For those who aren't aware of their fertility signs, why not? - Page 2

[folaboye]

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[wombatclay]

Well...growing up my cycle was so unpredicatable I'm not sure what charting would have done for me. I'd have AF for a week, spot for a few days, bleed again for two weeks, go 5 weeks with nothing, bleed for three weeks, back to nothing for a week, etc. And I wasn't sexually active so fertility wasn't really a pressing concern.

Then when I went to college I started birth control pills and had a glorious five years of perfectly regular cycles, so again, no need to chart.

When I went off the pill I hoped my regular cycles would remain, but no such luck. I kept a menstrual calendar and the year I got pregnant with dd I had fewer than 40 days in the entire year during which I was not spotting/bleeding. I even bled every month till my 7th month of pregnancy!

Oddly enough, I am now as regular as a clock. But I'm wide awake 4-5 times a night and simply don't have the time to temp, nor would it be reliable with all the night waking. I have mittelschmitz and regular changes in cm, so I go by that.

Charting, at least for me, just doesn't make sense!

[malibusunny]

I charted before having my son, but never went back to it after his birth. Since I *just* got my fertility back, I guess I don't chart because I didn't need to for quite a while.

I had to go to the doctor the other day, though, and when the nurse took my temp she saw that I had a fever, and she asked me "did you know you had a fever?" since it wasn't in my symptoms list. I realized that when I was charting, this never would have happened; I always knew my rising temp back then.

I suppose I should really start charting again...

[laohaire]

I read the whole thread and now I want to know, why WOULD you chart? Other than TTC of course.

Some women said they didn't need to because they always knew. Well, I don't pay that much attention myself, so I don't know when I'm ovulating. Is there a reason I should? My body goes on and ovulates without my help, so why would I need to know if I'm not TTC? An honest question.

[dynamicdoula]

I chart because my cycles have always been a mystery to me.

As a teen, my cycles were irregular. I went off the pill at 17 and didn't ovulate again for two years. I had no idea why, I didn't know anything about charting, or PCOS (which I have), or anything.

The first time I ovulated I conceived at 19, and then my cycles returned 9mo later. When we decided to have another child, I had heard good things about charting and I liked the idea of knowing more about my body than my doctor. (I feel that's how it should be.)

Now I know so much, just from charting:

* when i'm fertile or not fertile
* how long my luteal phase is (very short)
* I know WHY my luteal phase is short so i dont need blood tests or doctor visits
* I know what to do about it, or if I want to leave it alone
* I know if I ovulate late
* I know when I'm anovulatory vs. ovulating late
* Other disorders can be exposed by charting, like Wilson's syndrome.
* I can speak intelligently with my doctor (vs. having him talk TO me) about my body, what is normal for me, etc.
* I never ever have to worry about whether my due date will be accurate!

I know when I'm going to ovulate so I don't always 'chart', but when I asked the original question it was more about 'being aware of your fertility signs', not so much about charting them, specifically. I should go and edit the OP.

[amydidit]

Originally Posted by laohaire

I read the whole thread and now I want to know, why WOULD you chart? Other than TTC of course.

Some women said they didn't need to because they always knew. Well, I don't pay that much attention myself, so I don't know when I'm ovulating. Is there a reason I should? My body goes on and ovulates without my help, so why would I need to know if I'm not TTC? An honest question.

I know many who chart (or pay attention to the signs) to AVOID conception, so it works both ways... plus it just seems like a good thing to be aware of your body.