Fertility Signs

It is helpful and important to gauge your peak fertile days to increase your chances of pregnancy. This will enable you to have a better awareness of your body’s functioning, optimize chances of conception, and provide a more accurate timeline of when you should look into taking a pregnancy test. Typically, experts suggest noticing at least one of three primary peak fertility signs: cervical fluid (sometimes named cervical mucus), basal body temperature, and cervical position. Some women choose to monitor all three signs while others find that monitoring just one or two of the signs is adequate for their fertility awareness needs.

The easiest fertility sign to monitor is cervical fluid. Some women mistake vaginal discharge as a sign of infection or another issue. In truth, women’s bodies are specially designed to create some cervical fluid as part of the menstrual cycle and having some being let go between periods is normal and healthy. This discharge is really cervical fluid which plays a vital role in assisting the movement of sperm to the egg. This cervical fluid helps take care of the sperm from the naturally acidic nature of the vagina, and enables the sperm to move easily to the egg. Watching the texture of the cervical fluid can help a woman in identifying her peak fertility time. Cervical fluid texture can be assessed by wiping a tissue or a clean finger across the vaginal opening before urination. Some women trust in looking at fluid left on their underwear, but often it can be tricky to verify the texture.

In the days right after a period, some women will feel several days of dryness. So next, the cervical fluid may feel sticky or tacky and then develops into a creamy texture and may be clear, white colored, or yellow. When the cervical fluid feels thin and slippery, almost like raw egg white wines, this suggests the most fertile time in a woman’s cycle. Having sex during this time can increase chances for pregnancy. In the days soon after the egg white-type cervical fluid a women may experience dryness again until her period comes back unless conception has occurred. It is necessary to check cervical fluid at times when it will not be masked by an specific vaginal infection, semen, arousal fluid, or artificial lubricants. Also, in some cases taking an antihistamine medication can cause vaginal dryness.

Your basal body's temperature (BBT) is your body temperature before any physical activity has occurred. Your temperature must be taken prior to when you get out of bed in the morning. Even getting out of bed to go to the bathroom can influence this temperature and provide you with you with a false reading. It is also important that your temperature is taken together each day. Commonly, women find that their BBT is a relatively low temperature during the earliest part of their cycle, rise slightly as ovulation occurs, then remains at a relatively higher temperature until the next period begins. In case the woman is pregnant, the temperature will stay high past the day when the period should have begun. Because BBT patterns differ widely due to the distinct nature of each woman’s menstrual cycle, it is helpful to refer to well-known sources such as “Taking Charge of Your Fertility” by Toni Weschler. This book goes in to great detail about how to note and understand your BBT, as well as furnishing charts for you to track your temperatures.

Finally, some women choose to monitor their cervical position as a means to increase chances for pregnancy. The cervix is positioned inside a woman’s body at the base of the uterus. By carrying out a non-fertile time the cervix feels firm. As the fertile phase draws near the cervix gets soft in preparation for potential fertilization. To measure the position of the cervix, a woman should squat or put a foot on the edge of your tub, separate vaginal lips with two fingers, then put in a clean finger from the other hand into the vagina. If the cervix feels firm and not wet this is the non-fertile time, and if it feels soft and wet it is a fertile time. Before conducting this self-exam it is important to ensure fingernails are trimmed and hands are thoroughly flushed. Many women feel squeamish about this self-exam, but it can be a helpful tool if the cervical fluid and BBT are confusing.

By choosing at least one of these methods to monitor fertility signs, a couple can significantly increase chances for pregnancy. While the couple should have sex fairly often, paying extra attention to having sex while fertility signs are present can be helpful in realizing your conception ambitions.