Tracking your menstrual cycle
Whether you are tracking your menstrual cycle to plan or avoid a pregnancy, knowing how to and understanding what it means is a very important skill all women could benefit from! This blog post is for educational purposes but speaks from my personal experience learning how to track my cycle.
I hope to inspire more women to learn from my experience and take this on their own journey when learning about their bodies. A lot of women dread their period and view it as an inconvenience. I want to change that narrative and help more women look at their period as an outward expression or monthly report card on how their month has been. Rather than it be a hinderance, lets see how lucky we are as women to get that monthly report card, something that men don’t get!
Knowing how to effectively and accurately track your cycle may avoid the need for synthetic hormones and internal devices as a form of contraception. Allowing you to trust your body and learn to become intuitive.
It’s important to establish what is a ‘normal’ cycle before diving into how to track it. Normal is an odd term to use for the menstrual cycle as there is large variability that is still considered normal. The textbook normal is a 28 day long cycle with a period lasting 3-5 days and a 14 day long luteal phase. However, the cycle can range from 21 to 35 days.
We are going simplify it and use a 28 day cycle in this blog. But remember that this is just a guide and every female will be different. It is important to track the cycle in order to know how long each phase goes for. We will show you how soon.
There are four phases in a 28 day cycle:
Phase 1: Menstruation
Days: 1-5
Hormones: Progesterone, estrogen and testosterone all low
Phase 2: Follicular + Ovulation
Days: 5-14
Hormones: Estradiol dominant
Phase 3: Early Luteal
Days: 14-21
Hormones: Progesterone dominant
Phase 4: Late Luteal
Days: 21-28
Hormones: Progesterone dominant
Symptothermal Method:
Using the Symptothermal method is one type of fertility awareness method that can be used to plan or prevent a pregnancy. It relies on three major clues or body signs including basal body temperature, cervical mucous and cervical position. Lets explain each three in more detail.
Basal body temperature (BBT):
BBT is your temperature at rest and is lowest at 4am each morning. If your like me and your not waking at 4am every day, just take BBT upon waking each morning and before getting out of bed. It is ideal and most accurate when the temperature is taken around the same time each morning but of course that is not always possible. To track BBT accurately, a BBT thermometer and not a standard fever thermometer is required as they are highly accurate and measure temperature to two decimal places. This is important because the changes in BBT may be as small as 0.2°. It is recommended to track BBT on paper based, calendar charts rather than apps to achieve better accuracy. This is because many apps are estimating the events of the cycle, rather than knowing for sure. The thermometer I use is called SurgiPack Ovulation Digital Thermometer which you can get from the chemist. Other recommendations are The Mabis Basal Thermometer, iSnow Digital Basal Thermometer, The Femometer Vinca II and Tempdrop Smart Thermometer (wearable device on your arm that takes the temperature automatically at 4am).
So how does this relate to fertility?
During menstruation and the follicular phase (1st half of the month) BBT is at the lowest it will be through the month. That is because the hormones estrogen is most dominant. Once the ovary has released the egg and ovulation has occurred, progesterone now becomes the most dominant hormone. Higher levels of progesterone naturally causes a rise in temperature. The hormone progesterone literally means ‘pro-gestation’ meaning it supports pregnancy. This is one reason why pregnant women run at higher temperatures!
If the goal is to avoid a pregnancy, the symptothermal method says that once you have seen a rise in BBT, you should wait three consecutive days of that higher temperature to confirm ovulation has occurred and completed. This method is more on the conservative side and suggests to wait three days after the rise in temperature because of the low possibility of another egg being released and of course creating another opportunity for fertilisation. Once those three days of higher temperatures has been seen, the female is considered infertile for the rest of the month and can safely have unprotected sex. So how much is the rise in temperature?
As mentioned above it is as small as 0.2 degrees which is why a accurate thermometer is required. In my case, before ovulation my temperature usually sits at 36.4-36.6. Once ovulation has occurred my temperature increases to 36.8-37. Whilst it seems like such a minor change you can see on my chart below how obvious it is when charted on a piece of paper. The symptomthermal method says that an increase in at least 0.2 degrees needs to be observed for the three consecutive days to confirm ovulation. If within the three days after the initial spike in temperature, the temperature drops below, an extra day needs to be added at the end. Adding a cover line across the chart as you can see highlighted in my chart can help to determine this.
