visits. But neither represent the fertility awareness method. In fact, Fertility Awareness Based Methods (FABMs) are helpful for everyone with a uterus.
Yes, it’s great for people who want to get pregnant.
Yes, it’s great for people who want natural, hormone-free birth control.
But also-- it’s about taking control of your health.
You might be thinking: how can one method be so versatile?
People who use Fertility Awareness Based Methods know
if their body is potentially fertile on any given day
if their estrogen and progesterone levels are too high or too low
exactly when to expect their period (and how to plan for it)
if their thyroid (and metabolism) is functioning high or low
When they are pregnant-- without a test
All of this information comes from tracking your three fertility signs. Our bodies are pretty cool. They react to different levels of hormonal stimulation and give us different bioindicators (health signs). So by watching our basal body temperature, cervical position, and cervical mucus, we can discover which hormones are rising and falling, and identify where we are in our cycles. (Quick note— if you’re using hormonal birth control, your body won’t have these bioindicators because your hormone levels are not rising and falling.)
Basal Body Temperature (BBT)
BBT is your resting body temperature. Did you know that body temperature rises as a result of ovulation? This is because after the egg is released, the empty follicle transforms into a corpus luteum and starts to generate progesterone. That progesterone rise increases our body temperatures by nearly a whole degree! Most people are around 97-97.7° F prior to ovulation, and 97.7-99° F post-ovulation. When we accurately check and chart our temperatures each day, we will notice a temperature rise after ovulation. We can even count the days between the temperature rise and next menstruation to understand whether or not someone has healthy progesterone levels. Pretty amazing, huh?
Cervical Mucus (CM)
Cervical Mucus, sometimes called Cervical Fluid, is produced in the cervix (bottom part of the uterus) to aid the sperm in its mission to fertilize an egg. Cervical fluid changes in texture, water content, and sometimes color throughout a cycle, depending on which hormone is dominant in the body on any given day. When I was in school, I learned the term “vaginal discharge,” which still makes me shudder. It turns out, vaginal discharge is a separate thing, and most people don’t learn about cervical mucus at school.
By checking cervical mucus every day, and charting its qualities, we can notice trends toward and away from fertile, and what a person’s relative estrogen and progesterone levels are.
Cervical Position (CP)
This image is borrowed from Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler.
The cervix is the bottom part of the uterus, which opens into the vagina. The position of the cervix changes in response to the dominant hormone in the body. As ovulation approaches, people may notice that the cervix rises in the body (becomes further from the opening of the vagina, and harder to reach). The cervix will also soften and become more open. People who check cervical position daily and record that information on their chart will have a third reference point for their potential fertility on any given day.
This might seem like a lot of information to take in all at once, but I promise you that over time, it becomes second nature to check in with your body. Fertility Awareness has a way of changing people’s mindsets about their bodies. It makes perfect sense that setting a daily habit of listening to our bodies helps us become more in tune with our own needs, appreciate all of the “behind the scenes” work that our bodies do for us each day, and encourage us to find new or better ways to support them.
Learning how to listen to our cycles can provide us with so much more insight that just understanding our fertility. Our cycles are like a monthly report card of our health. Since each hormone needs to rise to a certain level in order to trigger the intricate series of events that is ovulation, interpreting our fertility signs can provide us with so much valuable data.
People who use FABMs benefit from
feedback about their diet and hydration levels
insight of their Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Luteinizing Hormone (LH) levels
deeper understanding (and often appreciation) for their physical self
feedback on sleep and lifestyle habits
deeper relationships with a partner
planning their work lives, exercise routines, and social lives around phases of their cycle to maximize their efforts
I’m passionate about sharing Fertility Awareness because it has completely changed my relationship with my body and my approach to my health. I want to share that empowering experience with everyone. When it comes to your health, you are the expert. You are the advocate. And with the right insight and guidance, you can be the healer.
If you’re interested in learning more about Fertility Awareness, send me an e-mail to schedule your free consultation.