Pregnancy Forums

Posted: 30 December 2006 at 11:35am | IP Logged

I bought the book "Taking Charge of your Fertility" by Toni Weschler MPH about a week ago and it's really interesting.  It's a natural birth control method as well as a method of trying to concieve.

She talks about 3 ways of tracking your cycle that when followed strictly can act at 100% birth control to do this takes accurate recording of your data.  It also shows you the best time of the month to ttc when you are at your peak fertility.

I think the best thing about it is if you followed it 100% then you would never worry about having a late period again because you would know before hand that your period was going to be late because you would know when you ovulated (when a period is late it's because of delayed ovulation not because you are worrying about not having had a period).  You can also tell without a pregnancy test if you are pregnant (of course you would still need to do a pregnancy test to confirm).

It's well written and easy to read interspersed with real clients stories and experiences.

At first I thought it would be really daunting to have to record so much about my body but actually it takes less time than putting a condom on would take.

You record your BBT every morning (she even tells you how to do it if you get a broken nights sleep), you record your cervical fluid and for an optional extra you can record your cervical position but it's not neccessary if you are a bit squeamish or don't fancy that.

There is also some software you can download from the net if you don't want to chart on paper which I have found really useful.

Neither the book or the software are cheap but if it meant you never had to buy condoms again or take the pill with all it's side affects I think it's a worthwhile investment.

My charts are a bit all over the place at the moment as expected after only having a miscarriage 2 weeks ago but I can tell my body now recognises I am not pregnant and is trying to get back to a normal cycle.

I totally recommend this book for any woman wanting to get pregnant or any woman that just wants to know what is going on in her body from day to day.

Posted: 30 December 2006 at 11:46am | IP Logged

how do u measure your cervical fluid...got erm twisted pictures going on in my head at the moment involving a kitchen jug and a ruler at the moment...sorry thats tickled me...how do u do the cervical position..is it a case of right im sat on it...so its pointed south...im stood up...erm still south...heehe fink you can figure out the way my day is going to be lol.

Sounds a good read chick

Posted: 30 December 2006 at 12:06pm | IP Logged

pmsl @ Steph....

She does talk about your cervical fluid stretching when you are fertile so a ruler might be needed, also if you put it in a jug of water and it's fertile it sinks....  I haven't tried this myself lol.

rofl hopefully your cervix points mostly south all the time, north might be a little uncomfortable.  But the height of it changes when you ovulate apparently some people can't even find it as it rises so high and softens.  When you aren't ovulating it lowers right down and should be easy to find and is quite firm also (feels like the tip of your nose), now have visions of Steph in the bathroom one hand on her nose the other routing around for her cervix....

Posted: 31 December 2006 at 1:40pm | IP Logged

According to my charts I ovulated last night Yay!!  I know it's silly to get excited about ovulating but at least it means my body is back to normal after my missed miscarriage and we can start trying again next month.  I guess I have been lucky for things to get back to "normal" so quickly.  If I am right my period should be in 14-16 days time.

Beverley I think you are right in what you are doing if you and your partner are 100% sure of not wanting any other children and you feel that won't change no matter what happens in the future then that is the right decision for you and your family.  You can still chart though if you wanted to as you still ovulate when you have been sterilised the egg just can't go anywhere.

Posted: 31 December 2006 at 2:03pm | IP Logged

   I am sure this is the type of book I should be reading. I am fed up of pumping chemiclas into my body and I am sure as I am getting older they are not doing me much good either.  At my age I don't think I will be having any more kids, I don't think I can put myself through all the worry associated with being pg and over 40 again ( as much as I would like loads more).

   Will def look out this book , it seems to be just what I am looking for.

Posted: 31 December 2006 at 5:23pm | IP Logged

Hi Sam. Ive tried to keep track for months prior my pregnancy and obviously i was an odd ball...prob did it wrong..always took my basal temp every morning at the same time before getting out of bed...i never ovulated during some months...my doc put me on birth control at that time because i not only didnt ovulate and i didnt have my period for several months either...hopefully after the baby is born, my body will resets its functions LOL. Hmmmm, i have the thermometer for this so it wouldnt hurt to retry huh??

Posted: 31 December 2006 at 5:31pm | IP Logged

I think it's a good way to know what's going on in your body too it's quite amasing what our bodies do.  BBT is very good to keep track of as it is the only way to show that you are ovulating without having an ultra sound or blood tests.  Using Ovulation predictor kits doesn't tell you if you are ovulating it only indicates the LH surge without the increase in BBT you don't ovulate.  Also keeping track of your cervical fluid and the position of your cervix gives you a good idea what is going on.

Lina you are right after having your baby your body will reset and your periods very well could become more regular so it's worth keeping track of.