Re: Ovulation question

[Guest guest]

my first suggestion is to buy, rent or borrow the book by Toni

Weschler called, " Taking Charge Of Your Fertility "

the following is from her website: http://www.tcoyf.com

The Clues to Fertility

Summary: Menstruation, cervical fluid, and waking temperature are the

primary clues to determining fertility. Cervix position and texture

is used as a means of corroborating the temperature and cervical

fluid signs.

Menstruation, or menses, marks the beginning of a new cycle and its

onset is a positive sign of the pre-ovulation low fertility phase

( " Phase 1 " ). In many cases, FAM relies on the accurate recording of

the menstruation start date to properly compute the arrival of the

pre-ovulatory fertile phase " Phase 2 " ).

Cervical fluid is secreted by the woman's body before ovulation to

improve the sperms' chances for survival and of reaching the ovum.

Due to the timing of its secretion, it can be used to interpret the

onset of fertility. The complete absence of cervical fluid is a

strong indicator of infertility.

Body temperature rises and falls in a consistent pattern. Ovulation

causes your temperature to remain elevated for about two weeks. FAM

looks for this rise to determine when post-ovulation infertility

begins.

The cervix is the muscular opening of the uterus. With the approach

of ovulation it becomes softer, opens, and raises its position

relative to the uterus. At infertile times it is low, closed and

firm. Currently, Ovusoft and FAM do not make use of this sign

directly in calculating fertility, but users may track it for cross-

reference purposes.

There are a number of different clues to show where a woman is in her

fertility cycle, ie. which " phase " of fertility she is in. Ovusoft

utilizes three primary ones: menstruation (menses), cervical fluid,

and waking temperature (also known as basal body temperature or BBT).

The characteristics of the cervix are a fourth sign that some users

of FAM rely on to corroborate the first three. (Ovusoft permits you

to track the characteristics of the cervix, but it is informational

only and not used in any calculations.)

As an absolute minimum in the practice of fertility awareness, you

only need to keep track of two of the four listed above: menstruation

and temperature. Cervical fluid provides an added bonus in that it

defines the onset of fertility, whereas temperature only indicates

when ovulation has already taken place, perhaps too late to be of

much use in achieving pregnancy. When used together, however,

temperature and cervical fluid help you identify your fertile period

with a high degree of accuracy.

The First Clue: Menstruation

While many people regard menstruation as the start of a new cycle, as

does FAM, it is actually the end of the previous cycle. Why do we say

this?

Menstruation is the process of shedding the endometrium (lining of

the uterus) that had built up during the previous menstrual cycle.

Therefore, it truly is the end of the previous cycle. Because it is

so easy to identify, however, it has become symbolic of the start of

another " period " and is used as such in Ovusoft and FAM, as well.

The endometrium is a lining of tissue on the walls of the uterus that

builds up before ovulation in anticipation of the implantation of a

fertilized egg. If the egg is not fertilized, it does not implant and

roughly two weeks later the built-up tissue is sloughed off. The

uterus will build it up again in the new cycle in preparation for the

next ovulation.

The Second Clue: Cervical Fluid

Cervical fluid is an important sign in fertility awareness. The

woman's body begins to secrete estrogen shortly after menstruation,

which causes glands around the cervix to secrete cervical fluid. As

ovulation approaches, the amount of estrogen builds, causing the body

to secrete even more fluid. The increased levels of estrogen also

make the cervical fluid stretchy and clear.

As the level of estrogen builds, another hormone, called lutein, is

released. Lutein causes the ovaries to release the ovum. The estrogen

levels decrease somewhat after ovulation, causing the cervical fluid

to dry up. This drying up process normally starts on or just after

the day of ovulation.

Cervical fluid has several purposes in the area of human

reproduction. First, it performs a lubricating function during sexual

relations. Secondly, but more importantly, it provides a friendly

environment for the survival of sperm after sexual relations have

taken place. Without this environment, sperm would live no longer

than several hours and would be literally stopped dead in their

tracks, unable to move, unable to fertilize the waiting ovum. In the

presence of cervical fluid, sperm are provided with both nutrients

and a conduit for movement and may live up to five days in such an

environment. Therefore, in addition to providing a pathway to the

ovum, cervical fluid widens the fertility window beyond the daylong

life span of the average ovum and hours-long life span of the average

sperm. Sexual relations taking place several days before ovulation

may still result in conception due to the increased viability of the

sperm in the presence of fertile-quality cervical fluid.

Cervical fluid is therefore a positive sign that fertility is

increasing and may be used as such in fertility awareness. For

pregnancy achievers, it provides an excellent pre-ovulation

indicator, whereas temperature alone can only predict ovulation after

the fact.

Cervical fluid may be observed directly, in which case you might

notice the following qualities:

Sticky – A less fertile-type of fluid, not very conducive to

supporting either sperm motility or lifespan. This may correspond to

a Moist vaginal sensation.

Creamy – A lotion-like type of fluid, which can support sperm for

longer periods than the sticky-quality type. This may correspond to a

Wet vaginal sensation.

Eggwhite – The most fertile quality cervical fluid, it is clear,

stretchy, and slippery. This type of cervical fluid resembles raw

eggwhite, hence the descriptive name. This may correspond to a

Lubricative vaginal sensation.

For a detailed explanation of how to observe and tell the difference

between the types of cervical fluid and vaginal sensations, please

refer to Taking Charge of Your Fertility, page 78.

