News on IVF drugs →

When women who are trying to conceive chart their cycles using the Fertility Awareness Method, they can often “see" what’s going on inside their bodies. Charting allows them to determine if they display a normal, healthy menstrual cycle; a normal, healthy ovarian cycle; and a normal, health reproductive hormonal cycle. And there aren’t any side-effects and it’s pretty much free!

The BBC reports that there may be new and safer medication options (specifically kisspeptin) for those choosing to use IVF (invtro fertilization). The current drugs can cause serious side-effects:

• "About one in every 100 women undergoing usual IVF treatment will develop a severe form of a medical condition called ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome or OHSS. Instead of producing a few eggs as desired, the ovaries go into overdrive and produce lots in response to the potent fertility drugs. While most women with OHSS will have mild symptoms and recover, those few with severe OHSS become very ill and can die."

My next “Achieving Pregnancy using Fertility Awareness" class is this Monday, June 24 at Natal to Nest. If you’re not quite ready to try IVF, come learn more than you ever thought you could about your fertility!

Next Class = Monday, June 24 at 6:30pm

Charting your cycle using the Sympto-Thermal Fertility Awareness Method will help to unravel the mystery so many of us feel about our reproductive selves! 

If you’re thinking about getting pregnant or have been trying without success, why not try charting your cycle! I’ll be teaching a “Fertility Awareness to Achieve Pregnancy" class this Monday at Natal to Nest in Highlands Ranch. Space is limited, so register soon… $60/person (your non-charting partner is encouraged to attend for free).

TTC - Why Charting Your Cycle Can Help You Get Pregnant!

If you feel like your body’s fertility is a big mystery to you, it doesn’t have to be that way! Learning to chart your cycle using the Fertility Awareness Method will help you answer some pretty important questions:

• “Am I ovulating?" 
• "Is my period late because I’m pregnant or because I’m stressed out?"
• "Is this a late period or a miscarriage?" 
• "Why can’t I get pregnant?" 
• "Is my vaginal discharge supposed to be like this?" 
• "How many times do I ovulate each cycle?”

Charting can help you consciously conceive your child, know the optimal time for conception to occur, and have useful information to present to health care providers & alternative practitioners. 

I’ll be teaching a “Fertility Awareness to Achieve Pregnancy" class on Monday, June 24 at 6:30pm at Natal to Nest in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Register online at Natal to Nest or by phone 303-221-6378 ($60/couple). 

Come find out how you can easily answer all those questions about your body’s fertility!

Why BBT is #2!

When women chart their fertility signs using the Fertility Awareness Method, we’ve already learned from a recent blog post "Why Cervical Fluid is #1!"

Taking her basal body temperature first thing in the morning usually lets a woman know if she has or hasn’t ovulated yet. It doesn’t tell her if her fertile time has started (which is VERY important) but it can tell her that her fertile time has ended (another important factor). If she’s trying to get pregnant and she sees her temp has gone up, it’s often too late to have sex for conception. If she’s avoiding pregnancy, she’s fertile for the 5 or so days BEFORE her temp goes up… and there’s no way to predict the future!

Also, getting accurate morning temperatures is of the utmost importance. If her temps are inaccurate (she slept in, drank alcohol the night before, got up to pee in the middle of the night, is coming down with a cold, etc.), then her chart is inaccurate. If her chart is inaccurate, then any information we try to extrapolate from it will probably be wrong.

Want to know more?!? Contact me… or better yet, come to a class!

Paying it Forward...

In order to be certified to teach the Fertility Awareness Method, a teacher-in-training must teach women and meet with them regarding their charts, and then discuss all of this with her mentor. I am so grateful to all the women (and friends!) who were able to help me complete that requirement for my graduation.

My colleague, Allie Rowland, is currently in the process of teaching the Fertility Awareness Method to new clients as part of her training to be an HRHP through Justisse Healthworks for Women. She is offering a limited number of fully-reimbursed charting follow-up sessions in order to complete her certification requirements. That means she’ll reimburse you the $30 fee for the class if you complete three follow-up sessions with her (in the greater Boulder/Denver area).

Learn the Fertility Awareness Method for free?!? Yes please! You can contact her at allisonlockwoodrowland@gmail.com.

The Kindara App is Non-Predicting...

So… if you’re “charting" your cycle using the Fertility Awareness Method, “how" exactly do you chart it? The old-fashioned paper way (how I do it), the computer spreadsheet (that many of my clients use), or apps on your phone (which I normally don’t like).

I haven’t liked most of the phone apps because they try and PREDICT your cycle using the out-dated and very inaccurate Rhythm Method. The app will actually say that you are infertile or fertile on any given day (regardless of your fertility signs) and it could be totally accurate (a broken clock is right twice a day) or it could be way off… yikes!

Enter… Kindara. I like this iPhone app because it lets women enter the answer to the question, “Am I fertile today? Yes or no?" She decides her Peak Day; she decides her temp shift. And the people that work there (it’s based in Boulder, Colorado) are pretty awesome to boot!

The Message of Stress: Reproduction is Expendable

When I’m teaching my clients the Fertility Awareness Method, the subject of stress invariably comes up. Why? Because it is RAMPANT in our culture and society. An NPR blog chats a bit about how OVERWHELMED we all feel if you’re one of the lucky few that needs proof the rest of us are stressed out.

But we’re not supposed to live under the constant stress that we do. What we’re telling our body (in caveman terms) is that there is a TIGER chasing us on the SAVANNAH and we need to RUN!

Reproduction is not necessary for survival, so while our bodies are busy getting blood and oxygen to our heart, lungs, and brain… and then to our muscles… and then maybe to our digestion… it will think about whether or not it wants to send precious resources to our reproductive organs. Stress sends the message, “This is not a good time to get her pregnant. She can’t run from the tiger while she’s pregnant for nearly a year… and she certainly can’t run from the tiger while she’s breastfeeding a new child for a year or more. So let’s protect her and prevent a pregnancy."

What you’ll often hear me telling my clients about stress reduction is 1 of 2 things: either add something to your life or subtract something from you life. Add exercise or eating healthier or meditation or a support group or something else that adds GOODNESS to your life. Or… say “no" more often or resign from a committee or turn off the screen (tv, computer, tablet, phone, etc) more or give yourself a break.

If you need even more ideas, Zen Habits gives great hints on “The Art of Letting Go." Enjoy!