In this article we will cover how to identify your cycle and make it work to your advantage. Once a woman is aware of her cycle and the signs she must look for, Natural Family Planning (NFP) becomes much less complicated.
For many interested in implementing of Natural Family Planning, your first question may be, “Where do I start?”.
Most of us are aware of our menstrual cycles. We should also be aware of our fertility cycle. This includes reading your basal body temperature and noting changes in your cervical mucus.
The survival time of a sperm is 24 hours to 5 days, depending on the stage of a woman’s cycle and the alkalinity or acidity of the cervical area. A sperm’s survival is determined by adequate mucus during a fertile phase of a woman’s cycle.
Close attention must be paid to the mucus changes in a woman’s cycle as soon as the day after the last menstrual cycle day. It should and must be checked daily to insure accuracy. The average cycle usually consists of about 5 days of menstruation, followed by approx. 4 dry days before the mucus starts. The mucus starts out sticky and dry feeling, which is a sign of approaching fertility. Once the mucus becomes slippery and wet, resembling that of a raw egg white, the woman has reached her fertile phase. The peak day for conception is the last day of egg white cervical mucus. It is possible for a woman to remain fertile up to three days past her peak day.
You may be asking yourself how you will determine these mucus changes. Very easily. Many women are aware of the feelings and sensations that come from the cervical area, but if you are not, now is the time. You may observe your mucus in one of two ways or both. You may notice changes while carrying on your normal daily activities, such as, a feeling of wetness that is not attributed to a menstrual cycle or arousal fluid. You may notice the appearance of discharge on your toilet tissue. Pay close attention and observe the consistency of this discharge. You are now making yourself aware of your mucus phase.
The second way to observe cervical mucus is to check it daily on your own. This is the way I prefer. By using this method, you will manually check your mucus with every trip to the restroom during the day. In order to do this, first insert a finger into the vulva and observe the wetness or lack there of. Is the mucus sticky? Is it slippery and wet? In order to find out, place some of the mucus between your thumb and forefinger pushing them together. When you pull them apart, observe whether the mucus appears sticky (not stretchy) and paste like, or does it stretch when you pull your fingers apart, creating a string like that of a raw egg white?
to be continued…
Tags: basal body temperature, cervical mucus, fertility cycle, Natural Family Planning
