I had a great question asked on Instagram the other day, so I thought I'd write a post to more fully explain it here.
"I don't take my temperature because it's really rare for me to sleep through the night without waking up at least once, and it's usually between 2 and 4 AM. What do you do in this case?"
In order to answer the question, it's important to first explain why that would impact your temperature. For your temperature to be as accurate as possible, it's recommended that you get at least three consecutive hours of sleep prior to taking your temperature in the morning. If your sleep is disturbed or too short, your temperature could be inaccurate and lead to inaccuracy in your chart. Of course, this can make it hard for women who have trouble sleeping through the night or need to get up at odd hours.
"I don't take my temperature because it's really rare for me to sleep through the night without waking up at least once, and it's usually between 2 and 4 AM. What do you do in this case?"
In order to answer the question, it's important to first explain why that would impact your temperature. For your temperature to be as accurate as possible, it's recommended that you get at least three consecutive hours of sleep prior to taking your temperature in the morning. If your sleep is disturbed or too short, your temperature could be inaccurate and lead to inaccuracy in your chart. Of course, this can make it hard for women who have trouble sleeping through the night or need to get up at odd hours.
Now, as far as what I would recommend: it is possible to track your fertile times with only two of the three primary fertility signs (temperature, cervical fluid, and cervical position) for the purpose of pregnancy achievement. It may not be as precise as using all three signs, but using any two should be able to give you a decent guesstimate of when you ovulate.
***PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU USE FAM FOR CONTRACEPTION, TRACKING WITHOUT TEMPING OR ONLY TRACKING WITH TWO SIGNS IS NOT SUFFICIENT TO PREVENT PREGNANCY! IF YOU ARE TRACKING TO PREVENT PREGNANCY, ALL THREE SIGNS ARE RECOMMENDED.***
Let's go over what it would look like to track with just two fertility signs. I'll go over all of the possible combinations below. We'll start with the most common: temperature and cervical fluid.
ESTIMATING OVULATION WITH TEMPERATURE AND CERVICAL FLUID
If you're only using two out of the three, this pairing would give you the most accuracy. Your temperature jump can be an important indication of the precise day you ovulated, and matching that with your cervical fluid can show you your fertile window preceding ovulation. I know plenty of women who choose not to track their cervical position, either because they can't find their cervix, they can't tell a difference for when it's open or closed, or because they just don't like checking. But even without checking your cervical position, these two should be able to give you an ovulation date quite accurately.
ESTIMATING OVULATION WITH TEMPERATURE AND CERVICAL POSITION
If you're having trouble finding or differentiating between different types of cervical fluid, you could also pinpoint fertile days by the openness of your cervix and your temperature shifts. These two signs might be a little bit harder to tell, because your cervix opening up can be kind of like watching a flower bloom (I know, I know...the whole "women are like gentle flowers" bit is cheesy, but it's surprisingly similar). It's so gradual that sometimes it's hard to tell a difference in your cervix. For me, it honestly took a good six months or longer to be able to feel the difference between an open, soft cervix and a closed, firm cervix.
The good news is, it's like riding a bike: now, my cervical position is quite obvious to me, and I can always tell when I'm fertile or not.
The downfall of this pairing is that even with an open cervix and a temperature jump indicating ovulation, it doesn't always indicate fertility. Cervical fluid is crucial to conception as it helps the sperm reach the egg without dying. So, if you have very little cervical fluid, you may be ovulating like clockwork but still have a low chance of conception.
The good news is, it's like riding a bike: now, my cervical position is quite obvious to me, and I can always tell when I'm fertile or not.
The downfall of this pairing is that even with an open cervix and a temperature jump indicating ovulation, it doesn't always indicate fertility. Cervical fluid is crucial to conception as it helps the sperm reach the egg without dying. So, if you have very little cervical fluid, you may be ovulating like clockwork but still have a low chance of conception.
ESTIMATING OVULATION WITH CERVICAL FLUID AND CERVICAL POSITION
This pairing is the one that leaves the most guesswork, but it still is possible. And for the woman who asked this question, this would probably be the best route.
(Remember, you should NEVER use just two fertility signs if you're using FAM as birth control. It can't be stated enough. It would be extremely reckless.)
Without your temperature helping you pinpoint the exact date of ovulation, you can instead use these two signs to know when your body is near ovulation and in its fertile window. Your body prepares each cycle for conception, so once you have fertile cervical fluid and your cervix is high and soft, it means that ovulation is coming soon. Having sex each day of your fertile cycle (unless your husband has low sperm count) would be ideal. As soon as your cervix drops lower in the vagina and your cervical fluid dries up, that's how you know ovulation has already occurred and your fertile window is over. It's a lot harder to know the exact date of ovulation, but luckily, it won't matter too much if you know when you are fertile.
If you can track all three signs, it will give you the best chance at pinpointing the exact date of ovulation, as well as tell you the most about the health and regularity of your cycle. If it's a matter of experience, practice makes perfect! The more you check, the faster you will learn how your body works.
One last thing about waking temperature: temperature consistency varies from woman to woman. Some women (myself included) can do almost anything without disrupting their temperature. Some women's bodies are sensitive to the slightest disruption. If you're not sure how your body responds, try temping even if you're not getting the recommended sleep pattern--your body may surprise you. If your temperatures are holding steady, then go with it. If they're all over the map, you can still get a pretty good idea of your fertile window from the other two signs alone. Keep in mind that erratic temperatures can also indicate hormonal imbalances, annovulation, or other problems with your cycle, so if you take your temperature consistently but are still experiencing confusing charts, you may want to consult with a fertility awareness educator.
Phew! Thanks for making it all the way through this post! I hope this helped you understand a little bit more about using two fertility signs to track ovulation.
Do you have a question you'd like answered? Reach out to me on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, or submit a question here!
(Remember, you should NEVER use just two fertility signs if you're using FAM as birth control. It can't be stated enough. It would be extremely reckless.)
Without your temperature helping you pinpoint the exact date of ovulation, you can instead use these two signs to know when your body is near ovulation and in its fertile window. Your body prepares each cycle for conception, so once you have fertile cervical fluid and your cervix is high and soft, it means that ovulation is coming soon. Having sex each day of your fertile cycle (unless your husband has low sperm count) would be ideal. As soon as your cervix drops lower in the vagina and your cervical fluid dries up, that's how you know ovulation has already occurred and your fertile window is over. It's a lot harder to know the exact date of ovulation, but luckily, it won't matter too much if you know when you are fertile.
If you can track all three signs, it will give you the best chance at pinpointing the exact date of ovulation, as well as tell you the most about the health and regularity of your cycle. If it's a matter of experience, practice makes perfect! The more you check, the faster you will learn how your body works.
One last thing about waking temperature: temperature consistency varies from woman to woman. Some women (myself included) can do almost anything without disrupting their temperature. Some women's bodies are sensitive to the slightest disruption. If you're not sure how your body responds, try temping even if you're not getting the recommended sleep pattern--your body may surprise you. If your temperatures are holding steady, then go with it. If they're all over the map, you can still get a pretty good idea of your fertile window from the other two signs alone. Keep in mind that erratic temperatures can also indicate hormonal imbalances, annovulation, or other problems with your cycle, so if you take your temperature consistently but are still experiencing confusing charts, you may want to consult with a fertility awareness educator.
Phew! Thanks for making it all the way through this post! I hope this helped you understand a little bit more about using two fertility signs to track ovulation.
Do you have a question you'd like answered? Reach out to me on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, or submit a question here!
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