What happens when ovulation is delayed?

Ovulation can be delayed by many things - stress, weight loss, sickness, travel, even wedding planning! For women who don't chart, the most noticed symptom of delayed ovulation is an extra long cycle - often leading to confusion over why a period is late when pregnancy tests are negative.

Preparing for Pregnancy: Getting Fit

We all know that exercise is good for us, but I sometimes forget how great it really is! NaturalGuy and I want to live to see our great-grandchildren, and while nothing can guarantee good health, staying active is the closest thing we have to a magic bullet.

5 False Assumptions About NFP

1. Assumption: NFP doesn't work - it's one quick trip to pregnancy.

Truth: All modern NFP methods - Billings, Creighton, and SymptoThermal -are highly effective. Like 98+% when used by highly motivated couples effective. In one German study, the sympto-thermal method was 99.4% effective for couples avoiding pregnancy.

2. Assumption: Only crazy religious Catholics use NFP.

Truth: Many NFP resources are Catholic because of Church teachings encouraging it's use, but NFP practitioners come from many religions. In fact, "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" is an entirely secular guide to charting, and many women use FAM for purely secular reasons. (TL/DR: Crazy health/eco conscious couples use NFP/FAM too!)

3. Assumption: If you don't use artificial birth control, you will have 20 kids just like the Duggers.

Cervical Fluid Photo Diary

When I first started charting, I found  classifying cervical fluid to be difficult. I found it incredibly useful to take photos of what I was seeing - then I could compare days more easily after the fact, or even ask our instructing couple for their opinion. I haven't taken photos in a couple months, but think it was a great trick for learning. Also, I think it would make a great add-on to most charting apps.

These photos span from day 9 to day 16 of the cycle. Day 1-6 were menstruation and days 7 and 8 were dry with no observed mucus, so nothing to photograph. Days 17-20 were the same very stretchy mucus as day 16. First day of drying up and temperature rise was day 21.

A note on terminology: We use the CCL classifications for sensation and cervical fluid. The sensation descriptions are dry, moist, wet, and wet/slippery. The cervical fluid descriptions are none, tacky, and stretchy/watery.

Day 9 - Dry, Tacky
Small amount of yellow/redish mucus.
Rubber cement texture.

Happy Belated NFP Awareness Week!

I've been traveling and haven't had nearly enough time lately, but wanted to share two of the great NFP videos I saw last week for NFP Awareness Week.

How many kids could we have? (Or, "Why I'm impressed with the Duggers")

In my last post I mentioned that NaturalGuy and I have a great deal of confidence that we couldn't have 20 kids if we tried. I thought I'd share our math.

We're young - 23. The average age women reach menopause, defined as a full year without menstruation, is 51, and almost all women reach menopause by 55. It's worth noting that fertility declines significantly before this. But, let's be generous and assume I'll have 30 fertile years.

What is missing from sex ed? Fertility Misconceptions.

NaturalGuy and I have had interesting conversations lately - in which we've had to inform very well-educated friends, friends who have taken college-level biology, of some of the basic facts of how human reproduction works. Now, if I were talking about the details of fertility, I would be more understanding - but we're talking basics. For example

1. Women are not fertile all the time. For the majority of their natural cycles, women are not capable of getting pregnant.
2. Women are not fertile forever. It is not unusual for women over 35 have trouble conceiving and by their early 40's many women can't achieve pregnancy. Later pregnancies come with greater risk to the mother and child.
3. Breastfeeding reduces fertility, especially if it is ecological breastfeeding.