Pregnancy Ovulation Calendar – Pros and Cons

When you were younger, you probably thought that frequent sex and the law of averages would be enough to get pregnant. Unfortunately, conceiving is a bit more complicated than that, especially for couples with fertility issues. Although sperm can live for up to three days in the uterus, a mature egg will only last 24 to 48 hours. Timing intercourse around ovulation, or your most fertile days, is the key to conceiving. You can predict this short window of fertility by using a pregnancy ovulation calendar and basal thermometer to keep track of your fertile days. Although this is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to make your fertile days count, the calendar method has its drawbacks.

Con: Takes months for a pattern to emerge

For most women, recording your Basal Body Temperature (BBT) with a calendar can only provide useful information if you have been tracking your cycle for the past six to twelve months. The fewer cycles that are recorded, the less accurate the data will be. Women with very irregular menstrual cycles may also have trouble using this method to predict ovulation. Variations in cycle length make it more difficult to estimate the length of the luteal phase, making it difficult to accurately determine fertile days. However, if your cycle runs like clockwork, you can be pretty sure when your fertile days will occur after you’ve been monitoring for about two to three months.

Con: Takes away the spontaneity of sex.

One of the biggest problems couples trying to conceive face is that sometimes scheduled sex can take away from some of the fun and excitement; frustration when months or years have passed and conception has not occurred can make intercourse less satisfying. It’s important to keep the lines of communication open with your partner during these difficult times and find creative ways that work for both of you to recapture the romance and passion of lovemaking, despite your focus on getting pregnant.

Con: You can only confirm ovulation after it occurs

The biggest drawback of predicting ovulation with a BBT chart is that it does not give advance warning of ovulation. It only tells you that you ovulated after it happens. Your BBT rises by at least 0.4 degrees when you ovulate, but by the time you notice this change, you may have already missed your fertile window. After you’ve done at least six charts, you should be able to spot a pattern that can help you predict your Peak Fertility. But for those who don’t want to wait, they can use an ovulation predictor kit to determine ovulation. An ovulation predictor kit is a urine test that detects a rise in luteinizing hormone, the sex hormone that triggers the release of a mature egg. Levels of this hormone typically rise a day or two before ovulation, and a kit can detect these changes so you can time intercourse accordingly.

Pro: Provides valuable information about your cycle

The standard menstrual cycle should last about 28 days, but the regularity and length of menstrual cycles varies from woman to woman. An ovulation calendar is a useful tool that can track the regularity of your cycle and the general pattern of fertility in your cycle. Your doctor can also get a lot of valuable information from your ovulation calendar data and use it to identify potential problems with your fertility. For example, it’s normal to have an occasional missed period or an irregular cycle, but cycles that consistently last longer than 45 days are something to worry about. Irregular periods are often a symptom of ovulation problems such as polycystic ovary syndrome. Your doctor can also use your BBT chart to determine if you ovulate regularly or if ovulation is present.

Pro: Cheap and easy to use

You can create your own ovulation calendar by taking your basal body temperature every morning and entering this data into an Excel spreadsheet or free BBT chart from the internet. Start recording your BBT on the first day of your period. Take your basal body temperature as soon as you wake up, at the same time every morning. Be sure to keep your basal thermometer by your bedside; getting up and looking for it can cause a change in its temperature. Enter the date on your chart or Excel spreadsheet and write your temperature below that date. The normal preovulatory temperature range varies, but is generally between 96 and 98 degrees Fahrenheit. You will know if you have ovulated when your temperature rises at least 0.4 degrees for three consecutive days. Some women experience a drop in temperature before this rise, but this is not a reliable way of knowing whether or not you have ovulated. After several cycles of tracking your BBT, a pattern should emerge and you should be able to make fairly accurate predictions about when your ovulation begins.

It is best used with other prediction methods.

Although an ovulation calendar can provide a lot of useful information about your cycle for both you and your doctor, couples would be better off not using this method just to determine a woman’s fertile days when trying to get pregnant. As mentioned above, BBT can only predict ovulation after the fact. Another method you can use in conjunction with BBT is tracking your cervical mucus. On the least fertile days, cervical mucus is sticky and thin. As the date of ovulation approaches, the increase in estrogen causes changes in the cervical mucus. During your fertile days, your vaginal discharge takes on the consistency of raw egg whites. Your peak fertility is usually the last day you notice such a discharge. For an even more accurate prediction, use an ovulation predictor kit mid-cycle, as soon as you notice the change in cervical mucus.