Of course there are many factors that can cause fluctuations in temperature including sickness, late nights, alcohol, stress and foods. If there is a sudden increase or decrease in temperature that doesn’t make sense to you, you write at the top of the chart what might have been the cause and disregard the temperature as an outlier.
BBT is a great measure for avoiding a pregnancy but not as helpful for planning a pregnancy, as ovulation can only be confirmed in retrospect. It can however be helpful in confirming a pregnancy before the pregnancy sticks can detect it! In a standard cycle, approximately 12-14 days after ovulation, progesterone levels will peak which will be enough to trigger the shedding of the lining of the uterus and the bleed will start. Progesterone levels will fall and the cycle will start again. If you have successful fertilisation, progesterone levels will remain high- as we mentioned before this hormone is 'pro-gestation’. This will cause temperatures on your chart to remain high and of course your period won’t arrive. If fertilisation hasn’t occurred after ovulation, approximately 12-14 days later your temperature will also drop indicating the period is about to come. This is a sign I find really helpful in planning my day. If I see in the morning my temperature has dropped I will come prepared to work with pads, period undies ect. So is there another way we can know when we are fertile to help with successful fertilisation? Yes! It’s cervical mucous.
Cervical Mucous:
The cervix is a tunnel like reproductive organ that connects the uterus to the vagina. It can produce it’s own mucous as a way of encouraging and supporting fertilisation and therefore pregnancy. As the body is approaching ovulation and oestrogen levels are increasing, the cervix in response will open and start excreting mucous. This mucous can range from a thick & pasty consistency to a thin & stringy type. It can also vary in colour from yellow, brown, red stained, white or clear. The purpose of the mucous is to make the vagina more alkaline and create an easier entry way to the uterus for sperm. The symptothermal method states each time you go to the toilet you should wipe your vagina before voiding to assess what type of mucous is present. I definitely did that at the start when I was trying to learn. However, I have noticed the more cycles I’ve had it has become very obvious when there is mucous there and I don’t need to specifically check each time. Every women is different with regards to the type of mucous they produce. This website has a great mucous gallery to help you when learning.
If your goal is to fall pregnant, once you start noticing this mucous- it’s go time! Sperm can survive up to five days in the reproductive tract when the mucous is elastic, clear and wet (like egg whites). The more clear and stringy the mucous, the more fertile you are. If your goal is to avoid pregnancy, this is the time to practice safe sex and use protection.
Once ovulation has occurred, the mucous may slowly start to change from that fertile type (egg whites) back to the pasty type. Or it may completely dry up immediately. Once again, the symptothermal method recommends to wait three consecutive days of no mucous before confirming ovulation and returning to unprotected sex (in the case of avoiding pregnancy) or knowing that it’s not the right time (in the case of wanting a pregnancy).
For complete assurance it is recommended to wait until both cervical mucous dries up and temperatures stay high for three days before confirming ovulation. Is there another way to know whether I’m fertile? Yes, the last tool is cervical position. This is not necessary but another helpful way to educate yourself if your unsure and if temperature and mucous are confusing.
Cervix Position:
The cervix is able to move up/ down and open/ closed. As ovulation is approaching the cervix will start to descend to make the passageway from the vagina to the uterus less for sperm to reach the egg. It will also open at the entrance to create a space for sperm to pass through. Once ovulation has occurred and there is no chance of falling pregnant that cycle, the cervix will close and move up. These changes can be felt on a self internal assessment. The cervix will also feel different at different points in the cycle. When you are approaching ovulation the cervix will feel more soft, after ovulation it will feel more firm. On assessment the cervix will feel like the bridge of your nose. Whether the cervix is open or closed can also be felt at the tip, as shown below. If you are using this technique, please make sure you are practicing good hygiene to avoid risk of infection. So if you can feel your cervix and you can feel a small gap or opening, you are approaching ovulation. If you can’t feel the cervix at all or it feels high in the pelvis and the opening is shut, you have already ovulated.
