How to Create An Ovulation Calendar For Irregular Menstrual Cycles

An ovulation calendar helps you determine when you ovulate (your most fertile time of the month) so that you can achieve pregnancy. A traditional ovulation calendar involves using a chart or calendar to track the days of your menstrual cycle. However, for women with irregular or atypical menstrual cycles this method may or may not accurately determine a date of ovulation. For best results, women with irregular cycles need to use information obtained from additional fertility awareness methods to create a more detailed ovulation calendar.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. CALENDAR METHOD. Start using a chart or calendar to track the days of your menstrual cycle. After that, add up the number of days in each cycle. Now subtract 14 days from the length of your shortest and longest cycle. Example: Let’s say your shortest cycle was 24 days and your longest was 29. This gives us 10 (24-14) and 15 (29-14). Based on the assumption that you ovulate 14 days before your next menstrual period we will say that your date of ovulation is between cycle day 10 and cycle day 15.

2. BASAL BODY TEMPERATURE METHOD. Tracking your Basal Body Temperature (BBT) is a great way to tell when you have ovulated, but it can’t predict ovulation. Your Basal Body Temperature is your body temperature first thing in the morning before rising, moving about, eating or even speaking! The general rule is that ovulation has taken place when your temperature rises .2 degrees higher than any temperature from the previous 6 days, and it stays elevated for at least 3 consecutive days. Keep track of your temperatures and note the day your temperature spikes on your ovulation calendar each cycle. This will give you an idea of your normal date of ovulation.

3. CERVICAL MUCUS METHOD. There are many methods for tracking ovulation, but one of the best for predicting ovulation is called the cervical mucus method. Your fertile period begins when you see creamy or lotion-like cervical mucus. Your most fertile days will be when you have what many call Egg White Cervical Mucus (EWCM) because it resembles raw egg whites (clear or semi-clear and very stretchy). EWCM signals that ovulation is or is about to take place. Any day that you have EWCM present is considered a VERY fertile day and is your best time to conceive. Write down on your ovulation calendar the amount and type of cervical mucus present each day of your cycle. The more detailed the better!

4. COMBINE ALL THREE METHODS. Once you have recorded all of the above information on your ovulation calendar for a few months it’s time to decipher the information that you have gathered. The calendar method will give you a range of dates you possibly ovulated, but if your cycles are irregular or atypical we are going to take that with a grain of salt. The basal body temperature method should accurately tell you when you ovulated. Note the day your temperature spiked each month. You probably ovulated the day before that spike. Now notice what your cervical mucus was like on that day. It was probably EWCM, but it is sometimes hard to tell if you don’t produce a lot of cervical mucus. To accurately predict ovulation for your next cycle, remember what your cervical mucus was like in the days leading up to your temperature spike. Next cycle, make sure to start trying to conceive at least 3-5 days before ovulation up until the day after ovulation. Good luck!

Tips & Warnings

• For more details on each step see the resources section below.

Resources

• Calendar Method of Tracking Ovulation
• Basal Body Temperature Method of Tracking Ovulation
• Cervical Mucus Method of Tracking Ovulation

[sunshine11219]

on 12/6/2008 great article