Learning Your Cycle

Avoiding pregnancy, getting pregnant, PMS... these are some of the most frequently discussed topics among my female friends, and I think among many women. Yet, there really aren’t many commonly understood ways of managing each of these issues without pharmaceutical intervention. I avoided birth control for many years because I was exclusively involved with women. When I got involved with a man for the first time, I was suddenly interested in the world of contraception, and sorted through a barrage of options before settling on condoms, basically out of fear and ignorance of other methods.

That worked fine for years. After meeting and falling in love with my future husband, the idea of starting a family came into play. We tried just not using any protection for a while, but no pregnancy ensued. At some point, a dear friend recommended I read Taking Charge of Your Own Fertility by Toni Weschler. This book got me hooked on the Fertility Awareness Method. I’ve used the method ever since, and as a result, our three year old daughter was conceived. Many women use this method not just to avoid pregnancy, but also to increase their chances of getting pregnant. It relies on learning and observing the state of your body at different moments in your monthly cycle.

Cervical Mucus Monitoring
Cervical mucus changes consistency during the menstrual cycles and plays a vital role in fertilization of the egg. Present in the days preceding ovulation, fertile cervical mucus aids in drawing sperm up to the fallopian tubes where fertilization usually takes place. It also helps maintain the survival of sperm inside the woman’s body.

In a “typical cycle”, after 5 days of menstruation there are 3-4 “dry” days, and then wetness begins with sticky, cloudy, whitish, or yellowish secretions. The wetness increases to the wettest day when mucus is quite distinctive: abundant, slippery, clear and very stretchy (like egg whites). Ovulation occurs sometime in the 2 days before or up to 2 days after the peak day of stretchy fertile mucus.

To chart you cervical mucus, observe and record your cervical secretions every day on a calendar or chart, with day 1 as the first day of your menstrual period.

Basal Body Temperature (BBT)
When a woman monitors her Basal Body Temperature (BBT), she can see when ovulation occurred. BBT helps identify post-ovulatory infertile days.

Using an easy-to-read thermometer, take your temperature every morning immediately upon waking and before any activity. If possible, use graph paper so you can see the rise and fall of temperature.

Immediately before ovulation, the temperature drops briefly. Within 12 hours of ovulation, the BBT rises several tenths of a degree and remains up until the next menstrual period. When your temperature stays high for 3 days in a row, the fertile period is over and the infertile time begins.

The main drawback of using the BBT method by itself is that several factors can influence your BBT, including illness, lack of sleep, alcohol or drug use. You may choose to keep a chart of your BBT over a period of 8-12 consecutive months to determine the time in your cycle when you usually ovulate.

One of the most valuable things I have ever done is to get more in touch with my own body by charting my cycles. Not only did it help manage my fertility, PMS, and other related issues, but it brought me closer to my cycles, moods, and really, my own essential femininity.

Recipes for Comfort
Root Tea for PMS
1 part sarsaparilla
1/2 part burdock
1 part dandelion root
1/4 part yellow dock root
1/2 part ginger root
1/2 part cinnamon twigs
cook for 15 minutes over heat with the lid on
drink 1-2 cups a day

Bloat tea
1 part nettles
1 part dandelion root
1 part chickweed (2 parts if fresh, which is preferable)
1/2 part peppermint (1 part if fresh)

Cramp Tea
1 part cramp bark or motherwort
1/2 part black haw
1/2 part valerian
1 part ginger
1/2 part kava
Cramp bark can also be chewed for pain relief.

Additional recommendations for cramping Don’t eat or drink any cold foods
Place a heating pad or warm ginger poultice over the pelvic area. To make a ginger compress, grate 1/4 cup ginger and boil in 1 cup water for 20 minutes, dip washcloth in tea and place over pelvic area.
Avoid coffee, and other pro-inflammatory foods and drinks.

This article is excerpted from Down There Magazine, a woman-run and operated resource for feminist and alternative women’s health issues. View the entire articlce at downtheremagazine.com