What is Fertility Awareness?
“ Combining awareness and education creates a practice we can implement everyday and a set of skills/education we can count on for understanding our bodies and advocating for ourselves when it comes to healthcare and decisions about our health.”
The term Fertility Awareness Method has been floating around more and more. And if you haven’t run into it yet, no worries. I’m here to give you all the details.
Off the bat you might be wondering what it is? Why does it matter? And why should you care? This blog will go over the ins and outs of the Fertility Awareness Method and why it should be a big part of the conversation around period and cycle health. No matter what age or stage you’re at.
Let’s start with the basics.What is Fertility Awareness?
Fertility awareness is a blanket term used to describe a form of body awareness, a set of methods to support conception and contraception, and a way of living. The term Fertility Awareness, can be used interchangeably with the term Body Literacy. Body Literacy is the blending of body awareness and intellectual understanding. Combining awareness and education creates a practice we can implement everyday and a set of skills/education we can count on for understanding our bodies and advocating for ourselves when it comes to healthcare and decisions about our health.
Using the Fertility Awareness Method gets us in touch with our bodies in a new way as we learn to monitor bio markers and track them to create “charts”. Charting helps us keep track of our cycles in an organized, detailed way. We can become aware of even the slightest shifts and changes in the body throughout the day and more importantly throughout the whole menstrual cycle. Fertility Awareness Method is an umbrella term used to describe many different methods ranging from the calendar method to Billings to Symptothermal. These methods all entail using biomarkers to track day to day and use the information to help reach a goal of TTC (trying to conceive) or TTA (trying to avoid).
Biomarkers
The biomarkers you’ll find the most commonly tracked are basal body temperature, cervical fluid/cervical mucus and cervix position. Some methods include tracking each one and some methods only track one biomarker. For example the Billings method only tracks cervical mucus and the Symptothermal method (most similar to the method I teach) tracks both temperature and cervical fluid. As we monitor the changes we see in temperature and fluids throughout each cycle you can accurately identify what we like to call your fertile window. This allows you to apply a set of rules that help you make choices that are aligned with your intention of TTC or TTA. The charts I recommend for keeping track of your information include sections for labeling daily temperatures, daily fluid observations and a fully customizable section to track any other secondary fertility marker, this can range from acne to bloating to spotting. Charts come in both paper and virtual options so you can choose which option fits your lifestyle best. There are also many great options of basal body thermometers that make tracking your temperature easy and something that can fit naturally into your morning routine.
But what makes these biomarkers so important?
Throughout a “textbook” menstrual cycle the female reproductive hormones are a part of a perfectly timed symphony. (I use the term textbook, as there really isn’t such a thing as a “regular” cycle, all cycles come in different lengths and with different variations of biomarker patterns. Textbook refers to an ovulatory cycle around 26-29 days. Fertility Awareness lets us celebrate and understand all of the cycle variations we see) As the hormone levels fluctuate they affect the female body in a way that creates temperature shifts, changes in fluid/discharge production and changes mentally/emotionally including but not limited to, moods, energy and libido. A great way to think of this is thinking of the menstrual cycle as similar to the lunar cycle. Day to day it is changing and shifting with different energy levels, different light. The whole female body changes as the cycle progresses. Embodying the Fertility Awareness lifestyle allows those who practice to live in tune with those shifts and have awareness around the changes they may experience as their bodies ovulate and eventually bleed. Using a fertility awareness method is how you can track and chart those shifts and changes as they happen in real time.
What can the biomarkers tell us?
Tracking the menstrual cycle using fertility awareness method techniques not only assists in goals around pregnancy but can also be used for general health and hormone tracking. Our basal body temperature and cervical fluid can clue us in on where there may be dysfunction in the body and how optimal our hormonal health is. It allows us to track ovulation patterns and easily determine cycle length and the length of the different phases of the menstrual cycle.
Okay, so we know what FAM is, but why does it all matter? Why should we care and tell our friends, family and strangers about fertility awareness?Backing up to the beginning of the article when I mentioned that FAM is a natural, effective form of hormone free birth control. Using some Fertility Awareness methods, let’s focus on the Symptothermal Method for now, is just as effective as using the pill and other hormonal birth control options. So, say goodbye to those side effects, low libido, depression and say hello to a beautiful way of getting to know yourself, your body and avoiding pregnancy all at the same time! This is a game changer for those who are negatively affected by hormonal birth control. Thousands of women’s health has been impacted from birth control and they’ve been left feeling like there isn’t a safe, effective option for them. Learning and understanding the Fertility Awareness Method brings hope and opportunity to so many women’s lives by providing them an option for effective birth control. Now I know many women are stoked with their current method of birth control and that is amazing and I will always support that. In fact, I’m here to help you make the right choice for birth control no matter what that is. But we have to start acknowledging that FAM is an excellent choice for many and it should be listed in the doctor’s offices among all other methods.
