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fertility / ovulation tracking
What Is Fertility Tracking?
If you’re looking for help to conceive naturally, a good first step is fertility tracking, also known as ovulation cycle tracking, Simply put, ovulation tracking is a simple process that can help identify which days a woman’s body is most fertile, making it easier to time sex for the best chance of conception. During the first half of a female’s IVF cycle, eggs and their covering (known as a follicles) develop on the ovaries. The body selects the strongest egg to growson to maturity at about the size of 20mm in diameter. This triggers a surge of Luteinizing Hormone or LH, to be released from the pituitary gland in the brain. This hormone surge causes the final maturation and release of the egg which takes place roughly 24 hours prior to ovulation. There are a number of methods to track these events so sex can be timed accordingly for optimal chance of conception. The most fertile time in your menstrual cycle are the days leading up to ovulation, before the egg is released from the ovary. After ovulation, the egg survives for just 24 hours, while sperm survive for two to five days in woman’s fallopian tubes. For this reason, it is recommended to have sex every two days in the lead up to ovulation so sperm are ready and waiting for the egg to be released..
Body Temperature
Before ovulation, a woman's basal body temperature ranges between 36.1°C and 36.4°C. Your body temperature dips slightly just before the body releases and egg. After ovulation, your temperature rises to between 36.4°C and 37°C. Following ovulation, a rise in temperature that last for 18 days or more may be an early indicator of pregnancy.
Fertility tracking with the temperature method is popular as it is inexpensive and non-invasive. This method requires you to record your basal body temperature, meaning when you’re fully at rest. For this reason, it is best to check your temperature when you first wake up each morning, at the same time each day, after three hours of uninterrupted sleep. Use a digital oral thermometer or one designed specifically designed to track your basal body temperature and track your temperature readings. You can print our fertility tracking chart to record your results. You’re most fertile about two days before your basal body temperature rises. The basal body temperature method is often combined with the cervical mucus method.
Cervical Mucus
After your period finishes, your cervical mucus will be dry. It then begins to transform to a white or yellow sticky like paste. It then turns to a creamy smooth consistency, like yoghurt. Next, cervical mucus turns wet, watery and clear in colour. Then as your estrogen levels peak in the lead up to ovulation, it is slippery and stretchy, resembling raw egg whites. This wet, slippery discharge makes it easier for sperm to swim up the vagina and into the uterus to meet an egg. Sex at this time increases your chances of getting pregnant. If you’re finding your cervical mucus never reaches this fertile stage, there are a range of sperm friendly lubricants that can help Dad-to-be’s sperm swim to their goal.
Saliva Ferning Test
This is a home-use test kit to predict ovulation by looking at patterns formed by your saliva. When your estrogen increases near your time of ovulation, your dried saliva may form a fern-shaped pattern. In this test, you get a small microscope with built-in or removable slides. You put some of your saliva on the slide, allow it to dry, then look at the pattern it makes. You may see dots, circles, a partial or full fern, depending on where you are in your monthly cycle. Best ferning results will ben seen when you use the test within the 5-day period around expected ovulation. This includes the 2 days before and after ovulation