Understanding the Fertility Awareness Method
Birth control is the first big responsibility landing in the lap of any girl becoming a woman. It’s pushed on you at school (if your sex education class is even remotely adequate), at the doctor’s office, the health center. I wasn't even sexually active when my doctor put me on the depo provera shot at seventeen. But there I was, getting a shot every three months. It didn’t take long for my body to rebel with acne, weight gain, vaginal pain and dryness and severe mood swings. I never felt right not having a period. So I stopped taking it. And every time I tried to take birth control again throughout my life, I got some combination of similar effects. My hormones have always been very sensitive and I've struggled with keeping them on track. But birth control was just not for me.
Some less than fun facts about hormonal birth control.
- Birth control may encourage us to pick the wrong mate! Genetic information is hidden in our smell, and because birth control tricks a woman’s body into thinking she’s pregnant, women on the pill may be attracted to men who are genetically more similar and therefore associate as family. When they are not on the pill however, women choose men whose smell reveals a difference in MHC genes. This makes for higher sexual compatibility and genetically stronger children!
- The synthetic hormones in birth control trick your pituitary gland into thinking you are pregnant, therefore the feedback loop between your endocrine glands is disrupted and you don’t ovulate. This could lead to fertility problems down the road when the ovaries get “out of practice”
- Often when there is an underlying hormonal imbalance a practitioner will prescribe birth control. However this does not fix the problem, and in fact could exacerbate a deeper issue by masking the symptoms for a period of time.
- The hormones in birth control pills cause increased risk of blood clots, increased risk of cervical and breast cancer, headaches, weight gain, nausea, mood changes and intermittent bleeding.
The irony is all of this is that many of us spend years trying to avoid getting pregnant, and then we spend more time and money trying to make it happen later!
So what are other my birth control options?
Enter fertility awareness method. When done correctly, the success rate of fertility awareness method is over 95%. Why? Because your body doesn’t lie. Before ovulation, your body begins to prepare by changing the ph in the vagina to a more alkaline state and by creating a slippery and viscous fluid, much like egg whites. This allows sperm to survive the normally acidic environment and swim all the way up the vaginal opening to the fallopian tubes, where an egg lays in waiting. Extra estrogen in the body also lowers the body temperature until ovulation occurs when elevated progesterone released by the egg raises body temperature back up. Temperature should remain elevated throughout the rest of your cycle, until it drops again right before menstruation. By tracking changes in cervical mucus and basal body temperature, you’ll get an accurate picture of when you are fertile and when you are not!
This works both for trying to conceive and trying not to, and it’s an amazing way to really get in touch with your body and learn its cycles and rhythms. Ladies, don’t out source your wellness to doctors, no one cares about your health and fertility the way you do. If you notice you aren’t ovulating, and your temperatures are spiking all over the place, there could be a more serious underlying health issue, like polycystic ovarian syndrome. Consistently low temperatures could indicate a thyroid problem, and could be a sign of low progestertone leading to recurrent miscarriages. There are so many things you can learn about your body through practicing the fertility awareness method, and if you are looking for extra support in learning how to do this please contact me for a virtual session.
Even if you aren’t having sex, avoiding pregnancy or trying to conceive, charting your cycle is the only way to really get to know your hormones. The easiest and cheapest way to do this is to pick up a basal body thermometer at any health food store, usually located in the women’s section next to the ovulation kits. Then download an app to record your information in. I think Kindara is the most user friendly and it’s also free. As soon as you start your next menstrual cycle, start tracking, that will be day one of your chart.
Some tips for charting your basal body temperature:
- Wake up around the same time each day and before doing anything else, grab your thermometer.
- Record your bbt and the time in your trusted app.
- When you get up to go to the bathroom, check your cervical mucus. Do you notice a little extra lubrication on the tissue? Better yet, insert your fingers and check internally. This is great reason to get to know your body. Again, you’ll be hip to any changes far before your doctor will, so see if you notice any unusual bumps or changes in mucus that feels unhealthy.
- Record your cervical mucus and any other notes you’d like to keep track of in your app.
-Soon you’ll notice a bi-phasic temperature pattern. It will be lower leading up to ovulation and higher afterwards. You should also notice fertile cerivcal mucus (creamy and then egg-white or watery in the days leading up to ovulation.) After you ovulate mucus dries up and becomes stickier again.
Within a month or two, you’ll get a good idea of when you’re fertile based on the changes in your temperature and cervical fluids. If you want to get pregnant start having sex as soon as you feel that fertile quality mucus, or about five days before and one day after the temperature spike to make sure sperm has a good chance of making it to the egg in time. If you want to avoid pregnancy, use a condom or avoid sex during that time.
Now if you are sick or in a high stress situation, your temperatures may be a little off or you may not ovulate. That is not a sign that you’re broken! Again, your body doesn’t lie, it’s just telling you to slow down, rest and heal before its ready for baby making.
So give it a go, and let me know what you find. This is a fascinating journey to embark on, and I’d love to hear about your experience!
sources:
http://natural-fertility-info.com/birth-control-pill-negatively-impacts-fertility.html
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/birth-control-pills-affect-womens-taste/
https://naturalwomanhood.org/who-tells-truth-effectiveness-fertility-awareness-methods/