The Third Clue: Waking Temperature

Temperature, or more accurately, waking / basal body temperature, is

another one of the body's measurements that changes in regular

cycles. " Basal " body temperature simply means the temperature of your

body at rest.

Your body temperature is not a consistent 98.6° F / 37° C as most

people think. These figures are the body's normal high temperature

during waking hours. After going to sleep at night, your body

temperature gradually drops, reaching its lowest point in the early

morning. As you get closer to your waking hours, your metabolism

picks up again, raising your body temperature ever so gradually, and

the cycle is repeated. The scale of the drop and rise of body

temperature can differ from person to person, (although it is

normally about 0.1° F / 0.05° C) but all people experience it to some

extent or another.

When a woman ovulates, the follicle containing the ovum ruptures,

releasing the egg and the hormone progesterone into the body. This

hormone has several effects, for our purposes not the least of which

is the raising of the basal body temperature. This increase in

temperature is significant and detectable, as it typically is about

0.2 to 0.4° Fahrenheit / 0.1 to 0.2° Celsius over the course of

several days. To detect this change, you will need a basal

thermometer, available from most pharmacies. A standard fever

thermometer is not accurate enough for our purposes here, as even a

change of 0.1° F / 0.05° C is important. Therefore, an important

first step in the practice of FAM is to buy a basal thermometer.

FAM looks for three temperatures that rise at least 0.2° F / 0.1° C

above the high of the previous six temperatures. A " coverline " is

drawn 0.1° F / 0.05° C above the highest of these six temperatures

and when three successive temperatures are above this line, a thermal

shift is identified and there's a good chance that ovulation has

already occurred. (This is a simplification of the identification of

the coverline; please refer to Taking Charge of Your Fertility or the

glossary for more a more detailed explanation of calculating a

coverline and identifying various thermal shift conditions.)

The temperature sign gives us a great, but late, clue that ovulation

has occurred and helps to pinpoint the actual date. That's why it is

so important to use cervical fluid in conjunction with temperature in

the practice of Fertility Awareness if pregnancy is your goal --

together they identify when you are fertile and when ovulation has

already occurred.

The Fourth Clue: Characteristics of the Cervix

The opening of the uterus is a thick muscle known as the cervix. As

ovulation approaches, the same hormones that cause cervical fluid to

be secreted also cause changes in the position, texture, and opening

of the cervix.

During infertile periods (Phase 1 and 3), the cervix is low, firm and

closed (during Phase 3, it is closed tightly). It is so low that it

is fairly easy to reach for observation purposes. As fertility

increases, the cervix rises in position, becomes softer, and starts

to open. At peak fertility, the opening of the cervix is about 15 mm

wide.

These changes make it easier for sperm to reach the ovum -- if the

cervix didn't open, conception wouldn't take place. If the cervix

didn't close tightly after ovulation, the uterus and fertilized egg

could become infected. The cervix has to open somewhat at

menstruation to allow the endometrium to be shed.

Its use in fertility awareness is primarily as an additional sign

when temperature and cervical fluid do not define by themselves when

post-ovulation infertility has begun.

[Guest guest]

Here are some sites that may be some help, along with a ovulation kit

http://www.fertilityfriend.com/

http://ovulation-calculator.com/

there are other sites as well but i couldnt find them do a search

for free online fertility calculator, that should pull up some sites

for you to check out...also monitor your mucus ..good luck

>

>

> Hi Everyone,

> How can you tell when you are going to ovulate? I have had a

couple of

> people tell me different ways of calculating and I am not sure

which is

> correct.......I thought I was planning the right time- now I find

out

> that the weekend I planned for this by one calculation could

actually be

> the wrong weekend and of course as timing will have it, I will be

out of

> town when I calulated it the other way. So.....is there more then

one

> way to calculate? does it work different with different people?

[Guest guest]

I also look at my mucous and see what it appears like. Egg white mucous or

not. When the mucous changes I am ovulating.

Rasley

mailto: drasley@...

BTC, Columbus, 10/7/98

Ovulation question

>

>

> Hi Everyone,

> How can you tell when you are going to ovulate? I have had a couple of

> people tell me different ways of calculating and I am not sure which is

> correct.......I thought I was planning the right time- now I find out

> that the weekend I planned for this by one calculation could actually be

> the wrong weekend and of course as timing will have it, I will be out of

> town when I calulated it the other way. So.....is there more then one

> way to calculate? does it work different with different people?

>

>

>

>

>

> Children are a blessing, and a gift from the Lord. -Psalm 127:3

>

[Guest guest]

It also depends on how long your cycles are. If they are irregular, then it

would be hard to tell. But, a woman with regular cycles would typically ovulate

14 days after the first day of her last period. My cycles were 32 days so my

OBGYN told me that I would ovulate around day 16. I also went to some of the

websites with ovulation predictors, and they came up with the same dates. Also,

from what I've read, you should try to have intercourse 12-36 hours before you

ovulate.

Best wishes!

RNY 12/11/01 -137

EDD#3 10/07/04

[Guest guest]

It also depends on how long your cycles are. If they are irregular, then it

would be hard to tell. But, a woman with regular cycles would typically ovulate

14 days after the first day of her last period. My cycles were 32 days so my

OBGYN told me that I would ovulate around day 16. I also went to some of the

websites with ovulation predictors, and they came up with the same dates. Also,

from what I've read, you should try to have intercourse 12-36 hours before you

ovulate.

Best wishes!

RNY 12/11/01 -137

EDD#3 10/07/04