There are many misconceptions about the Fertility Awareness Method and its efficacy. The lack of education and conversation around this method is why it hasn’t been openly talked about in the past. It can also be commonly confused with the Rhythm Method, which indeed falls under the FAM umbrella, however the Rhythm Method is a highly ineffective contraceptive method.
The Fertility Awareness Method is about more than contraception, it’s about education.
We’ve been taught in all of our reproductive health education that the period is the main event of the menstrual cycle. However when diving into charting and gaining deeper understanding of the menstrual cycle, we get an opportunity to learn that ovulation is really the main event of the menstrual cycle, not the period bleed. And just because you’re getting a “regular” period doesn’t mean that you’re “regularly” ovulating. Without ovulation the “menstrual cycle” looks a little bit different, in fact it could be a sign that something is off hormonally or with another system of the body. Ovulating is what gives the female body the proper dose of hormones and the benefits that come with them. Sign up for my course to get all the info about ovulation and hormones.
Arguably the most important part of charting your cycle using a FAM method is you can identify and understand when you are fertile. Fertile meaning when you are able to get pregnant. You can only get pregnant in a very small window of your cycle, about 5-7 days. Charting shows us very clearly when that window is. And to accurately mark this fertile window increases the efficacy of the method for conception and contraception and for that reason I highly recommend my course or working 1:1 with me; to increase the likelihood of you reaching your goals.
Aside from FAM for avoiding or achieving pregnancy, charting can be a huge asset in monitoring overall health. We get to see how stress, alcohol or being sick affects your cycle and hormones. All of the information from our charts helps us see if we are having dysfunction in another system of our body, including digestion, thyroid and adrenals. This is a huge advantage in health care and making decisions about your health. Having a chart from tracking biomarkers gives you the inside scoop on what your body needs and where it needs support.
Let’s Wrap it Up
I think that all women/menstruators should be taught how to chart from the minute they get their first period. Again, it is information we all have a right to, no matter what we choose to do with it. It matters because it can help many women avoid the heartache of not being able to conceive. It can help the women that are beside themselves with side effects from birth control to have a fulfilling, low risk sex life. It can be used as a tool to find out where your mystery symptoms are coming from. It is a way to rebuild the relationship with our cycles and start to cultivate more love and compassion for ourselves and what it means to be a cyclic being.
As we start to spread this information we are taking back the power of menstrual cycles. We become empowered and knowledgeable about our bodies. What kind of fuel they need, how they get pregnant, when they can get pregnant and how to support ourselves hormonally. Because let’s be honest, there is a huge increase in hormonal imbalance based issues. While there are many many reasons for this, one reason is the extended use of hormonal contraception. The Fertility Awareness Method gives women an option.
There are seasons in life when hormonal contraception isn’t needed. Maybe you’re not sexually active or maybe you’re only taking it for irregular cycles and PMS. Well, in that case, I have a secret for you. And I won't go into it too deep here because it warrants its own blog post. But generally speaking taking birth control to manage symptoms only masks the problem and doesn't solve it. In fact, using the fertility awareness method to track and chart your irregular cycles or symptoms can help you identify the source and root of the dysfunction. As Lisa Hendrickson-Jack puts it so nicely in her book, the 5th Vital Sign. The menstrual cycle really is the 5th vital sign of the female body! It can give those with periods huge insight to their overall health just as a pulse or blood pressure would. Reproduction is our body’s last priority and if we have dysfunction in the body it will allocate resources to support the struggling system instead of the reproductive system. And in the end we might not be ovulating regularly, have painful periods or not be getting one at all! By tracking cervical fluid and basal body temperature you get a clue as to which system may be the one struggling.
The Fertility Awareness Method lets us live aligned with our cycles. Ebbing and flowing like the moon, this allows humans to go back to their natural state. While hormonal birth control has many great purposes and has helped thousands of women, we can no longer deny the harmful effect it is having on us. It’s disrupting the natural hormonal process in our body, causing hormone imbalance and causing women to struggle with their hormones after prolonged use. Not to mention the endless side effects that can come with it raging from weight gain to depression and suicidal thoughts.
I’m here to spread awareness that hormonal birth control isn't the only effective way to prevent pregnancy and that wellness can’t exist without acknowledging your cycle. Because we all know being able to choose when we are ready to have a baby is a non-negotiable right and it’s time to ditch the belief that you have to be miserable during your periods.
There is always another way and I hope to inspire women how to take charge and take control of their bodies once again. Having a period is critical to women’s health and we have ignored that for long enough. The Fertility Awareness Method is here to support you no matter what your health goals are. If you’re interested in learning more or looking to heal your period pain or make a transition off your hormonal birth control follow the link to book a free 15 minute consult!
I can’t wait to hear from you!
Biomarker- a defined characteristic that is measured as an indicator of normal biological processes
Charting- refers to the process of marking basal body temp shifts and cervical fluid changes on a chart
