?Whether you and your partner are trying to get pregnant or trying to avoid a pregnancy, an ovulation calendar is a valuable tool to make plan your family and prevent any unexpected little surprises along the way. Knowing how to record information about the menstrual cycle and then interpret that information can be complicated even for women who have had regular periods for decades.
Most women have a 28 day cycle and that cycle is divided into three phases. The first phase is the follicular phase which is when the lining of the uterus develops in anticipation of nourishing a fertilized egg. The second phase is the ovulation phase, when the egg is released to be fertilized. The final phase is the luteal phase in which the proper hormones are released to enable the egg to implant in the uterine lining. Knowing when these phases occur in your cycle can help you take control of your fertility.
The first step in putting together an ovulation calendar is to record how long your menstrual cycle is from the start of menses one month to the start the next month. With this information, you can get a basic idea of when your ovulation occurs as most women ovulate around the twelfth day of their cycle and are most fertile in the five days before and the two days after ovulation. If your cycle is longer or shorter than 28 days or if you want the most accurate day of ovulation, taking your temperature and monitoring cervical mucus can tell you when you are most fertile or you can simply use an ovulation predictor kit.
With this information, you should be able to tell from month to month when there is the highest chance of a pregnancy so you can either prevent or promote a pregnancy depending on what your current goals are. By using awareness of fertility to plan your family, you are both promoting relationship stability by not becoming pregnant before both partners desire to start a family and choosing the perfect time to bring a child into your life together.
