Charting Ovulation Using Temperature and Cervical Mucus

Many women turn to charting ovulation as they find it difficult to get pregnant naturally within few months. Though there is no guarantee that you will get pregnant when you chart your Basal Body Temperature (BBT) or monitor your cervical mucus, there is a higher chance of you getting pregnant when you know your cycles better.

Now let's see how to chart and detect your ovulation days.

Using the temperature method.

Firstly, you need to purchase a Basal Body Temperature (BBT) thermometer, as this is different from the normal clinical thermometer. If you are using the clinical thermometer, your daily readings will not be accurate and you will not be able to detect your basal temperature. So getting at least one cheap BBT thermometer is a must for charting temperature.

Next, you can use the charts online, as there are some free or paid or trial websites providing online fertility charting softwares. These softwares are quite easy to use. But if you are planning to do it manually in a record journal or book, then you can use a calendar for your charting purpose.

Step 1: Mark on the calendar the first day of your Last Menstrual Period (LMP) as day 1 and the next day as your day 2 and so forth.

Step 2: Always take your temperature the moment you wake up in the morning and before you get up from bed. If you are working odd hours or late in the night, then take your temperature after you sleep for at least 3 to 4 hours. The best is to take the temperature at the same time, everyday, as this will make the reading more accurate. This will also prevent the temperature from fluctuating and giving the wrong reading.

Step 3: Now using the temperature readings taken daily, chart the readings on a graph paper and analyze the pattern of the graph. If you notice a sudden drop in the temperature and it rises the following day quite high, then you will know that you have ovulated on the day your temperature dropped low. It's called a dip in the temperature. But if it drops and rises and drops and rises, then this is not very accurate a reading.

Step 4: Normally you will see your temperature dip during day 11 to anytime within day 18 for a normal 28 to 35 days menstrual cycle.

Step 5: Have sex during these targeted days, to increase your chances of conceiving. Having sex every 2 days is good. Having sex everyday might reduce sperm count. Thus, planning sex at the right time is vital.

Temperatures might fluctuate when you are having high fever or a sore throat. So taking care of your health and exercising enough, is vital.

Using cervical mucus method.

To use the cervical mucus method, you must make sure your hands are very clean, or else you might get infections. Normally after the first day of the last menstrual period, for the next 7 to 10 days the cervical mucus would be dry as the period has just ended. Then for the next 10 to 14 days the cervical mucus would go from wet to watery to sticky (like egg white) and back to watery to wet feeling. Lastly, the next few days will follow up with dry mucus as the body is getting ready for the next period flow to arrive. At times, you might get dry mucus, when you do not drink enough water too.

The best days to try for a baby would be the watery to sticky like egg white and back to watery mucus.

Step 1: Clean your hands and fingernails properly to prevent any infections.

Step 2: Sit in a squatting manner and place 2 fingers into your vagina till you feel a hard part. Then pull your fingers out from your vagina and feel the mucus to see whether it is wet, watery, sticky or dry.

Step 3: Do this method everyday, at the same time. The best time would be in the evening after a shower when you are more relaxed.

Charting and monitoring

You may want to chart your temperature as well as monitor your cervical mucus, which will eventually increase your chances of conceiving. It's always good to monitor for at least 2 to 3 months before you can predict your fertile (ovulating) days. Do not loose hope or solely depend on the charting. Eating healthy and staying fit will be a great combination with the above charting and monitoring methods.