As mentioned at the start, this blog is my interpretation of the symptothermal method and my experience in learning to track my cycle. There are therapists out there who have trained in fertility charting and can support you on an individual basis. Here are some real life examples of what a chart looks like completed.
Lets break this picture down. At the top is space to write if there are any unusual changes on that day eg: late night, alcohol, vaccinations, unwell. Below that is where I write what time I woke up and took my temperature. Menstruation is below and that is where I will draw either long lines (for a moderate- heavy bleed day) or dots (for spotting). Mucous is below that and that is split into sensation and appearance. Sensation examples may be dry, sticky or wet. Appearance examples may be white film, wet lotion, paste, glue, stringy, egg white, You can also describe the colour as yellow, white, brown or clear. You can see I haven’t specifically described the mucous in this month. As I mentioned earlier the more cycles I have had off the pill the more consistent and obvious it gets to me. I go from being dry to having clear, stringy and wet mucous. So now all I do is tick it on the day I see that type of mucous. However in the beginning I was very detailed with my observations, which I recommend. Below there is cervix position and opening which is there if you decide to complete internal checks. Finally at the bottom is space for fertile days and intercourse. This helps a lot for both wanting to plan or avoid a pregnancy. If you have observed fertile mucous that day you would put a F there. Once the three days of high temperatures and no fertile mucous has occurred you would put a F/ to indicate you are not fertile anymore. If you had intercourse that day you would mark it with X. It’s worth putting notes there if the intercourse was unprotected, protected (and how), pulled out, oral ect. On the side is the cycle number since you’ve been tracking, how you took temperatures (O= orally, V= vaginally, R= rectally), earliest first highest temperature in the previous cycle and then a section to -8 days from that. The symptothermal method likes to use a predictor for when you might expect cervical mucous on the next cycle. In this example, my first highest temperature was on day 18 in the previous cycle, -8 is 10. This means from about day 10 I should start to look out for cervical mucous and either be careful (in the case of pregnancy avoidance) or start unprotected sex (in the case of planning a pregnancy). From there you simply chart your temperatures on the graph and join the dots. Once I had a temperature of more than 0.2 than the previous day I marked that with a blue highlighter. You can see all but one temperature was higher than that for the rest of the cycle besides the last day which was when my period started later that day. The ‘M’ means mid cycle pain which refers to ovulation pains and the ‘L’ means it was felt on the left side. If the sensations are there I will mark the days if I experience breast tenderness with a ‘B’ or cramping with a ‘C’. I have developed these abbreviations over the years, you can create your own or follow the recommendations from below. The ‘P’ stands for peak day and this means the last day of fertile mucous which can only be recorded in retrospect. The numbers 1, 2, 3 indicate the three days after peak day where there was no fertile mucous.
This is an example of my cycle the month I was launching this business. I made it pretty clear at the top that it’s all over the place because I was stressed! My cycle was a few days longer than usual but I knew it wasn’t an unplanned pregnancy because I could correlate intercourse with fertile days. You can see (X) which means protected sex as well as PO which means pulled out. My temperatures were all over the place this month and I put that down to stress. You can see there were also more symptoms such as breast tenderness (B) which wasn’t present in the previous cycle.
I am going to share the resources that helped me when I was learning to track my cycle:
Jessie Brebner is a wealth of knowledge in this space and she has so many different forms of education to help.
Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler is the book I have shared with many friends and family. I call it my fertility bible!
Natural & Safe by Sensiplan is a handbook written to help educate on family planing. It has different chart examples from puberty to menopause.
The Optimized Women by Miranda Gray is a book about how to use your menstrual cycle to achieve success and fulfilment. Essentially it shows you how to curate your life around your cycle based on moods, energy, hormones ect.
Roar by Stacy T. Sims is a book about how to match your food and fitness to your female physiology for optimum performance, great health and a strong, lean body for life.
Elyce Wintle and Holly Sinclair are two women who have inspired and educated me through their instagram pages. They share knowledge and personal stories of the menstrual cycle.
I really hope this inspires you to consider charting your own cycle. I am so passionate about educating women on how to do this. Please reach out to bloom.essentials@outlook.com if you want more support.