Avoid these mistakes when you're learning Fertility Awareness
Fertility awareness is becoming increasingly popular as a method of natural birth control, and for good reason. It allows women and menstruators to better understand their bodies, identify their fertile window, and use this information to either achieve or avoid pregnancy. However, there are some common pitfalls when you’re in the learning phase of fertility awareness. In this blog post, we'll dive into the most common mistakes that people make when switching to fertility awareness and how to avoid them!
Mistake 1: Only Using BBT as a Biomarker
Basal body temperature (BBT) is the most common biomarker used in fertility awareness. It involves taking your temperature first thing in the morning before getting out of bed and tracking it over time. Your temperature rises after ovulation due to the increase in progesterone, so by tracking your BBT, you can identify when you've ovulated and when your fertile window has closed.
However, relying solely on BBT as a biomarker can be a mistake. Temperature is a retroactive sign of ovulation, which means that by the time your temperature rises, ovulation has already occurred. This can make it difficult to accurately predict your fertile window.
To overcome this challenge, it's recommended to pair BBT with an estrogen sign like cervical mucus. Cervical mucus changes throughout your cycle, becoming thin, slippery, and stretchy around ovulation. By tracking these changes in conjunction with your BBT, you can get a more accurate picture of when you're fertile.
Mistake 2: Mixing Methods
Fertility awareness is based on the science of tracking biomarkers to identify your fertile window. However, there are several different methods of fertility awareness, such as symptothermal methods, cervical mucus only methods, and symptohormonal methods. While these methods all rely on the same science, they execute things a little differently.
For example, the symptothermal method involves tracking multiple biomarkers, including BBT and cervical mucus. Cervical mucus only methods focuses solely on tracking changes in cervical mucus. And symptohormonal methods incorporate hormone testing along with cervical mucus and sometimes basal body temperature.
While it might seem like you could mix and match these methods, it's not recommended. Each method has its own set of rules and guidelines for a reason. Stick with one method until you're comfortable with it before trying to incorporate additional biomarkers or learn a new method, for maximum efficacy.
Mistake 3: Taking Known Risks
Fertility awareness is only as effective as the methods you use during your fertile window. For example, if you’re having sex in the fertile window with a condom, and the condom breaks, you rely on the efficacy of a condom because the risk of pregnancy is high in that time of the cycle.
Using fertility awareness effectively means that your behaviour matches your fertility intentions. It’s important for your partner to be on board too, so there are no miscommunications in the fertile window, when the risk of pregnancy is high!
In addition to the above mistakes, there are a few more common pitfalls that people fall into when switching to fertility awareness:
Not tracking consistently: Fertility awareness requires consistent tracking of your biomarkers over time. If you're not consistent with your tracking, you’ll miss important data to help identify your fertile window. Try your best to chart consistently. If you forget to record your data one day, just try again tomorrow.
Not seeking guidance from a fertility awareness educator: While fertility awareness is a natural method of birth control, it's still important to seek professional guidance when learning how to use it. A fertility awareness educator can understand the method, answer your questions, and troubleshoot any issues you might encounter, especially if you have an irregular cycle, are in perimenopause or postpartum.
Expecting immediate results: Fertility awareness takes time and effort to learn and use effectively. It's important to have patience and to be consistent with your tracking. Don't expect immediate results or a perfect cycle right away. Give yourself time to learn and practice the method.
Fertility awareness can be a powerful tool for people who want to better understand their bodies and take control of their reproductive health.
By avoiding these mistakes, you can increase the effectiveness of fertility awareness and use it to successfully achieve your reproductive goals. Remember to be consistent with your tracking, seek out support from an educator if you have questions, and always use a backup method during your fertile window if you’re avoiding.
Fertility awareness can be a valuable addition to your reproductive health toolkit, but it's not for everyone. If you're considering using fertility awareness as a method of birth control, be sure to do your research, decision make with your partner, and determine if it's the right choice for you. With the right education and support, fertility awareness can be a safe and effective way to take control of your reproductive health!
Working with a fertility awareness educator can expedite the learning process! Learn more about my fertility awareness course, Cycle Love.