Healing Your Hormones With Fertility Awareness
One misconception about fertility awareness is that it only works for regular cycles. This isn't true! FAM works with all kinds of cycles, including irregular cycles. However, there are a few things I wish I knew when I first started charting in terms of using FAM in longer or irregular cycles.
Do I have irregular cycles?
The term “irregular cycle” is ambiguous. With FEMM standards it means a cycle shorter than 24 days or longer than 36 days. However, it’s more than just cycle length. Your luteal phase length and whether you ovulate regularly also factor into whether a cycle is “regular.” So in addition to cycle length, you want to see cycles where you are ovulating regularly and with a luteal phase of 11 days or longer.
One thing to note is that we’re humans, not machines! So just because you don’t have a 28 day cycle every single month does not mean there is anything wrong with you. It’s normal to have a variation, and even to see a blip when you’re in a stressful season of life. But if your cycles trend towards frequently being outside of the normal range, it might be cause to get some hormone testing done.
Some possible causes of irregular cycles
Irregular cycles can be due to a host of different causes. Some common reasons you might be experiencing irregularity are:
PCOS
post-hormonal birth control
breastfeeding
life stress
perimenopause
Charting your biomarkers during an irregular cycle can help you diagnose or offer clues as to the root cause of the cycle irregularity. Having all this info can be super helpful if you're working with a healthcare practitioner, for example. Tracking will also help you trace any changes in your chart as you make lifestyle changes.
Ok, but how can FAM work with irregular cycles?
Fertility awareness determines your fertile window through observing your biomarkers every day. This means that FAM captures where you are in your cycle and your daily changing fertility. FAM is unlike the rhythm method - which relies on the notion that everyone has a 28 day cycle and ovulates on day 14.
Charting your cycles with FAM when you experience irregular cycles is incredibly helpful. You will be able to identify whether you're ovulating or not, and where you are in your cycle relative to ovulation. No more fearing that you might be pregnant when you're experiencing a long-ass cycle.
If you’re wanting to use FAM to avoid pregnancy, take note.
Double-check symptothermal fertility awareness methods determine the opening of your fertile window with cervical mucus AND a calculation rule. A calculation rule is a way of using past cycle data as a double-check alongside cervical mucus to open the fertile window. This is a backup measure in some methods to have another insurance policy in place beyond only cervical mucus to open your fertile window. It adds extra security for those who are strictly TTA. Always keep in mind that with a double-check method, cervical mucus will always ‘trump’ a calculation rule.
If you are waiting for ovulation, you're in a long pre-ovulatory phase. This means that if you're using a symptothermal double check method you'll simply be relying on barrier methods or alternative sex for longer than if you were experiencing a short or regular length pre-ovulatory phase.